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.....  Wherein  Information  is  presented 
Concerning  the  NOBLE  GAME,  in  all  its 
Aspects,  after  the  Manner  of 


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MPHOOUC40  FftOM*TMi-o*i<UNAi.  PICTURE  ar 


M*TMi- 

IGNED  E 

CYCLOPEDIA,  DICTIONARY,  AND 

r  \j  £~'  tj  "  C*  *Y 

Yt  King  and  Q*au  with  plesaunce  looke 

Uppon  ye  grelt  Wbistt  Refrence  'Books. 
"Now,  vyfft,"  quoit  bi  "let  all  je  fylavera 
Wt  meet  in  bataile  say  their  prayeres  !" 
Whereat  ye  solemn  Knaves  botue  low  ; 
And  quoth  ye  Quene,  "  Aye,  truly  so  !  " 

WILLIAM  MILL  BUTEBfT  *«*«•'«•) 


ILLUSTRATED 


'HiLADELPHIA:  .  .  PRINTED  AND  PUB- 
JSHED  BY  THE  JOHN  C.  YORSTON 
PUBLISHING  COMPANY.  MDCCCX 


THE 


WHIST  REFERENCE  BOOK 


Wherein  Information  is  presented 

Concerning  the    NOBLE   GAME,    in   all  its 
Aspects,  after  the  Manner  of 


.  .  A  .  . 

CYCLOPEDIA,  DICTIONARY,  AND 
DIGEST 

ALL  COMBINED  IN  ONE 


WILLIAM  MILL  BUTLER 


ILLUSTRATED 


PHILADELPHIA :  .  .  PRINTED  AND  PUB- 
LISHED BY  THE  JOHN  C  YORSTON 
PUBLISHING  COMPANY.  MDCCCXCIX. 


Entered  at  Stationer's  Hall.  London.  England 
Copyrighted.  Washington.  U.S.A.. 

BY 
WILLIAM  MILL  BUTLER. 

1898. 
All  rights  reserved. 


GV 

1 27T 


* 

o 

* 

0 

0         *         0        *        0         * 

0 

* 

0 

* 

DEDICATION 

*        0         *        0         *         0 

To  the  American  Whist  League,  the  Woman's 
Whist  League,  and  all  other  Organizations  which 
inculcate  the  play  of  Whist  for  its  own  sake,  this 
book  is  respectfully  dedicated  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


ACCEPTANCE 


In  December,  1897,  a  communication  was  addressed  to  the  presidents 
of  the  American  Whist  League  and  Woman's  Whist  League,  in  substance 
as  follows : 

"In  tracing  the  history,  rise,  and  progress  of  whist  in  America,  I 
have  been  strongly  impressed  with  the  great  work  already  accomplished 
by  the  American  Whist  League.  The  recently  organized  Woman's 
Whist  League  seems  to  me  another  powerful  force  whose  good  influence 
must  soon  be  felt  wherever  whist  is  played.  The  future  of  the  game 
rests  with  these  two  noble  organizations.  If  they  remain  loyal  to  the 
principles  enunciated  at  the  first  congress  of  American  whist-players  in 
1891,  whist,  in  this  country  at  least,  will  ever  remain  an  elevating  and 
intellectual  recreation,  as  well  as  a  powerful  aid  in  mental  training.  The 

(iii) 


iv  DEDICATION 

women  especially  have  it  in  their  power  to  maintain  its  purity  and 
attractiveness.  To  them  we  look  to  keep  it,  as  it  now  is,  a  game  for  the 
home  circle,  an  educating  influence,  as  well  as  an  amusement. 

"  In  view  of  these  facts,  it  would  give  me  much  pleasure  to  dedicate 
my  forthcoming  work,  '  The  Whist  Reference  Book,'  to  the  two  Leagues. 
Permit  me  to  ask  you,  as  the  presidents  of  your  respective  organizations, 
whether  such  dedication  would  be  pleasing  and  acceptable?" 

The  answers  received  are  herewith  reproduced  by  permission  : 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  December  7. 
MR.  WILLIAM  MILL  BUTLER, 

Dear  Sir  : 

Allow  me,  in  behalf  of  the  Woman's  Whist  League,  to  thank  you  for  the 
proffered  dedication  of  your  magnificent  work.  It  is  a  very  great  compliment, 
and  appreciated  and  accepted  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  offered.  Every  woman  con- 
nected with  our  organization  will  heartily  agree  with  the  sentiments  expressed  con- 
cerning the  game.  Again  thanking  you  cordially  for  the  courtesy,  and  wishing  you 
every  possible  success,  I  am, 

Very  truly  yours, 

EMMA  D.  ANDREWS, 
1119  Spruce  Street.  President  Woman's  Whist  League. 


American  Whist  League, 
Office  of  the  President, 
Detroit,  Mich.,  December  22. 
MR.  WILLIAM  MILL  BUTLER, 
Dear  Sir  : 

It  becomes  my  duty  and  very  great  pleasure  to  acknowledge,  on  behalf  of 
the  American  Whist  League,  the  great  compliment  paid  the  League  in  having 
dedicated  to  it  your  splendid  work.  I  take  your  kindly  act  as  recognition  of  the  success 
of  the  League  in  purifying  and  popularizing,  as  a  means  of  education  and  as  an  intel- 
lectual pastime,  the  noblest  of  indoor  games.  Having  developed,  since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  League,  from  a  mere  game  into  a  science,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  whist,  as  it 
is  a  great  discipliner  of  minds  as  well  as  a  true  test  of  mental  skill,  may  soon  be 
universally  recognized  as  the  most  popular  American  game.  As  an  instrument  to 
this  end  I  am  sure  your  work  will  be  welcomed  by  every  lover  of  whist. 

Yours  sincerely, 

HENRY  A.  MANDELL, 

President  American  Whist  League. 


PRITACE 


J  •  *bist  is  indeed  a  science  and  an  art,  as  well  as  an  elevating 
i-fc«r«s»l»on  and  amusement,  it  is  but  proper  that,  in  addition  to 
its  many  excellent  text-books  and  treatises.it  should  have  a  gen- 
eral work  or"  reference  such  as  the  present  volume  aims  to  be. 

No  oth-rt  yaruc  which  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  ever  devised 
hi.  icen  aft  Mvrr.iJiate  in  attracting  the  attention  of  those  amply 
qv,  ..  iied  to  sei  forth  its  merits.  Many  of  the  brightest  intel- 

Lord  Folkestone,  best  efforts  to 
el**    iation,  beginning  with  the  time,  more  than  a  century  and 

1  frorrt  the  family  portrait  in  possess^  * 
the  Countess  of  Radnor  ;  now  published  for 
the  first  time.     He  was  the  ' 


courage  the  systematic  study  of  whist. 
-"  >  whose  disix)veries  are  recognized  as  adding  to  the 

sow.  -f  human  knowledge;;  astronomers  whose  studies  of  the 
starry  universe  have  interested  millions  of  readers;  mathe- 
matK'ia.n.s  whose  master  minds  have  found  pleasure  in  solving 
the  iri.K',.  difficult  problems  —  all  these,  and  many  others  of 
•orth  y  >*>ility,  are  found  upon  the  long  and  luminous  roll 

:'hat  wh  T  is  a  game  of  infinite  variety  is  demonstrated  by 
U  •  r:umerori-  theories  and  modes  of  play  advocated  by  those 
wi;<>  have  wn'ten  upon  its  technical  side.  So  univ<_:sal  is  the 
h?ten-<t  felt  in  it  that  these  theories  and  modes  of  play  have 
greatly  increased  rather  than  diminished  or  late  years,  and 

(v) 


PREEACE 


If  whist  is  indeed  a  science  and  an  art,  as  well  as  an  elevating 
recreation  and  amusement,  it  is  but  proper  that,  in  addition  to 
its  many  excellent  text-books  and  treatises.it  should  have  a  gen- 
eral work  of  reference  such  as  the  present  volume  aims  to  be. 

No  other  game  which  the  ingenuity  of  man  has  ever  devised 
has  been  as  fortunate  in  attracting  the  attention  of  those  amply 
qualified  to  set  forth  its  merits.  Many  of  the  brightest  intel- 
lects of  the  present  age  have  devoted  their  best  efforts  to  its 
elucidation,  beginning  with  the  time,  more  than  a  century  and 
a  half  ago,  when  Folkestone  and  Hoyle  first  brought  it  forth 
from  obscurity.  Philosophers,  statesmen,  and  warriors  have 
vied  with  one  another  in  improving  it.  Scholars  whose  attain- 
ments have  also  won  for  them  enduring  fame  in  other  pursuits; 
scientists  whose  discoveries  are  recognized  as  adding  to  the 
sum  of  human  knowledge;  astronomers  whose  studies  of  the 
starry  universe  have  interested  millions  of  readers;  mathe- 
maticians whose  master  minds  have  found  pleasure  in  solving 
the  most  difficult  problems — all  these,  and  many  others  of 
worth  and  ability,  are  found  upon  the  long  and  luminous  roll 
of  whist  authors. 

That  whist  is  a  game  of  infinite  variety  is  demonstrated  by 
the  numerous  theories  and  modes  of  play  advocated  by  those 
who  have  written  upon  its  technical  side.  So  universal  is  the 
interest  felt  in  it  that  these  theories  and  modes  of  play  have 
greatly  increased  rather  than  diminished  of  late  years,  and 

(v) 


vi  PREFACE 

to-day  the  whist-player  who  wishes  to  be  thoroughly  grounded 
in  its  history  and  practice  finds  himself  confronted  by  a  bewilder- 
ing array  of  authorities  and  isms,  such  as  might  well  dishearten 
all  but  the  most  courageous. 

The  necessity  for  some  method  whereby  order  may  be 
brought  out  of  chaos  is  obvious;  and  we  believe  this  can  best 
be  accomplished  by  means  of  a  well-arranged  and  thoroughly 
impartial  description  and  review  of  everything  relating  to  the 
game.  It  is  not  our  purpose,  therefore,  to  add  to  it  any  new 
theory  or  hobby,  but  rather  to  so  indicate  those  things  which 
are  already  in  existence  that  the  earnest  student  may  inform 
himself  concerning  them,  and,  by  using  his  individual  judg- 
ment, as  well  as  the  judgment  of  others,  accept  that  which  is 
good,  and  reject  that  which  is  of  no  permanent  value. 

In  order  to  make  the  gathered  information  easily  accessible, 
the  articles  are  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  and  supple- 
mented by  an  exhaustive  index  of  cross-references.  Every 
authority,  from  Hoyle  down  to  the  present  day,  is  quoted, 
and  the  quotations  will  all  be  found  of  great  value  and  benefit, 
especially  in  matters  upon  which  there  exists  a  difference  of 
opinion.  In  order  to  enable  the  reader  to  estimate  at  its  full 
value  every  statement  made,  the  school  to  which  each  author- 
ity quoted  belongs  is  plainly  indicated  by  means  of  a  system  of 
abbreviations,  enclosed  in  brackets,  printed  after  each  name. 

The  task  of  digesting  and  arranging  in  orderly  form  the 
accumulated  knowledge  of  centuries,  as  well  as  the  information 
concerning  multitudinous  changes  and  improvements  of  recent 
years,  has  been  a  fascinating,  if  somewhat  prolonged  and 
arduous,  one.  We  have  endeavored  to  treat  everything  upon 


PREFACE  vil 

its  merits,  and  to  be  absolutely  fair  to  every  school  and  every 
individual.  We  have  deemed  it  our  duty  to  mirror  whist  in 
all  its  vigor  and  sometimes  overflowing  exuberance.  It  is 
whist  with  all  its  glories  as  well  as  imperfections — whist  as  it 
exists,  and  not  as  we  or  any  other  individual  might  wish  to 
see  it  in  narrower  confines.  The  book  necessarily  contains 
some  things  which  we  may  not  personally  favor;  some  views 
with  which  we  may  not  personally  agree;  some  methods  of 
play  which  we  may  not  personally  endorse;  but  in  each  and 
every  instance  where  there  are  grounds  for  a  difference  of 
opinion,  where  usage  is  not  general,  or  where  a  thing  is 
roundly  condemned  by  one  side  or  the  other,  we  have  tried  to 
present  the  weight  of  authority,  both  for  and  against,  in  order 
that  the  reader  may  be  in  a  position  to  examine  and  decide  for 
himself.  The  only  liberty  we  have  taken  is  to  speak  freely  on 
all  matters  affecting  the  morals  and  good  repute  of  the  game. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  evolution  of  whist  has 
brought  with  it  a  higher  type  of  play  in  America  than  the 
world  has  ever  known  before.  Its  chief  distinguishing  feature 
is  the  abolition  of  stakes — no  money  consideration  of  any  kind 
being  found  necessary  to  lend  interest  to  the  game.  The 
credit  for  this  great  advance  is  very  largely  due  to  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League,  which,  at  its  organization  in  1891,  adopted 
the  seven-point  game,  eliminated  the  count  of  honors  and  the 
preponderance  of  luck  from  the  play,  and  above  all  adopted 
the  splendid  motto  of,  "Whist  for  Its  Own  Sake."  The  efforts 
of  the  League  to  promote  higher  ideals,  and  maintain  the  purity 
and  integrity  of  the  game,  are  nobly  seconded  by  the  Woman's 
Whist  League,  a  more  recent  organization,  which  is  the  out- 


via  PREFACE 

come  of  the  immense  activity  of  the  fair  sex  in  whist  matters 
in  this  country.  That  activity,  inspired  by  the  modern  scien- 
tific game,  and  by  the  instructions  of  a  host  of  faithful  and 
devoted  whist  teachers,  is  constantly  growing,  and  cannot  but 
have  a  great  and  beneficial  effect,  so  that  with  woman  and  the 
home,  as  well  as  man  and  the  club,  behind  it,  whist  may  soon, 
as  Dr.  Pole  puts  it,  "  assume  the  position  of  a  great  social 
element  which  Herbert  Spencer  must  reckon  with  in  his  prin- 
ciples of  sociology. ' ' 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  conflict  which  has  been  for 
some  years  going  on  between  the  advocates  of  the  long  and 
short-suit  games,  and  between  the  advocates  and  opponents  of 
American  leads  and  other  conventional  signals.  We  believe  that 
all  fears  that  these  differences  of  opinion  may  prove  injurious 
to  whist  may  be  dismissed  as  groundless.  The  splendid 
vitality  of  the  game  has  withstood  all  the  rivalries  and  antago- 
nisms of  the  past,  and  will,  we  are  confident,  survive  those  of 
the  future.  The  sturdy  oak  laughs  at  the  storms  which  bend 
its  boughs,  and  finds  them  beneficial  in  the  development  of  still 
greater  strength.  Whatever  is  best  in  whist  will  survive,  and 
whatever  is  worthless  will  succumb  to  the  force  of  honest  criti- 
cism. The  final  result  must  be,  and  will  be,  still  better  whist. 

In  presenting  the  "Whist  Reference  Book"  for  the  approval 
of  the  whist  world,  we  beg  to  extend  our  warmest  acknowl- 
edgments to  the  host  of  correspondents,  both  in  this  and 
foreign  countries,  who  so  liberally  seconded  our  efforts  to 
obtain  correct  and  authentic  information  for  its  pages.  Among 
those  whose  personal  co-operation  and  unfailing  courtesy  was 
especially  helpful,  we  cannot  forbear  mentioning  Henry  Jones 


PREFACE  ix 

("Cavendish"),  N.  B.  Trist,  General  A.  W.  Drayson,  Dr. 
William  Pole,  R.  F.  Foster,  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  Cassius  M. 
Paine,  Milton  C.  Work,  John  T.  Mitchell,  Eugene  S.  Elliott, 
Matthias  Boyce  ("  Mogul  "),  Charles  Mossop,  P.  J.  Tormey, 
E.  C.  Howell,  Judge  George  L.  Bunn,  C.  R.  Keiley,  W.  H. 
Whitfeld,  W.  S.  Fenollosa,  Charles  M.  Clay,  and  Charles  S. 
Boutcher.  Also,  among  the  ladies,  Miss  Kate  Wheelock,  Mrs. 
T.  H.  Andrews,  Mrs.  Henry  E.  Wallace,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Jenks, 
and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wager-Smith. 

Among  the  many  portraits  of  whist  notabilities  with  which 
the  volume  is  embellished  we  have  the  pleasure  of  giving  that 
of  Lord  Folkestone,  who  was  the  first  to  recognize  the  merits 
of  whist  and  actively  promote  its  study  and  improvement.  For 
the  likeness,  now  published  for  the  first  time,  our  acknowl- 
edgments are  due  to  the  Countess  of  Radnor,  who  kindly 
placed  it  at  our  disposal.  All  efforts  to  obtain  portraits  of 
Hoyle,  Payne,  Mathews,  or  Deschapelles  proved  unavailing. 

Should  there  be  found,  despite  the  care  which  has  been 
exercised  in  its  preparation,  any  serious  errors  or  omissions  in 
this  book,  we  shall  at  all  times  be  pleased  to  hear  from  those 
in  possession  of  the  facts,  in  order  that  the  proper  correction 
may  be  made  in  subsequent  editions.  In  this  way,  with  the 
active  co-operation  and  support  of  the  lovers  of  whist,  wherever 
found,  it  is  hoped  that  there  may  be  maintained,  as  long  as  the 
king  of  card  games  endures,  a  standard  work  in  which  any  and 
every  reasonable  question  concerning  whist,  its  history,  science, 
practice,  laws,  and  usages  may  be  found  intelligently  answered. 

PHILADELPHIA  WHIST  CLOB, 

October,  1898 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


"YE  ROYALL  RECEPCIOUN"  (Printed  in  Colors] Frontispiece 

Ye  King  and  Quene  with  plesaunce  looke 
Uppon  ye  grete  Whiste  Ref  "rence  Booke. 
"Now,  wyffe,"  quoth  he,  "  let  all  ye  playeres 
We  meet  in  bataile  say  their  prayeres  ! " 
Whereat  ye  solemn  Knaves  bowe  low  ; 
And  quoth  ye  Quene,  "  Aye,  truly  so  !  " 

(Chaucer  Redivivus.) 

Reproduced  from  the  original  picture  by  Maxfield  Parrish, 
designed  expressly  for  this  work. 

PORTRAIT  OF  LORD  FOLKESTONE Facing  Preface 

He  was  the  first  to  encourage  the  systematic  study  of  whist, 
in  1728.  From  the  family  portrait  in  possession  of  the  Countess 
of  Radnor  ;  now  published  for  the  first  time. 

MODERN  MASTERS  OF  WHIST Facing  page  44 

Portraits  of  "Cavendish,"  James  Clay,  William  Pole,  A.  W. 
Drayson,  and  Richard  A.  Proctor. 

LEADERS  OF  THE  "  CAVENDISH  "  SCHOOL  IN  AMERICA,   Facing  page  88 

Portraits  of  Nicholas  Browse  Trist,  Fisher  Ames,  C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton,  Charles  E.  Coffin,  and  Cassius  M.  Paine. 

OPPONENTS  OF  THE  "CAVENDISH"  SCHOOL Facing  page  132 

Portraits  of  R.  F.  Foster,  "  Mogul,"  Charles  Mossop,  "  Pern- 
bridge,"  and  E.  C.  Howell. 

PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    .   .    Facing  page  176 

Portraits  of  Eugene  S.  Elliott,  John  M.  Walton,  Theodore 
Schwarz,  Walter  H.  Barney,  and  H.  A.  Mandell. 

TEACHERS  OF  WHIST Facing  page  220 

Portraits  of  Miss  Kate  Wheelock,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Jenks,  Miss 
Bessie  E.  Allen,  Mrs.  S.  C.  H.  Buell,  and  Miss  Gertrude  ~B,. 
Clapp. 

Cxi) 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

WHIST  ANALYSTS Facing  page  264 

Portraits  of  W.  H.  Whitfeld,  John  H.  Briggs,  George  I,.  Bunn, 
Charles  M.  Clay,  and  Bond  Stow. 

TEACHERS  OF  WHIST Facing  page  308 

Portraits  of  Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews,  Mrs.  Lillian  C.  Noel,  Mrs. 
William  Henry  Newbold,  Mrs.  George  de  Benneville  Keim, 
and  Miss  Frances  S.  Dallam. 

ADVOCATES  OF  AMERICAN   LEADS  WITH   MODIFICA- 
TIONS    Facing  page  352 

Portraits  of  Milton  C.  Work,  George  W.  Pettes,  John  T. 
Mitchell,  Charles  S.  Street,  arid  P.  J.  Tormey. 

WOMEN  WHO  WRITE  ABOUT  WHIST Facing  page  396 

Portraits  of  Mrs.  Henry  E.  Wallace,  Mrs.  Mary  d'Invilliers 
Levick,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wager-Smith,  Mrs.  F.  H.  Atwater,  and 
Miss  Annie  Blanche  Shelby. 

TEACHERS  OF  WHIST Facing  page  440 

Portraits  of  William  S.  Fenollosa,  Elwood  T.  Baker,  Charles 
R.  Keiley,  F.  E.  Otis,  and  George  E-  Duggan. 

THE  FAMOUS  HAMILTON  TEAM Facing  page  484 

Milton  C.  Work,  Gustavus  Remak,  Jr.,  E.  A.  Ballard,  and 
Frank  P.  Mogridge,  winners  of  the  first  A.  W.  L.  Challenge 
Trophy,  for  which  they  scored  twenty  victories,  being  thus 
entitled  to  its  permanent  possession. 

THE  CHAMPIONS  OF  1897 Facing  page  528 

Joseph  S.  Neff,  E.  Stanley  Hart,  Leoni  Melick,  W.  T.  G. 
Bristol,  and  T.  A.  Whelan,  who  acted  as  substitute  during  the 
illness  of  one  of  the  players.  This  team,  from  the  Philadelphia 
Whist  Club,  won  the  Hamilton  Trophy  at  Put-in-Bay,  in 
thirteen  matches,  without  suffering  a  single  defeat. 


KEY  TO  ABBREVIATIONS 

USED  AFTER  THE  NAMES  OF  QUOTED  AUTHORITIES 

Indicating  at  a  glance  the  school  of  whist  or  style  of  game  followed 
and  advocated  by  each. 


J/.  A. — Advocates  of  the  long-suit  game  and  American  leads. 

It.  A-\ Long-suit  advocates  and  players  who  are  friendly  to  American 

leads,  or  who  employ  them  to  some  extent. 

I/+A. — Adherents  of  the  long-suit  game,  in  the  main,  who  are  liberally 
inclined  toward  short-suit  play,  and  who  employ  American  leads. 

I/-\-A-\ Advocates  of  the  fundamental  long-suit  game  who  have  liberal 

views  concerning  the  use  of  short-suit  play  in  emergencies,  and 
who  are  friendly  to  American  leads. 

I/.  A.  H. — Long-suit  advocates  and  players  who  employ  American  leads 
with  Hamilton  modifications. 

I,.  A.  P. — Long-suit  advocates  employing  American  leads  with  Pettes' 
modifications. 

J^.  O. — Long-suit  advocates  and  players  who  employ  old  leads. 

1^.  OH Long-suit  players  and  advocates  who  employ  old  leads,  but  are 

liberally  inclined  toward  the  modern  scientific  game. 

J^-)-O. — Advocates  of  the  long-suit  game  who  make  a  liberal  use  also  of 
short-suit  tactics,  and  who  employ  old  leads. 

O. — Players  and  advocates  of  the  old  leads  as  practiced  by  Hoyle  and  his 
immediate  successors. 

S.  -H". — Advocates  of  the  short-suit  game  who  follow,[the  Howell  system. 

S.  O. — Advocates  of  the  short-suit,    or    "common-sense,"  game  who 
employ  old  leads. 

. — Short-suit  advocates  who  are  liberally  inclined  toward  the  long- 
suit  game,  but  employ  old  leads. 

(xiii) 


The  Whist  Reference  Book. 


Abandoned  Hand. — A  hand  at 
•whist,  or  so  much  of  it  as  remains 
unplayed,  thrown  face  upward  upon 
the  table  by  a  player  or  players, 
for  any  reason. 

If  all  four  players  throw  their  cards  on 
the  table,  face  upwards,  no  further  play 
of  that  hand  is  permitted.  The  result  of 
the  hand  as  then  claimed  or  admitted,  is 
established,  provided  that,  if  a  revoke  is 
discovered,  the  revoke  penalty  attaches. 
— Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code),  Sec.  27. 

If  all  four  players  throw  their  cards 
on  the  table,  face  upwards,  the  hands  are 
abandoned;  and  no  one  can  again  take  up 
their  cards.  Should  this  general  exhibi- 
tion show  that  the  game  might  have  been 
saved  or  won,  neither  claim  can  be  enter- 
tained unless  a  revoke  be  established. 
The  revoking  players  are  then  liable  to  the 
following  penalties  :  they  cannot,  under 
any  circumstances,  win  the  game  by  the 
result  of  that  hand,  and  the  adversaries 
may  add  three  to  their  score,  or  deduct 
three  from  that  of  the  revoking  players. 
— Laws  of  Whist  (English  Code),  Sec.  59. 

A-B,  Y-Z. — The  commonly  ac- 
cepted manner  of  indicating  the 
players  or  hands  at  the  whist  table 
is  by  means  of  the  letters  A-B, 
Y-Z,  the  former  two  being  partners 
against  the  latter  two.  The  letters 
A-B,  C-D,  have  also  been  used  to 
some  extent  in  the  past,  among 
others  by  James  Clay  and  G.  W. 
Pettes.  They  are  now  used  to  des- 
ignate the  challengers  at  duplicate 
whist,  when  two  teams  of  four 
each  play  against  each  other,  the 
home  club,  or  holders,  being  desig- 
nated as  W-X,  Y-Z. 

Among  several  other  writers  on 
straight  whist,  "Aquarius"  used 
the  letters  A-C,  B-D  to  represent  the 
four  players  at  a  table.  In  other  in- 
stances the  figures  1-2,  3-4  have 
been  employed.  In  the  Westmin- 
ster Papers  the  editor  used  A-B, 
X-Z,  although  his  correspondents 


employed  other  formulas  as  well. 
In  his  recent  work  on  "  Short-Suit 
Whist,"  E.G.  Howell  adopts  North- 
South,  East-West,  the  terms  gen- 
erally used  to  indicate  the  positions 
of  the  players  at  duplicate  whist. 
The  great  preponderance  of  usage, 
however,  is  in  favor  of  A-B,  Y-Z, 
which  is  nearly  always  used  in  pe- 
riodicals and  in  the  daily  press 
when  recording  whist- play,  and  also 
in  most  of  the  late  text-books.  It 
is  used  in  the  works  of  ' '  Caven- 
dish," Pole,  Drayson,  Proctor,  Fos- 
ter, "  Pembridge,"  and  many  oth- 
ers, although  in  some  instances  the 
same  author  makes  use  of  more  than 
one  kind  of  notation.  The  main 
objection  to  the  N-S,  E-W  nota- 
tion is,  that  explanatory  notes  are 
required  to  give  the  positions  of  the 
dealer  and  the  lead,  and  without 
these  the  hand  is  unintelligible. 

A  is  the  first  hand,  or  leader,  and 
B  is  his  partner,  or  third  hand;Y 
is  the  second  hand  and  partner  of 
Z,  who  is  the  fourth  hand  and 
dealer  in  the  opening  play.  There 
is  a  growing  custom  among  writers 
on  whist  to  speak  of  the  first  hand 
as  A,  the  second  hand  as  Y,  the 
third  hand  as  B,  and  the  fourth 
hand  as  Z,  without  any  qualifica- 
tion or  explanation,  the  terms  being 
regarded  as  synonymous. 

Ace. — A  card  containing  one  pip 
or  spot.  In  whist  the  ace  is  the 
highest  card  in  rank  or  value,  ex- 
cept in  the  matter  of  cutting,  when 
it  is  lowest.  It  is  one  of  the  four  hon- 
ors counted  in  the  English  game. 

The  ace  is  led  more  frequently 
than  any  other  high  card  except  the 
king.  Under  the  old  leads  system 


(I) 


ACE 


ACE 


it  is  led  from  ace  and  four  or  more 
others  without  the  king ;  and  from 
ace,  queen,  and  jack,  with  or  with- 
out others. 

Under  the  system  of  American 
leads,  ace  is  led  from  any  suit  of 
five  or  more  which  does  not  contain 
both  king  and  queen;  and  from 
any  combination  which  contains 
both  queen  and  jack,  but  does  not 
include  the  king.  Here  are  the 
leads  in  detail  in  which  the  ace 
figures : 

From  ace,  king,  jack,  and  two  or 
more  others,  lead  ace  followed  by 
king. 

From  ace,  king,  and  three  or 
more  others,  lead  ace  followed  by 
king.  (In  trumps,  lead  fourth  best, 
unless  holding  seven. ) 

From  ace,  queen,  jack,  and  two 
or  more  others,  lead  ace  followed 
by  jack. 

From  ace,  queen,  jack,  ten,  lead 
ace  followed  by  ten. 

From  ace,  queen,  jack,  and  one 
other,  lead  ace  followed  by  queen. 

From  ace  and  four  or  more 
others,  the  orthodox  practice  is  to 
lead  ace  followed  by  fourth  best, 
although  many  first-class  players 
believe  that  in  the  American  game, 
and  especially  at  duplicate,  it  is 
better  to  lead  fourth  best.  In 
trumps,  the  orthodox  practice  is  to 
lead  fourth  best,  unless  holding 
seven  when  the  ace  is  led. 

In  forced  leads,  from  ace,  queen, 
jack,  lead  ace  followed  by  queen. 

Adherents  of  the  old  leads  object 
to  the  American  lead  of  ace  from 
ace,  king,  and  others,  because,  they 
claim,  it  does  not  at  once  give  your 
partner  information  concerning  the 
whereabouts  of  the  king.  (Below 
will  be  found  "Cavendish's  "  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  American 
lead.) 

The  ace  lead  does  not  figure  in 
the  so-called  short-suit  game.  In 
fact,  when  led  by  short-suit  players, 


it  means  either  that  they  have  con- 
cluded for  that  particular  hand  to 
play  according  to  long-suit  tactics, 
or  they  are  playing  the  Howell 
variety  of  the  short-suit  game.  In 
Mr.  Howell 's  system,  the  lead  of  the 
ace  figures  in  two  of  the  five  forms 
of  strategy  adopted  to  meet  the 
various  conditions  of  the  hand.  If 
followed  by  king,  it  means  the 
high-card  game,  in  which  you  don't 
expect  to  make  anything  except  a 
trick  or  two  in  your  strong  suit.  If 
followed  by  a  small  card,  it  means 
the  ruffing  game. 

ACE  AND  FOUR.— There  is  no  plain 
suit  from  which  a  hand  is  more  frequently 
opened  than  ace  and  four  or  more  others, 
and  there  is,  therefore,  no  combination 
from  which  it  is  of  more  importance  that 
the  best  trick-taking  lead  should  be  de- 
termined. In  spite  of  this  there  is  no 
whist  question  to-day  upon  which  there 
is  a  wider  divergence  01  opinion  among 
good  players.  *  *  *  After  considering 
the  whole  ground,  the  writer  is  inclined 
to  side  witli  those  who  believe  the  low 
lead  in  five-card  suits  to  be  a  winning 
one  in  the  long  run.  and  advises  its  adop- 
tion by  players  of  the  first  class.  With 
more  than  five  cards,  however,  it  seems 
distinctly  dangerous  unless  the  hand  has 
sufficient  strength  in  trumps  to  justify 
taking  the  short  end  of  the  chances  for 
the  prospect  of  a  big  gain.  The  recom- 
mendation to  lead  the  fourth  best  is  lim- 
ited to  players  of  the  first  class,  as  the 
bringing  in  of  a  long  suit  requires  consid- 
erable skill,  and  poorer  players  who 
adopt  the  fourth-best  lead  frequently 
suffer  all  its  losses  without  the  ability  to 
profit  by  its  gains. — Milton  C.  Work 
[L.  A.  ff.],  "  Whist  of  To-day." 

Holding  ace  and  four  below  the  knave, 
it  is  now  thought  wise  to  lead  fourth  best, 
unless  trump  strength  is  declared  against 
you.  With  ace  and  four  others,  if  one  is 
the  queen  or  knave,  many  of  our  best 
players  are  leading  fourth  best  regardles_s 
of  trump  strength,  to  simplify  the  origi- 
nal lead  of  ace,  which  then  indicates 
either  the  king,  or  both  queen  and  knave, 
or  six  or  more  in  suit.— Kate  Wheelock 
[L.  A.},  "Whist  Rules." 

Should  ace  be  led  from  ace  and  four 
small  of  a  plain  suit,  or  should  the  fourth 
best  be  lea?  This  has  been  a  vexed 
question  for  some  years.  As  whist  is 
played  in  England  (straight,  five  up,  and 
counting  honors),  it  seems  probable  that 
the  original  lead  of  ace  is  best.  The  game 
is  too  short  to  admit  of  not  making  a 


ACE 


ACE 


certain  trick  (bar  trumping)  when  able. 
There  is,  perhaps,  one  exception,  viz., 
with  such  strength  in  trumps  as  to  war- 
rant a  trump  lead  if  partner  can  assist 
in  the  long  suit  headed  by  the  ace.  But 
when  duplicate  whist  on  the  American 
method  is  the  gamCj  and  every  hand  is 
played  for  what  it  is  worth,  the  matter 
assumes  quite  a  different  aspect.  Accord- 
ing to  the  best  modern  calculations,  for 
which  precise  accuracy  is  not  claimed 
(the  problem  not  lending  itself  to  abso- 
lute demonstration),  there  is  a  slight  ad- 
vantage, so  far  as  the  probability  of 
making  tricks  in  the  suit  is  concerned, 
in  leading  the  fourth  best  rather  than  the 
ace.  This,  however,  may  be  offset  by 
other  considerations  which  are  of  too 
remote  and  technical  a  character  to  be 
discussed  here.  One,  however,  may  be 
mentioned,  viz.,  that  the  lead  of  ace  at 
once  declares  great  strength  in  the  suit, 
while  the  lead  of  fourth  best  leaves  such 
strength  uncertain  during  the  early  part 
of  the  hand.  Hence,  it  may  be  fairly 
assumed  that  there  is  not  much  to  it  one 
way  or  the  other;  this  bears  out  the 
premise  that  when  doctors  disagree,  both 
sides  may  be  justified  in  their  opinions. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  Scribner's  Maga- 
zine, July,  1897. 

The  first  published  hand  in  which  ace 
is  led,  instead  of  king,  for  the  declared 
purpose  of  showing  five  in  suit,  as  dis- 
tinctly stated  by  the  notes  accompanying 
the  play,  appeared  in  the  Westminster 
Papers,  November,  1869.  Here  it  is,  the 
heart  nine  turned  by  West,  North  to  lead: 


CR 

1 

£ 
i 

2 
3 

4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1  1 
12 
13 

West. 

North. 

East. 

South. 

*  3 

*  8 

<?  A 

*  A 

•  10 
*  Q 

V  2 
2  * 
3  + 

<?  6 
S>  7 
V  8 

*  5 
*  2 

<2  4 
9  * 
K* 

*  K 

V  Q 
4  * 
5  + 
<9  3 
6  * 
*  9 
7  0 
•  J 

A  4 

Q  * 

<?  10 

<?  9 
5  0 
8  + 
10* 
J  * 
J  0 
K  0 

<9  J 

V  K 

*  7 
<?  5 

7  * 
3  0 
4  0 

100 

6  0 

*  6 
2  0 
A  0 

*  4 

9  0 
8  0 

QO 

Score:  N  and  S,  9:  Band  W,  4. 


The  information  given  by  North's  leads 
should  have  enabled  East  to  save  a  trick 
by  refusing  to  trump  at  trick  eight;  be 
cause  if  North  had  five  spades,  South  has 
only  one  more. 

See  also  answers  to  correspondents, 
explaining  the  reason  for  leading  the 
king  only  when  the  suit  contains  less  than 
five  cards  (July,  1868,  p.  45;  August,  1869,  p. 
63).  Later  numbers  of  the  Westminster 
Papers  seem  to  indicate  that  the  system 
of  showing  number  was  of  no  value  and 
was  abandoned.— y?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
Whist,  October,  1897. 

ACE-KING. — In  an  original  lead  from 
a  long  suit  containing  ace  and  king,  the 
orthodox  practice  was  to  play  out  the 
king  first,  then  the  ace,  for  reasons  well 
considered  and  well  known.  But,  in 
1888,  Cavendish  proposed  to  adhere  to 
this  only  for  a  suit  of  four;  if  it  was  longer, 
this  fact  was  to  be  intimated  to  the  part- 
ner by  beginning  with  an  ace  and  follow- 
ing with  a  king.—  William  Pole  [L.A+], 
"Evolution  of  Whist." 

I  ignore  the  so-called  American  leads  of 
ace  from  ace,  king,  and  three  or  more, 
and  of  queen  from  king,  queen,  and  three 
or  more.  These  are  theoretically  plausi- 
ble, but  practically  tend  to  cause  tempo- 
rary doubt  and  confusion.  In  the  first 
place,  if  the  ace  be  trumped  in  the  first 
round,  as  will  happen  occasionally,  the 
partner  of  the  leader  is  left  in  doubt  as 
to  where  the  king  is.  In  the  second  place, 
there  are  other  leads  commencing  with 
the  queen,  and  it  is  simpler  to  keep  them. 
The  object  of  these  leads  is  to  induce  the 
partner  to  unblock:  this,  even  with  the 
best  of  intentions,  he  is  not  always  able  to 
effect.—  W.M.Deane  [L.  A+] ,  "Letters  on 
Whist,"  1894. 

Cavendish,  in  a  letter  to  Theodore 
Schwarz,  published  in  Whist  for  Febru- 
ary, 1893,  gives  the  history  of  the  change 
in  the  lead  as  follows :  "You  ask  me  for  a 
history  of  the  lead  of  ace,  from  ace,  king, 
and  more  than  two  small;  and  of  queen, 
from  king,  queen,  and  more  than  two 
small.  I  have  ranch  pleasure  in  comply- 
ing with  your  request.  When  the  maxims 
of  American  leads  were  first  formulated 
by  Mr.  Trist,  I  saw  that  the  information 
given  by  these  leads  (the  maxims  being 
taken  for  granted)  must  result  in  a  mod- 
ification of  the  play  of  the  third  hand  for 
unblocking  purposes  when  he  holds  four 
cards  exactly  of  the  suit  originally  led. 

"  I  thereupon  set  to  work  to  make  an 
analysis  of  all  the  cases  in  which  the 
third  hand  should  begin  to  unblock  on 
the  first  round  of  his  partner's  suit,  a  high 
card  being  led  originally. 

"I  came  to  this'  very  remarkable  con- 
clusion, that  when  ace,  queen,  knave,  or 
ten  is  led  originally,  the  third  hand,  hold- 
ing four  of  the  suit  exactly,  should  always 
retain  his  lowest  card  on  the  first  and 


ADMISSION  TO  CLUBS 


ADMISSION  TO  CLUBS 


second  rounds;  but  that,  when  king  is 
led  originally  the  third  hand  should  not 
attempt  to  unblock  by  retaining  his  low- 
est card  on  the  first  round.  The  excep- 
tion as  regards  the  king  seemed  to  me  to 
be  very  strange,  and  I  sought  for  an  ex- 
planation, and,  after  some  trouble,  I  got 
it. 

"The  explanation  is  this  :  When  ace, 
queen,  knave,  or  ten  is  led  originally,  a 
certain  amount  of  strength  is  declared. 
The  high  card  (ace)  declares  ace,  queen, 
knave,  etc.,  or  at  least  five  in  suit.  The 
queen  declares  at  least  knave  and  ten. 
The  knave  declares  king,  queen,  and  at 
least  five,  or  a  quart  major.  The  ten  de- 
clares at  least  king  and  knave.  In  none 
of  these  cases  (with  rare  exceptions)  can 
the  third  hand  lose  anything  by  unblock- 
ing tactics. 

' '  But  king,  led  originally,  only  declares 
either  ace  or  queen  (or  possibly  both). 
King  may,  therefore,  be  accompanied  by 
only  one  other  high  card  and  two  small 
ones.  In  every  other  case  at  least  five  in 
suit  are  declared,  or  if  not,  then  at  least 
two  other  high  cards  of  the  suit  remain- 
ing in  the  leader's  hand. 

"  For  a  time  I  submitted  to  this  conclu- 
sion, that  king,  led  originally,  is  the 
high  card  of  least  information,  and  that, 
therefore,  unblocking  tactics  must  be  sur- 
rendered when  king  is  led  originally, 
•whatever  number  of  cards  the  leader  may 
hold  in  his  suit.  But  I  was  not  satisfied. 
I  argued  with  myself :  '  Why  should  I 
lead  the  high  card  of  least  information 
and  so  prevent  my  partner  from  unblock- 
ing when  I  hold  more  than  four  of  the 
suit?"  When  I  have  five  (or  more)  and 
my  partner  has  four  exactly,  that  is  just 
the  combination  with  which  I  want  him 
to  unblock.  I  therefore  proposed  the 
lead  of  ace  from  ace,  king,  more  than  two 
small,  and  of  queen  from  king,  queen, 
more  than  two  small,  giving  in  detail  the 
various  advantages  and  disadvantages, 
and  leaving  my  readers  to  choose  between 
the  two.  After  several  years'  experience, 
I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  leads  I 
proposed  are  of  much  use  to  players  who 
take  the  trouble  to  unblock  and  to  count 
the  cards.  I  have,  therefore,  now  made 
these  leads  a  substantive  part  of  my  work 
on  whist. 

"  I  should  state  that,  before  proposing 
these  leads  in  print,  I  submitted  them  to 
Mr.  Trist,  with  all  the  pros  and  cons,  and 
that  Mr.  Trist  fully  approved  of  them." 

Admission  to  Clubs. — The  ad- 
mission of  uncongenial  players, 
and  especially  of  persons  who  per- 
sist in  playing  bumblepuppy  in- 
stead of  whist,  has  been  the  cause 
of  the  dissolution  of  many  whist 


clubs.  Great  care  should  be  exer- 
cised in  admitting  candidates  to 
membership,  and  the  plan  upon 
which  the  Manhattan  Whist  Club, 
of  New  York  City,  has  recently 
been  organized,  cannot  be  too 
highly  recommended.  This  organ- 
ization is  devoted  exclusively  to 
whist.  Its  certificate  of  incorpora- 
tion states  its  objects  as  follows: 
"The  promotion  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  study  and  play  of  sci- 
entific whist."  The  constitution 
provides  that  the  membership  com- 
mittee shall  inquire  as  rigidly  into 
the  candidate's  skill  as  a  whist 
player  as  they  do  into  his  personal 
character.  If  any  doubt  exists  as 
to  his  ability  as  a  player,  the  matter 
must  be  determined  by  a  careful 
examination  and  observation  of  his 
play  at  duplicate  whist.  R.  F.  Fos- 
ter, the  well-known  whist  teacher 
and  author,  is  secretary  of  this 
club,  and  we  have  no  doubt  he  had 
much  to  do  with  the  formulation  of 
its  excellent  rules  and  regulations. 
New  York  has  also  a  new  whist 
club  for  ladies,  modeled  on  the 
plan  of  the  Manhattan  Club. 

That  the  example  of  the  Manhat- 
tan Whist  Club  is  not,  as  yet,  very 
generally  known  or  followed,  seems 
to  be  indicated  by  the  following 
questions  and  answers  appearing  in 
Whist  of  July,  1897: 

(1)  Is   it  customary  to  require   appli- 
cants for  whist  club  membership  to  pass 
an    examination    on   the    fundamental 
rules? 

(2)  If  not,  what  method  is  in  use? 

(3)  If  examinations  are  advisable,  are 
the  whist  teachers  who  are  members  of 
the  club  usually  put  upon  the  board  ? 

(4)  If  players  are  classified,  by  whom 
is  the  classification  made? 

Answers:  (i)  No,  examinations  are 
not  customary.  The  mere  fact  of  appli- 
cation for  membership  is  presumptive 
evidence  that  the  applicant  plays  the 
game. 

(2)  The  same  that  is  generally  used  in 
all  clubs  that  are  formed  for  social  pur- 
poses. 


ADVERSARIES 


5      ADVICE  FOR  BEGINNERS 


(3)  If  you    have   any   whist  teachers 
among  your  members,  put  them  on  the 
board,  by  all  means.    It  is  decidedly  for 
the  benefit  of  the  club  to  do  so. 

(4)  Any  system  of  classification  is  un- 
necessary.  If  scores  are  kept,  the  players 
will    quickly,    and    accurately,    classify 
themselves    better    than    any  arbitrary 
system  could  do. 

In  Whist  for  October,  1897,  how- 
ever, the  organization  of  the  Capitol 
Whist  Club,  of  Washington,  D.  C., 
is  announced.  It  is  a  woman's 
club,  and  is  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
Walls,  wife  of  Dr.  George  Walls, 
whose  fame  as  a  whist-player  is 
well  established.  With  a  view  to 
maintaining  a  high  standard  of 
play  in  this  club,  applicants  for  ad- 
mission are  required  to  pass  an  ex- 
amination by  experts. 

Adversaries. — The  players  sit- 
ting to  your  right  and  left;  the 
two  opponents  who  play  against 
yourself  and  partner.  In  "Mort" 
(the  French  form  of  dummy)  the 
term  ' '  adversaries  ' '  is  used  exclu- 
sively to  indicate  the  two  players 
who  are  opposed  to  the  mart  (dead 
hand,  or  dummy)  and  vivant  (the 
living  hand,  dummy's  partner). 
The  word  "  opponents  "  is  used  in 
all  other  cases  where  opposition  is 
indicated. 

Adversary's  Game,  Playing 
the. — Playing  a  losing  game 
through  carelessness,  recklessness, 
or  ignorance;  employing  a  line  of 
strategy  unsuited  to  your  hand  and 
designed  to  benefit  the  adversaries. 

Whilst,  therefore,  it  is  true  that  one 
great  use  of  trumps  is  to  extract  trumps 
from  the  adversaries,  and  thus  to  make 
your  own  or  your  partner's  long  suit,  yet 
you  must  be  careful  that  in  this  endeavor 
you  do  not  play  the  adversary's  game, 
and  whilst  you  are  extracting  his  trumps, 
your  own  are  also  extracted,  and  you 
have  by  your  own  act  disarmed  yourself 
and  your  partner,  and  left  the  adversaries 
in  command  of  the  trump  suit:  that  is, 
with  the  remaining  trump  and  a  long  suit 
to  bring  in. — A.  IV.  Dray  son  [L+A+], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 


Adverse  Lead. — The  lead  of  a 
suit,  command  of  which  is  held  by 
your  adversaries. 

Adverse  Trick. — A  trick  which, 
at  that  stage  of  the  round,  or  upon 
final  play,  belongs  to  your  oppo- 
nents. 

Advice  for  Beginners. — Avoid 
all  mannerisms  in  play. 

Always   return  partner's  trump  i 
lead. 

Be  careful  to  play  the  correct 
leads. 

Silence  is  golden — especially  in 
whist. 

Don't  gloat  over  your  opponents' 
defeat. 

Sort  and  count  your  cards  before 
playing. 

Observe  how  many  times  a  suit 
goes  round. 

Don't  ignore  the  value  of  the 
small  cards. 

Don't  play  false  cards;  win  with- 
out deception. 

Count  your  hand  before  the  first 
card  is  played. 

Remember  the  suit  originally  led 
by  each  player. 

Play  your  own  and  partner's 
hand  combined. 

Get  rid  of  the  command  of  part- 
ner's strong  suit. 

If  you  must  discuss  the  play,  do 
it  between  deals. 

Force  opponents  when  they  sig- 
nal or  lead  trumps. 

Lead  to  the  weakness  of  your 
right-hand  adversary. 

Never  throw  your  hand  down 
before  it  is  played  out. 

Avoid  changing  suits  unless  there 
is  good  reason  for  so  doing. 

First  learn  the  rules;  then  learn 
when  you  may  break  them. 

Do  not  refuse  to  win  a  trick  un- 
less sure  of  gaining  by  the  play. 

Don't  speak  as  if  your  ill-luck 
were  entirely  due  to  your  partner. 


AGE 


"ALBANY  LEAD »» 


Pay  penalties  cheerfully  and  re- 
solve to  be  more  careful  next  time. 

Avoid  banging  the  cards  on  the 
table;  you  are  not  playing  base- 
ball. 

Don't  criticise  your  neighbor's 
play  or  call  attention  to  his  mis- 
takes. 

Watch  the  signals  of  opponents 
as  well  as  of  your  partner,  as  far  as 
possible. 

Return  partner  the  highest  of 
his  suit  from  three,  and  the  lowest 
from  four. 

Play,  if  possible,  against  better 
players  than  yourself,  and  learn 
from  them. 

Watch  the  fall  of  the  cards,  and 
remember  which  high  cards  have 
been  played. 

Be  philosophical;  take  a  weak 
hand  and  play  it  just  as  you  would 
a  strong  one. 

Don't  hesitate  in  playing.  You 
may  convey  information  thereby 
to  your  opponents. 

Count  each  trump  as  played,  so 
that  you  may  know  how  many  are 
still  out  at  any  stage  of  the  game. 

Refuse  to  play  for  stakes,  how- 
ever small.  Whist  is  worth  playing 
for  its  own  sake,  without  any 
money  incentive. 

Don't  lead  from  weak  trumps 
simply  because  you  have  a  strong 
plain  suit;  you  may  strengthen 
your  adversaries'  hands  thereby. 

Bear  in  mind  the  state  of  the 
score.  If  you  only  want  one  trick, 
take  the  safest  way  of  making  it;  if 
several,  risk  a  bold  game  to  obtain 
them. 

Age. — The  eldest  hand;  the  first 
player  to  the  left  of  the  dealer. 

Aggressive  Game. — A  game  in 
which  the  opponents  are  put  upon 
the  defensive;  a  great  game. 

When  trumps  are  declared  in  your 
favor,  you  play  an  aggressive  frame,  fear- 
lessly weakening  your  weak  suits  and 


keeping  your  long  suits  intact. — C.  D. 
P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.},  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

''Albany  Lead." — A  conven- 
tional and  commonly  accepted  lead 
in  America,  whereby  a  player  indi- 
cates exactly  four  trumps  without 
playing  them.  It  consists  in  throw- 
ing a  strengthening  card,  such  as 
queen  and  a  small  one,  or  jack  and 
a  smaller  one,  and  letting  your 
partner  take  the  initiative  if  he  de- 
sires to  do  so.  Popularly  so  called 
because  it  was  supposed  to  have 
originated  with  the  players  of  the 
Albany  Club,  of  Albany,  N.  Y. 
This,  however,  is  a  mistake,  al- 
though this  club  brought  it  into 
prominence  by  its  play. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  the  lead  of  a 
strengthening  card  from  a  weak  hand, 
but  the  players  of  the  Albany  Club  make 
it  a  rule  never  to  open  with  such  a  card, 
holding  less  than  four  trumps.  With 
three  trumps  or  less  they  prefer  to  open 
a  four-card  suit,  although  it  contains  no 
high  card.  That  is  why  we  have  termed 
this  play  the  "  Albany  lead,"  as  it  inva- 
riably shows  four  trumps. — Robert  H. 
Weems  [L.  A.]. 

The  "Albany  lead  "  is  another  method 
of  showing  trump  strength.  When  the 
original  leader  begins  with  a  strengthen- 
ing card,  it  is  assumed  to  be  the  top  of 
three,  and  that  he  has  no  four-card  suit 
in  his  hand  but  the  trumps,  therefore 
he  has  four  trumps.  The  lead  *  *  * 
is  usually  taken  as  an  indication  of  great 
weakness  in  plain  suits,  for  if  there  were 
any  good  winning  cards  in  the  short  suits 
the  leader  •would  probably  proceed  to 
make  them  while  in  the  lead. — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter {S.  O.],  "Whist  Tactics." 

Mr.  J.  T.  Mitchell  spoke  of  this  being 
an  old  Milwaukee  lead,  and  I  have  good 
Milwaukee  authority^  for  stating  that  this 
was  first  introduced  into  the  Milwaukee 
Club  by  Mr.  Rheinart,  and  that  the  latter 
got  it  from  Deschapelles.  The  question 
then  arises,  is  this  a  good  or  bad  lead  ? 
I  think  that  answer  depends  largely  upon 
the  character  of  one's  hand.  Descha- 
pelles was  pronounced  by  Clay  to  be  far 
and  away  the  best  whist-player  that  ever 
lived,  and  anything  that  originated 
with  him  or  was  practiced  by  him  must 
certainly  have  some  merit. —  Theodore 
Schwarz  \L.  A.]. 

The  lead  is  not  generally  recognized 
by  the  text-books  as  having  become  a 
recognized  couventional  play  (although 


ALLEN,  MISS  BESSIE  E.       7 


ALLISON,  JAMES 


Work  and  Foster  mention  the  play),  and 
this  fact  may  account  for  the  wide  diver- 
sity of  views  concerning  this  lead.  As 
we  understand  the  history  of  the  play,  it 
was  first  used  to  show  exactly  four 
trumps  and  three  three-card  suits,  and 
was  resorted  to  by  players  who  were 
averse  to  leading  from  only  four  trumps, 
when  holding  no  suit.  The  play  as  origi- 
nated was  confined  to  the  lead  of  the 
jack,  ten,  or  nine,  on  the  theory  that  the 
irregularity  of  the  lead  would,  in  most 
cases,  be  apparent  on  the  first  round, 
either  from  the  drop,  or  the  cards  that 
partner  might  hold  in  the  suit.  We  think 
it  would  be  dangerous  to  extend  it  below 
the  nine  or  above  the  queen,  for  it  would 
be  more  likely  to  be  very  misleading.— 
Cassius  M.  Paine  [L.  A.],  Whist,  October, 


Allen,  Miss  Bessie  E.  —  A  very 
successful  whist-teacher  and  player. 
She  is  a  native  of  Milwaukee,  and 
became  inclined  to  whist  by  inher- 
itance, her  father,  "Uncle  Dick 
Allen,"  one  of  the  best-known  mem- 
bers of  the  Milwaukee  Whist  Club, 
having  been  for  many  years  an 
adept  at  the  game,  playing  it  con- 
stantly in  his  family.  Obliged 
often  to  be  "fourth  hand"  at  home, 
her  interest  was  aroused.  Her 
talent  for  the  game  being  per- 
ceived, her  father  assisted  and  en- 
couraged her.  Her  instruction  was 
entirely  at  home.  A  writer  in  the 
well-known  ladies'  journal,  Vogue, 
for  January,  1897,  gives  the  follow- 
ing interesting  particulars  concern- 
ing Miss  Allen's  whist  career: 

"In  1893  'Cavendish  '  visited  Mil- 
waukee, and  on  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  Miss  Allen's  style  of 
play,  invited  her  to  be  his  partner 
an  entire  evening,  against  all  chal- 
lengers, an  honor  up  to  that  time 
never  accorded  to  any  lady  in  this 
country.  In  1895  she  attended  the 
Fifth  Whist  Congress  in  Minneapo- 
lis, where,  by  her  brilliant  play, 
she  earned  the  title  of  the  Whist 
Empress,  by  which  her  friends  and 
the  whist  world  know  her.  In  1896 
Miss  Allen  attended  the  Sixth 
Whist  Congress  in  Brooklyn,  add- 


ing to  her  reputation  and  firmly 
establishing  her  right  to  be  called 
Whist  Empress.  Miss  Allen's  game 
is  brilliant,  and  often  original.  She 
is  quick  to  detect  her  partner's 
plan,  and  alert  to  assist  him.  Her 
memory  is  perfect,  her  judgment 
almost  faultless.  Yet  she  is  modest 
and  deferential  to  her  partner,  is 
free  from  irritation,  and  never  finds 
fault.  Miss  Allen  has  taught  the 
game  in  Milwaukee,  and  in  Flint 
and  Detroit,  Michigan,  and  has 
been  compelled  from  lack  of  time 
to  refuse  classes  in  other  places." 

Miss  Allen  is  a  conscientious  and 
intelligent  teacher,  and  has  a  rare 
gift  of  imparting  the  science  of 
whist.  With  beginners  she  is  ar- 
bitrary, though  with  her  "percep- 
tion" scholars  she  explains  the 
opportunities  of  the  "advanced 
game,"  bringing  into  use  the  strat- 
egy and  finesse  of  the  finest  play. 
She  is  domestic  in  her  habits  and 
retiring  in  her  disposition,  and  for 
some  years  has  been  the  head  of 
her  father's  family. 

In  1897  Miss  Allen  devised  a 
pack  of  "Whist  Quiz  Cards,"  by 
means  of  which  beginners  may  be 
drilled  in  the  leads  and  other  essen- 
tial features  of  whist.  There  are 
fifty  cards  in  each  pack,  and  on  one 
side  of  each  card  queries  are 
printed,  which  one  is  expected  to 
answer,  the  correct  reply  being 
printed  for  purposes  of  comparison 
on  the  other  side.  Rules  are  given 
for  using  the  cards  as  in  a  game, 
which  can  be  played  by  any  num- 
ber of  people. 

Allison,  James. — The  inventor 
of  an  important  improvement  in 
duplicate  whist;  born  in  Glasgow, 
Scotland,  February  21,  1848,  where 
he  is  now  engaged  in  business  as  a 
merchant,  at  48  Bedford  street.  He 
first  became  interested  in  whist  in 
1880,  and  in  1886  assisted  as  one  of 


AMERICAN,  ENGLISH  LAWS  8 


AMERICAN  GAME 


the  "  sorters  "  in  a  duplicate  match 
between  eight  players  of  his  club, 
the  Carleton.  The  old  method  em- 
ployed by  "  Cavendish  "  and  his 
friends  in  1857  was  used,  but  it  was 
very  slow  and  cumbersome  work, 
and  nettled  Mr.  Allison  when  he 
found  that  the  "  sorters  "  could  not 
keep  up  with  the  players.  Soon 
thereafter  he  devised  his  method  by 
which  the  hands  were  kept  separate 
as  they  were  played,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  registering  and  re-sorting 
them  was  done  away  with.  Each 
player  was  now  required  to  play 
his  cards,  not  in  the  centre  of  the 
table,  but  in  front  of  and  near  him- 
self, cards  of  tricks  won  being  placed 
perpendicularly,  and  cards  of  tricks 
lost  horizontally.  After  scoring, 
each  player  took  his  cards,  shuffled 
them  a  little,  and  left  them  lying 
at  his  place,  ready  for  the  overplay. 
No  trays  were  used,  the  players  of 
one  table  exchanging  places  with 
those  at  the  other  table.  The  new 
system  was  first  used  in  a  public 
match  at  Glasgow,  on  April  16, 
1888,  by  two  teams  of  four  from  the 
Carleton  and  Wanderers'  Clubs. 
Its  success  caused  its  immediate 
adoption  in  America,  where  the 
play  was  further  improved  by  John 
T.  Mitchell  and  others.  (See,  ' '  Du- 
plicate Whist,  History  of.") 

American  and  English  Laws. — 

The  principal  points  of  difference 
between  the  English  whist  laws 
and  those  adopted  by  the  Amer- 
ican Whist  League,  and  accepted  as 
representatively  American,  are  as 
follows:  The  American  laws  do 
away  with  the  scoring  of  honors, 
and  also  do  away  with  "singles," 
"doubles,"  and  the  rubber.  The 
game  is  made  seven  points,  instead 
of  five.  Stakes  are  abolished.  It 
is  not  permitted  to  ask  partner 
whether  he  has  any  of  a  suit  which 
he  renounces.  Silence  is  promoted 


as  an  important  factor  in  the  game. 
The  penalty  for  leading  out  of  turn 
is  reduced  from  the  double  penalty 
of  f  call  or  lead  to  the  single  pen- 
alty of  a  lead,  and  the  penalty  for 
a  revoke  is  reduced  from  three  to 
two  tricks  to  be  taken  from  the  re- 
voking side.  No  one  is  allowed  to 
examine  a  trick  after  it  is  once 
turned  and  quitted.  In  the  Eng- 
lish code  there  are  ninety-one  laws; 
in  the  American  code  but  thirty- 
nine.  This  is  exclusive  of  the  laws 
of  duplicate  whist,  however;  the 
latter  are  not  recognized  in  the 
English  code  at  all,  being  of  com- 
paratively recent  origin. 

The  laws  in  both  countries  are  almost 
identical;  the  few  differences  made  by  the 
Americans  are,  in  my  opinion,  in  nearly 
every  case,  improvements. — A.  W.  Dray- 
son  [L+A+]. 

They  [the  Americans]  have  also  com- 
piled a  new  code  of  laws  which  is  an 
enormous  improvement  upon  the  singu- 
lar jumble  of  laws,  definitions,  and  arbi- 
trary decisions  under  which  we  im  po- 
tently writhe.— "Pembridge"  [L+O.]. 

In  course  of  time  American  players 
abolished  the  rubber,  best  of  three 
games,  and  the  score  of  honors,  substi- 
tuting single  games  without  honors. 
This  must  be  allowed  to  be  a  simplifica- 
tion and  an  improvement;  it  is  one  of  the 
things  that  America  has  done  for  whist. 
But,  in  abolishing  points  also,  the  change 
seems  to  the  writer  to  have  been  in  the 
wrong  direction.  A  score  of  points  is  a 
better  test  of  skill,  in  the  long  run,  than 
a  score  of  games. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.], 
in  Scribner's  Monthly,  1896. 

American  Code. — See,  "Laws 
of  Whist,  American  Code." 

American  Game,  The. — Whist 
as  played  in  America,  fundamen- 
tally the  same  as  that  played  in 
England  from  the  earliest  times, 
but  with  certain  changes  and  im- 
provements which  English  whist- 
players  have  been  slow  to  adopt.  In 
fact,  some  of  the  changes— notably 
that  by  which  the  points  of  th  e  game 
are  made  seven  instead  of  five, 


AMERICAN  GAME 


AMERICAN  GAME 


honors  not  counting — have  obtained 
little  or  no  encouragement  in  the 
conservative  mother  country.  Aside 
from  the  above,  and  the  American 
leads,  duplicate  play,  and  other 
features,  the  American  game  is  dis- 
tinguished by  important  differences 
in  the  laws  of  whist,  as  adopted  by 
the  American  Whist  League,  and 
acquiesced  in  by  American  play- 
ers generally.  (See,  "American 
Leads, ""American  Whist,"  "  Eng- 
land, Whist  in,"  and  "Laws  of 
Whist.") 

In  America  short  whist  has  by  no 
means  been  generally  adopted.  Regular 
long  whist,  ten  up,  is,  indeed,  but  little 
played;  but  long  whist,  seven  up — that 
is,  without  honors — is  so  generally  played 
in  this  country  that  it  is  quite  properly 
called  American  whist. — R.  If.  Rkein- 
hardt,  "Whist  Scores  and  Card  Table 
Talk,"  1887. 

He  ["  Cavendish  "]  has  repeatedly  de- 
clared that  there  is  no  sort  of  comparison 
to  be  made  between  the  European  and 
American  players— the  latter  possessing 
a  general  quality  of  excellence  which  is 
almost  unknown  here — or  which,  at  any 
rate,  it  has  been  the  habit  to  attribute 
only  to  exceptional  persons  like  Des- 
chapelles,  appearing  once  in  an  age. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

The  excitement  consequent  on  the 
annual  matches,  and  the  preliminary 
practice  required  for  any  chance  of 
winning  the  more  important  prizes  pre- 
sented by  the  League,  cause  the  game 
to  be  earnestly  studied.  The  outcome 
of  this  earnestness  is  that,  at  the  pres- 
ent moment,  there  are  more  and  better 
players  in  the  United  States  than  in  any 
other  country.  And,  be  it  observed  in 
conclusion,  whist  as  now  played  in 
America  is  as  big  an  advance  on  the 
game  of  thirty  years  since,  as  that  was 
on  the  game  of  Hoyle  and  of  the  Crown 
Coffee  House. — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.~\, 
Whist,  Sept.,  1897. 

Long  whist  was  played  in  America  ac- 
cording to  the  old  method,  honors  count- 
ing, until  the  middle  of  this  century.  In 
the  fall  of  1857,  when  the  Ohio  Life  and 
Trust  Company  of  Cincinnati  made  one 
of  the  most  disastrous  failures  of  the  dec- 
ade, a  party  of  gentlemen  at  the  Tre- 
tnont  House,  Chicago,  solaced  their  grief 
for  ill-fortune  by  a  game  of  whist.  The 
play  became  very  interesting,  and  lasted 
many  hours.  For  the  first  time  within 
the  writer's  knowledge,  honors  were  not 


counted;  and  after  that  date  the  players 
made  the  game  of  seven  points  the  game 
of  long  whist.— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.A.P.], 
"American  Whist  Illustrated." 

It  is  contrary  to  the  general  principle 
of  counting,  in  any  game  of  cards,  that 
more  tricks  can  be  made  in  one  band  than 
are  necessary  to  win  the  game.  This 
principle  was  acted  upon  in  the  original 
count  in  whist,  which  consisted  of  ten 
points — four  by  honors  and  six  by  cards — 
the  most  possible,  for  the  game  in  its  in- 
cipiency  was  played  with  forty-eight 
cards,  the  four  deuces  being  withdrawn 
from  the  pack.  The  points  were  after- 
wards arbitrarily  reduced  to  five.  *  *  * 
In  the  game  of  seven  points,  single 
games,  and  not  rubbers,  are  played,  and 
the  losers  get  credit  for  any  points  which 
they  may  have  •won  ;  for  instance,  with 
four  scored,  they  lose  but  three.  This  is 
somewhat  analogous  in  its  result  to  the 
English  method  of  scoring.  The  seven- 
point  game  has  the  advantage  of  being 
shorter  than  the  rubber,  consequently 
the  players  who  are  out  have  not  so  long 
to  wait  before  cutting  in.  Again,  that 
game  is  akin  to  long  whist,  which  Clay, 
"Cavendish,"  and  other  authorities  pro- 
nounce to  be  a  superior  game  to  short 
whist.— N.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.],  Letter  to  First 
Congress  of  the  A.  W.  L. 

We  learn  [from  "Cavendish"]  that  in 
the  ordinary  American  social  clubs,  where 
whist  is  not  the  chief  object,  but  is  merely 
an  accidental  recreation,  it  is  customary 
to  play,  not  rubbers,  but  single  games, 
in  which  five  is  the  winning  score.  The 
points  are  gained  by  tricks'  only,  honors 
not  counting  at  all.  The  stakes  vary  from 
one  or  two  to  five  dollars  per  game,  and 
when  five  points  are  scored  by  either 
party  the  game  is  won,  no  allowance 
being  made  for  any  points  that  have  been 
scored  on  the  opposite  side.  Thus,  when 
I  and  my  partner  have  scored,  say  four, 
if  the  other  party  make  five,  our  four  are 
entirely  lost,  doing  us  no  good  at  all.  [In 
the  English  rubber  they  are  counted  on 
the  next  game.]  In  the  whist  clubs 
proper,  however,  established  for  whist 
only  (and  generally  known  as  League 
clubs),  a  different  form  of  scoring  is  used. 
In  this,  also,  honors  do  not  count;  the 
only  score  is  by  tricks,  each  trick  above 
six  counting  one.  Single  games  are 
played,  the  winning  score  being  seven; 
the  value  of  the  game  is  determined  by 
deducting  the  loser's  score  from  seven. 
The  reason  for  choosing  the  number 
seven  is  that  this  is  the  maximum  which 
can  be  obtained  in  one  hand.  In  these 
clubs,  although  money  stakes  are  not  for- 
bidden, it  is  unusual  to  play  for  money, 
as  the  executive  of  the  League  wish  that 
the  play  should  be  for  the  love  of  the 
game  alone.—  William  Pole  [L.  A  ^"Evo- 
lution of  Whist.1' 


AMERICAN  LEADER          IO 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


American     Leader. — One    who 

employs    American    leads    in    his 

Elay;    an    advocate    of   American 
;ads. 

American  Leads. — A  system  of 
leads  at  whist  devised  by  Nicholas 
Browse  Trist,  of  New  Orleans,  and 
Henry  Jones  ("Cavendish"),  of 
England,  and  named  American 
leads  by  the  latter  in  honor  of  Mr. 
Trist's  native  land.  Both  had  been 
working  in  the  same  direction  for 
some  time,  in  their  efforts  to  im- 
prove the  old-style  game,  by  taking 
previous  suggestions  and  plays,  add- 
ing many  new  ones,  and  remodeling 
and  systematizing  the  whole  in  a 
simple,  lucid,  and  easily  understood 
manner.  They  corresponded  fre- 
quently, and  arrived  almost  simul- 
taneously at  the  same  conclusions 
in  regard  to  some  of  the  principal 
features  of  the  new  leads  ;  "  but," 
says  ' '  Cavendish  "  in  a  letter  pub- 
lished in  Whist  of  March,  1893,  in 
speaking  of  the  time  "when  the 
American  system  of  leading  from 
high  cards"  was  first  mooted  by 
Mr.  Trist  and  himself,  "  I  think  N. 
B.  T.  was  a  little  bit  in  front."  A 
complete  history  of  the  leads  will 
be  found  in  another  article  (see, 
"American  Leads,  History  of"),  to 
which  is  added  the  testimony  of 
"Cavendish,"  Foster,  Pettes,  and 
Trist  concerning  them.  Another 
article  tells  of  the  changes  which 
have  been  proposed,  and  another 
treats  of  the  objections  which  the 
opponents  of  the  leads  have  urged 
against  them.  Opinions  on  both 
sides  are  freely  quoted,  in  order 
that  as  fair  a  presentation  of  the 
subject  as  possible  may  be  made. 

American  leads  are  designed  to 
indicate  number  as  well  as  charac- 
ter in  suit,  so  as  to  enable  partner 
to  form  an  accurate  idea  concern- 
ing the  same,  as  well  as  to  estimate 
with  some  degree  of  probability 
what  cards  are  held  in  suits  other 


than  the  one  led.  American  leads 
are  one  of  the  distinguishing  feat- 
ures of  whist  as  played  in  Amer- 
ica. Even  those  who  are  opposed 
to  them,  or  wedded  to  the  old 
leads,  are  obliged  to  recognize  and 
teach  them  as  well  as  their  own 
theories;  and  portions  of  the  new 
theory — especially  the  trump  leads, 
and  the  use  of  the  phrase  ' '  fourth 
best"  instead  of  "antepenulti- 
mate," etc. — find  universal  accept- 
ance in  this  country  and  in  foreign 
countries  as  well.  American  leads 
are  sometimes  also  called  ' '  Num- 
ber-showing Leads,"  "The  Infor- 
matoryGame,"  and  the  "Signal- 
ing Game  "  (q.  v.). 

The  first  step  toward  correct  and 
scientific  play  is  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  these  leads.  By  their  means 
legitimate  information  is  exchanged 
between  partners,  so  that  in  the  per- 
fection of  observation  and  practice 
both  hands  may  be  practically 
played  as  one.  A  table  of  the  princi- 
pal leads,  showing  first  and  second- 
round  play  to  complete  the  signal 
or  information  in  each  case,  is 
given  below.  This  table  was  per- 
sonally approved  by  the  leading 
advocates  of  the  American  leads  in 
1894,  and  showed  the  play  then  uni- 
versally followed.  Since  then  sev- 
eral changes  have  been  proposed  and 
accepted  by  many  of  the  best  play- 
ers, although  "Cavendish ' '  and  Trist 
both  adhere  to  the  system  as  origi- 
nally promulgated  by  them.  (See, 
"American  Leads,  Changes  in.") 
The  following  explanations  of  the 
abbreviations  used  in  the  table  are 
made  for  the  benefit  of  the  novice  : 

A  stands  for  ace ;  K,  for  king ;  Q,  for 
queen  ;  T,  for  jack  ;  T,  for  ten. 

H  indicates  the  highest  card  in  suit. 

I,  indicates  the  lowest  card  in  suit. 

F  indicates  the  original  fourth-best 
card,  counting  from  the  highest. 

A.  This  style  of  letter  indicates  first 
lead  or  play. 

A.  This  style  of  letter  indicates  the 
lead  or  play  on  second  round. 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


II 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


In  the  column  under  "  Cards  at 
head  of  suit "  will  be  found  the  va- 
rious combinations  from  which  the 
leads  are  made,  as  follows  : 


PLAIN 
SUITS. 

Cards  at 

N 

•Ml-.I.H 

.  OF  C 

SUIT. 

ARDS 

[N 

bead  of 
suit. 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

AK  Q  J 

3Q 

3  K 

J  A 

K/ 

A  K  Q 

d/r 

dA- 

QA 

K£ 

K0 

A  K 

AK 

A  AT 

AK 

K.-l 

K.^ 

AQ  J  T 

Ay 

Ay 

A/ 

A  r 

A  Q  J 

A/ 

A/ 

A/ 

AQ 

A£ 

A 

AF 

AF 

AF 

FA 

Ly4 

K  Q  JT 

JQ 

J  Q 

3K 

K  r 

K  Q  J 

JQ 

*Q 

J  K 

ity 

K£ 

KQ 

d2 

d2 

Q2 

Ki 

K£ 

K  J  T 

T  * 

T> 

rfs 

T3 

T  A' 

K 

F* 

F* 

F< 

F* 

L« 

Q  J  T9 

O,r 

Q,  T 

O,r 

d  9 

Q  J  T 

Q,  T 

d  T 

Q,  7" 

dy 

ay 

Q  J 

F& 

F5 

F» 

F6 

gy 

Q 

F6 

F6 

F« 

F» 

L« 

Any  low- 
er cards. 

F« 

F« 

F« 

F<s 

HZ. 

SPECIAL  TRUMP  SUIT  LEADS. 


A  K  J 

AA- 

A  A' 

AK 

KA 

K.I 

A  K 

AK 

F  K 

FA' 

FA' 

K^ 

A 

AF 

V  A 

Fy4 

F/4 

L^l 

K  Q  T 

d2 

d2 

d2 

Ki 

K0 

KQ 

ct2 

F  Q 

F  Q 

FA' 

K^ 

In  all  other  cases,  trump  leads  are  the 
same  as  in  plain  suits. 

1  If  K  wins,  lead  original  F,  other- 
wise Q. 

*  If  d  wins,  lead  F  remaining,  other- 
wise K. 


«  If  T  wins,  lead  F;  if  Q  falls,  lead  K 
to  show  four.y  to  show  hve;  if  A  falls, 
lead  K. 

*  If  A  falls,  lead  K,  otherwise  £. 

»  If  A  or  K  falls,  lead  Q,  otherwise  Z. 

•  H  or  Z,  according  to  fall  of  cards. 

American  leads  have  revolution  ized  the 
game,  and  the  changes  have  all  been  in 
the  direction  of  simplification.— C  D. 
P.Hamilton  [L.A.],  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

If  it  were  allowable  to  exercise  some 
judgment  in  using  these  leads,  they 
might  not  be  open  to  so  many  objections; 
but  they  are  worse  than  useless  unless 
the  partner  can  depend  on  their  being 
uniformly  adopted.— A".  F.  Foster  \S.  £?.]. 
'•'•Complete  Hoyle." 

The  new,  or  American  leads,  are  at 
times  wonderfully  effective  in  assisting  a 
player  to  read  his  partner's  hand,  but 
there  are  times  when  they  leave  him  ut- 
terly in  the  dark  on  the  all-important 
first  round,  and  do  not  give  as  much  in- 
formation as  the  old  leads  would  under 
the  same  circumstances. —  Val.  W.  Starnes 
[S.  O.],  "Short-Suit  Whist." 

The  changes  in  the  [old]  leads  by  the 
new  system  are  not  so  many  or  so  great 
as  is  sometimes  supposed,  and  being  in 
the  direction  of  simplicity,  and  based  on 
a  principle  which  is  of  quite  general  ap- 
plication, ought  not  to  be  confusing.  By 
the  old  system,  the  king  led  indicated 
nothing  as  to  the  number  in  suit.  Now, 
it  always  means  four,  at  most;  and  the 
ace  or  queen  is  led,  instead  of  king,  from 
suits  of  five  or  more. — Fisher  Ames  [Z.. 
A.},  "A  Practical  Guide  to  Whist." 

The  most  notable  contest  has  been  be- 
tween the  advocates  of  the  various  sys- 
tems of  leads.  It  has  proven  a  long  and 
arduous  discussion,  which,  at  the  pres- 
ent writing,  is  still  being  carried  on,  al- 
though any  one,  viewing-  the  whole  sit- 
uation from  an  unprejudiced  standpoint, 
must  at  present,  of  necessity,  admit  that 
much  the  largest  of  the  expert  opinion 
of  the  country  has  declared  in  favor  of 
the  system  commonly  called  American 
leads.— Milton  C.  Wor'k  [L.A.H.],  "Whist 
of  To-day. " 

The  penultimate  of  "Cavendish"  ad- 
vised simply  that  there  was  a  card  re- 
maining in  the  hand  lower  than  that  led, 
no  matter  how  many  higher.  The  Ameri- 
can lead  [of  fourth  best]  informs  that 
there  are  exactly  three  cards  higher  than 
the  card  led,  no  matter  how  many 
lower.  The  second  lead  from  the  penul- 
timate play  gave  no  indication  of  the 
quality  or  number  of  high  cards  left. 
The  second  lead  by  the  American  play 
gives  information  of  both. — G.  W.  Pettes 
[L.  A.  P.},  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


12 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


The  first  maxim  of  the  American  leads 
is:  When  you  open  a  suit  with  a  low  card, 
lead  your  fourth  best.  The  second  maxim 
laid  "down  by  American  leads  may  be 
thus  stated:  When  you  open  a  strong 
suit  with  a  high  card,  and  next  lead  a 
low  card,  lead  your  fourth  best,  counting 
from  and  including  the  card  first  led. 
The  third  maxim  of  the  American  leads: 
When  you  open  a  strong  suit  with  a  high 
card,  and  remain  with  two  high  indif- 
ferent cards,  lead  the  higher  if  you 
opened  a  suit  of  four;  the  lower  if  you 
opened  a  suit  of  five. — "Caven4iih"(L  A.}, 
"Whist  Developments"  (fourth  edition, 
1891). 

The  American  leads  have  now  become 
of  a  more  intricate  character,  but  though 
they  are  adopted  in  most  of  the  London 
clubs  by  some  of  the  leading  authorities 
on  whist,  they  have  not  yet  come  into 
general  use  by  the  majority  of  players. 
Many  of  them  require  long  and  elaborate 
explanation,  and  the  older  hands,  who 
are  still  a  majority  in  number,  have  not 
learnt  to  appreciate  their  value.  The 
world  of  whist  is  passing  through  a  pe- 
riod of  transition,  and  in  a  few  years 
many  principles  which  are  now  accepted 
with  doubt,  or  even  openly  rejected,  may 
have  been  numbered  among  the  indis- 
putable axioms  of  the  game. — W.  P. 
Courtney  [L  +  O.],  "  English.  Whist  and 
Whist-Players,"  2894. 

It  was  natural  that  when  the  system  of 
American  leads  was  proposed  in  England 
the  opposition  to  its  adoption  should  be 
violent  and  sincere.  *  *  *  There  were, 
there  are,  obstinate  objectors.  *  *  ' 
They  say  the  game  is  complicated.  *  *  * 
They  do  not  tell  wherein,  since  the  Amer- 
ican system  requires  only,  (r)that  the 
leader'  hold  exactly  three  cards  higher 
than  the  low  card  led;  (2)  that  if  he  leads 
a  high  card  and  then  a  low  one,  he  has 
exactly  two  cards  higher  than  his  second 
lead;  and  (3)  that  having  led  a  high  card, 
when  following  with  another  high  one 
he  plays  the  highest  of  two  equally  good 
if  he  has  but  four  cards  of  the  suit,  and 
the  lowest  of  the  two  if  he  has  five.  *  *  * 
This  most  admirable  system  of  American 
leads  may  be  used  to  greatest  advantage 
by  players  of  American  and  English 
whist;  the  objections  to  it  being  invalid, 
it  must  come  into  universal  use.— G.  W. 
Pettes  [L.  A.  P.},  "American  Whist  Illus- 
trated." 

I  adhere  strongly  as  ever— perhaps  even 
more  strongly— to  the  opinion  that  arbi- 
trary ways  of  giving  information,  Amer- 
ican leads  included,  are  opposed  to  the 
true  spirit  of  the  game,  and  tend  with  an 
ever-increasing  force  to  spoil  it  as  an  in- 
tellectual amusement.  Not  only  does 
the  strain  on  the  attention  to  petty  de- 
tails which  would  otherwise  have  no  im- 


portance, make  playing  more  of  a  task 
than  a  game,  but  it  prevents  the  mass  of 
players  from  noting  the  broader  features 
of  the  play,  and  they  become  mere  book- 
players,  trusting  to  their  memory  of  all 
they  have  learned  by  heart.  They  are 
slaves  to  the  rules  iustead  of  being  their 
masters.  With  rules  of  play  as  in  Clay 
and  the  earlier  editions  of  "  Cavendish," 
which  were  purely  rational,  an  intelli- 
gent player  could  easily  master  the  rea- 
sons and  see  when  they  no  longer  ap- 
plied; but  with  arbitrary  rules  of  play  he 
cannot  do  so,  and  he  must  either  adopt 
them  or  deceive  his  partner. — "  Mogul" 
[L+O.},  Extract  from  letter,  August  14, 
1&97- 

During  the  last  twenty  years  the  prac- 
tice of  whist-players  ha's  undergone  con- 
siderable modification.  The  discard  from 
the  strong  suit  (on  adverse  declaration 
of  command  of  trumps),  the  lead  of  the 
penultimate  (from  suits  of  more  than 
four  cards),  the  echo  of  the  call  for 
trumps,  and  variations  in  the  mode  of 
leading  from  certain  combinations  of 
high  cards,  have  been  introduced  at  va- 
rious times,  and  have  met  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  great  majority  of  good 
players.  Recently,  still  further  advances 
have  been  made.  The  leads  of  the  low- 
est from  suits  of  four  cards,  and  of  the 
penultimate  from  suits  of  five  cards, 
have  been  shown  to  be  merely  part  of  a 
general  law,  which  requires  the  lead  of 
the  fourth  test  card  when  a  strong  suit  is 
opened  with  a  low  card;  and  the  same 
law  requires,  as  a  corollary,  the  lead  of 
the  fourth  best  on  the  second  round 
(counting  from  the  card  first  led),  when 
a  high  card  is  led  followed  by  a  low  card 
of  the  same  suit.  Also  it  ha's  been  seen 
that  the  practice,  which  has  obtained 
when  leading  from  certain  combinations 
of  high  indifferent  cards,  is  capable  of 
generalization,  which  brings  leads  from 
high  cards,  as  well  as  from  low  ones, 
under  uniform  rules. — "Cavendish"  [L. 
A.],  "Whist  Developments,"  1885. 

American  Leads,  Changes  in. — 

During  several  years  past  there  has 
been  considerable  discussion  over  a 
number  of  changes  which  have  been 
proposed  in  the  American  leads. 
In  fact,  from  their  very  adoption, 
these  leads  have  been  the  subject  of 
criticisms  and  suggestions,  among 
the  most  radical  modifications  being 
those  practiced  and  advocated  by 
the  late  George  W.  Pettes  (q.  v.). 
These  did  not  meet  with  any  ex- 
tended acceptance,  and  have  fallen 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


into  disuse.  But  other  suggested 
improvements  have  received  more 
senous  and  general  attention,  es- 
pecially those  known  as  the  Hamil- 
ton modifications  (see,  "Hamilton 
Leads"),  originated  and  practiced 
by  Milton  C.  Work  and  his  asso- 
ciates on  the  famous  Hamilton 
team,  from  which  they  derive  their 
name.  The  idea  of  Mr.  Work  and  his 
colleagues  is  to  remove  from  the 
American  leads  what  is  by  many 
considered  an  objectionable  feature, 
namely,  the  uncertainty  in  the  lead 
of  queen,  that  card  being  led  from 
three  different  combinations — ace, 
king,  queen,  more  than  four  in  suit ; 
king,  queen,  more  than  four  in  suit ; 
and  queen,  jack,  ten,  four  or  more 
in  suit. 

In  order  to  simplify  the  queen 
leads,  the  Hamiltons  abolished  the 
lead  of  the  queen  from  queen,  jack, 
ten,  and  substituted  in  its  place  the 
lead  of  the  ten.  In  order  to  do 
this  they  were  obliged  to  take  away 
the  accepted  lead  of  ten  from  the 
king,  jack,  ten  combination,  which 
they  did,  by  substituting  for  the 
ten,  in  the  latter  case,  the  common 
lead  of  the  fourth  best. 

This  solves  the  difficulty,  and 
does  away  with  the  previous  un- 
certainty of  the  queen  lead,  so  that 
when  that  card  is  led,  and  forces 
the  ace,  partner  knows  you  have 
command  of  the  suit  with  king. 
This  fact  your  partner  cannot  be 
sure  of,  if  the  queen  is  led  from 
both  king,  queen,  and  three  or 
more  small  cards,  and  from  queen, 
jack,  ten,  and  others.  The  Hamil- 
ton leads — or,  more  strictly,  the 
Hamilton  modifications  of  Ameri- 
can leads — have  met  with  very  large 
acceptance  in  America,  and  it  is  by 
many  thought  not  improbable  that, 
at  some  future  day,  they  may  be 
regularly  incorporated  in  the  sys- 
tem of  American  leads.  Among 
other  leading  players  who  have 


given  them  their  endorsement,  are 
C.  D.P.Hamilton,  John  T.Mitchell, 
and  P.  J.  Tormey.  The  latter  two 
have  also  accepted  another  change, 
which  consists  in  substituting  for 
the  lead  of  king  that  of  queen,  in 
suits  headed  by  ace,  king,  queen, 
jack;  or  ace,  king,  queen.  This  was 
first  suggested  by  R.  F.  Foster,  in 
Whist  for  July,  1895,  when  he  said  : 
' '  Suppose  that  we  say  that  it  is 
pretty  generally  agreed  that  the 
fourth  best  is  a  good  lead  from 
king,  jack,  ten,  and  others,  and  that 
the  ten  is  the  best  lead  from  queen, 
jack,  ten,  with  or  without  others, 
as  it  reduces  the  present  confusion 
of  the  queen  leads,  why  is  not  the 
queen  a  good  lead  from  ace,  king, 
queen,  jack,  and  others?  Such  a 
lead  would  be  about  the  same 
change  as  that  from  ten  to  jack, 
from  king,  queen,  jack,  ten;  would 
not  materially  affect  the  mean- 
ing of  a  queen  lead,  and  would 
restore  to  the  jack  that  very  val- 
uable and  absolute  denial  of  the 
ace  in  the  leader's  hand.  Second 
rounds  might  be:  Queen,  then  ace 
with  five;  queen,  then  king  with 
six;  queen,  then  jack  with  seven  or 
more.  A  very  careful  analysis,  just 
finished,  of  all  published  hands,  and 
the  one  hundred  and  twelve  of  the 
correspondence  tourney,  prompts 
this  suggestion." 

In  the  New  York  Sun  of  March 
i,  1896,  Mr.  Foster  argued  further 
in  behalf  of  the  proposed  lead  of 
queen  from  ace,  king,  queen,  jack, 
and  others:  "This  would,"  said 
he,  "  restore  to  the  jack  its  old 
value  as  a  card  absolutely  denying 
the  ace,  and  warning  partner,  if  he 
did  not  hold  it,  that  it  was  held  up. 
The  queen  would  then  be  led  from 
two  combinations  only:  one  with 
and  one  without  the  ace,  but  always 
with  the  king,  and  at  least  three 
others  in  the  suit." 

Mr.   Tormey,  in  1896,  published 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


in  his  "Whist  Don'ts,"  a  table  of 
leads  containing  the  various  changes 
agreed  upon  by  Mr.  Mitchell  and 
himself,  as  follows: 


SUITS 

HEADED 

BY 

NUMBBR  OF  CARDS  IN 
SUIT. 

4 

5 

6 

7 

i.  A 

K   Q 

J 

Q   A 

Q  K 

Q    J 

Q  J 

2.    A 

K    Q 

0 

Q  A 

Q  K 

Q  K- 

Q  K 

3-  A 

K    O 

0 

A  K 

A  K 

A  K 

A  K 

4.  A 

Q    J 

10 

A  10 

A    J 

A    J 

A    J 

5-  A 

Q    J 

0 

A  Q 

A    J 

A    J 

A    J 

6.  A 

Q  o 

O 

4th 
best 

4th 
best 

4th 
best 

A  4th 

7.  A 

O    O 

O 

4th 
best 

4th 
best 

4th 
best 

A  4th 

8.  K 

Q   J 

to 

J   K 

J    Q 

J    10 

J    10 

9.  K 

Q    J 

O 

J    K 

J    Q 

J    Q 

J    Q 

10.  K 

Q  o 

0 

K4th 

K4thj  K.4th 

K4th 

II.  K 

J   10 

o 

4th 
best 

4th 
best 

4th 

best 

4th 
best 

12.    Q 

J    10 

0 

10  Q 

10    J 

10    J 

10    J 

Trump  leads  are  the  same  as  plain 
suits,  excepting  Nos.  3  and  10  combina- 
tions. 

No.  3  combination,  lead  fourth  best, with 
four,  five,  or  six  iu  suit;  with  seven  in  suit, 
lead  same  as  plain  suit. 

No.  10  combination,  with  king,  queen, 
ten,  four  or  more  in  suit,  lead  king;  with- 
out the  ten,  lead  fourth  best,  unless  seven 
in  suit,  then  lead  king,  same  as  plain 
suit. 

Ace-lead.— The  lead  of  ace  does  not  pro- 
claim any  particular  holding  of  high 
cards;  it  says  this,  however:  "My  lead  of 
ace  is  either  from  ace,  king,  two  or  more 
others;  or  ace,  queen,  jack,  one  or  more 
others;  or  ace  and  six  others."  The  sec- 
ond lead  has  to  be  made  to  tell  the  story. 

King-lead. — The  lead  of  king  always 
says:  "  I  have  the  queen,  four  or  more  in 
suit,  but  not  the  ace  or  jack." 

Queen-lead, — The  lead  of  queen  says: 
"I  hold  king  and  ace,  four  or  more  in 
suit." 

Jack-lead.— The  lead  of  jack  proclaims 
queen  and  king.ybxror  more  in  suit,  and 
denies  the  ace. 


Ten-lead.— The  lead  of  ten  proclaims 
jack  and  queen,  four  or  more  in  suit,  and 
denies  the  king  and  ace. 

Mr.  Mitchell,  in  a  letter  published 
in  Whist  for  September,  1896,  says 
of  the  changes  embraced  in  the 
above  table: 

"  Now  that  the  adoption  of  the 
ten-lead  from  queen,  knave,  ten, 
has  become  almost  general,  and  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  knave  is 
considered  the  proper  lead  from 
king,  queen,  knave,  and  the  queen 
the  proper  lead  from  ace,  king, 
queen,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  com- 
mittee which  was  appointed  at  the 
last  congress  to  formulate  a  code 
of  leads  and  follows  for  recommen- 
dation to  the  League  should  con- 
sider the  advisability  of  revising 
the  table  of  American  leads  in  con- 
formit)'  with  a  general  rule,  such  as 
the  following: 

"With  three  or  more  cards  in 
sequence,  the  lowest  of  which  is 
not  below  the  ten,  lead  the  third 
from  the  top. 

"With  only  two  honors  in  se- 
quence, both  higher  than  the  knave, 
lead  the  higher.  With  ace,  queen, 
knave,  lead  ace;  follow  with  queen 
to  show  four,  knave  to  show  five  or 
more. 

"  Without  any  high-card  holding 
as  good  as  either  of  the  above,  lead 
your  fourth-best  card. 

"  If  the  above  rule  was  adopted, 
it  would  do  away  with  the  ten-lead 
from  king,  knave,  ten,  and  the  ace- 
lead  from  ace  and  four  or  more 
small ;  but,  as  these  leads  have  vir- 
tually been  abandoned  already,  the 
new  rule  would  not  interfere  with 
the  general  mode  of  play  in  that 
respect.  The  new  rule,  however, 
would  make  a  radical  change  in 
one  respect,  viz.,  in  the  lead  of 
queen  to  show  five  or  more  in  suit, 
and  the  lead  of  king  to  show  ex- 
actly four;  and  that  is  where  the 
principal  objection  to  the  proposed 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


change  will  come  in.  However, 
according  to  some  authorities, 
•whose  opinion  is  shared  by  quite 
a  number  of  experts,  the  number 
of  small  cards  shown  by  a  lead  is 
not  so  important  as  the  exact 
strength  displayed,  and  there  is  no 
question  as  to  the  superiority  of 
the  proposed  change  in  the  latter 
respect. 

"  The  lead  of  the  ace  would  pro- 
claim the  king  or  queen,  knave; 
the  lead  of  the  king  would  proclaim 
the  queen;  the  queen  would  pro- 
claim the  king  and  ace;  the  knave 
would  show  the  queen  and  king; 
and  the  ten,  the  knave  and  queen. 
Each  of  the  high  cards  from  the 
ace  down  to  the  ten,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  ace,  would  proclaim 
a  certain  holding,  and,  as  the  ace 
usually  wins,  the  next  lead  would 
clear  away  all  uncertainty  in  regard 
to  that  also. 

"The  high  indifferent  cards  left 
in  hand  after  the  original  lead  could 
be  used  under  the  new  system  to 
show  number  of  small  cards  in  suit 
just  the  same  as  under  the  old,  and 
the  table  of  leads  would  not  be  al- 
tered much  in  this  respect. 


HOLDING. 

NUMBER  CARDS 
IN  SUIT. 

4 

L.  F. 

5 

L.  F. 

6 

L.  F. 

A  K  Q  J    

Q    A 

Q  K 

Q   J 

A  K  Q     .    . 

Q   A 

Q  K     .    .    . 

A  K     

A 

A 

AQ  J 

AQ     A    J  j.   .   . 

K  Q  J  10    

J    K 

J    Q 

J    10 

K  Q  J      

J    K     J    Q 

K  Q     . 

K 

K 

Q  J  10      

10  Q 

10    J      ... 

The  Hamilton  modifications  (to 
say  nothing  of  the  other  proposed 


changes)  have  thus  far  failed  to  re- 
ceive the  approval  of  the  two  lead- 
ing authorities  on  American  leads 
—  Trist  and  ' '  Cavendish  "  —  al- 
though the  latter  has  admitted 
their  merits,  while  pointing  out 
their  disadvantages.  (See,  "  Ham- 
ilton Leads.")  Mr.  Trist  says,  in 
a  letter  to  Whist  for  February, 
1895:  "  Would  the  added  strength 
to  the  queen-lead  brought  about  by 
the  proposed  change  compensate 
for  the  complication  it  brings  to  the 
present  ten-lead?"  He  adds:  "I 
am  ready  to  take  the  negative  side 
of  that  question."  In  the  issue  of 
Whist  for  June,  1895,  he  says  fur- 
ther, in  his  argument  with  Dr.  Bond 
Stow,  an  ardent  advocate  of  the 
changes:  "  He  claims  that  it  [the 
proposed  new  ten-lead]  will  affect 
another  lead  favorably — that  is,  it 
will  free  from  ambiguity  the  pres- 
ent lead  of  the  queen,  which  would 
then  show  five  at  least  in  suit  and 
the  holding  of  the  king.  To  this 
I  will  answer  that  the  showing  of 
five  cards  by  the  first  lead — except- 
ing when  knave  is  led — is  of  no 
practical  advantage,  because  the 
unblocking  is  begun  on  the  first 
round  on  all  high  cards  led,  except 
the  king,  the  second  round  disclos- 
ing number  and  rank  of  cards.  In 
the  case  of  the  queen  as  now  led, 
the  nature  of  the  holding  is  often 
immediately  made  manifest,  when 
third  hand  holds  one  of  the  three 
tell-tale  cards,  the  king,  knave,  or 
ten,  or  when  one  of  them  falls 
from  an  adverse  hand.  Should 
neither  contingency  happen,  the 
second  lead  settles  the  question  in 
ample  time  for  all  useful  purposes." 
In  a  letter  under  date  of  October  2, 
1897,  he  adds: 

"  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  that 
the  ten-lead,  from  king,  jack,  ten, 
is  a  much  better  one  than  the  fourth 
best;  therefore,  I  adhere  to  the  old 
queen-leads,  which  do  not  bother 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


16 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


me  a  bit  on  account  of  their  dual 
signification.  I  also  prefer  the  pres- 
ent lead  of  jack  from  ace,  king, 
queen,  jack,  five  or  more,  to  the 
queen,  as  proposed,  because  it  pos- 
sesses the  considerable  advantage 
of  keeping  the  adversaries  in  the 
dark  as  to  the  position  of  the  ace, 
if  jack  takes  the  trick — presuming, 
of  course,  that  if  either  of  them 
held  the  ace,  he  would  have  taken 
the  trick — whilst,  if  jack  denies 
the  ace,  it  must  be  in  third  hand,  a 
fact  which  it  is  better  that  the  op- 
ponents should  not  know." 

Other  advocates  of  American 
leads  have  also  placed  themselves 
on  record  as  opposed  to  the  Hamil- 
ton modifications.  W.  S.  Fenol- 
losa,  in  Whist  for  May,  1896, 
says: 

"  In  the  March  number  I  ad- 
vanced some  arguments  to  en- 
deavor to  show,  from  actual  trick- 
making  considerations,  that  it  is 
unsafe  to  lead  ten  from  queen,  jack, 
ten,  and  others,  except  from  a  very 
long  suit,  and  accordingly  that  the 
lead  of  queen  from  that  combina- 
tion is  the  correct  one.  The  only 
objection  ever  urged  against  the 
latter  lead  is  the  inconvenience  and 
confusion  arising  from  the  threefold 
character  of  the  queen-leads.  It 
has  always  seemed  to  me  that  this 
supposed  difficulty  was  more  im- 
aginary than  actual." 

George  L.  Bunn,  in  the  whist 
department  of  the  St.  Paul  Globe, 
says:  "It  is  very  rare  indeed,  in 
actual  play,  that  there  is  any  con- 
fusion arising  from  the  two  mean- 
ings of  the  queen-lead.  The  slight 
advantage  gained  by  doing  away 
with  one  of  these  meanings  is,  we 
think,  not  sufficient  to  compensate 
for  what  we  consider  the  distinct 
loss  in  trick-taking,  which  comes 
from  the  abandonment  of  the  ten- 
lead  from  king,  jack,  ten." 

Fisher  Ames,  in   Whist  of  Feb- 


ruary, 1897,  sums  up  the  situation 
as  follows: 

"I  desire  to  place  myself  on 
record  as  opposed  to  the  lead  of  the 
ten  from,  queen,  knave,  ten,  etc., 
and  of  the  fourth  best,  or  low  card, 
from  king,  knave,  ten,  etc.  Having 
experimented  with  these  new  leads 
for  now  about  a  year,  I  have  not 
noticed  any  material  advantage 
from  them,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a 
failure  to  clear  the  suit  so  quickly 
by  them  as  by  the  leads  according 
to  the  regular  rule.  This  is  espe- 
cially so  lately,  now  that  covering 
by  the  second  in  hand  player  is  so 
much  more  free  and  general  than 
formerly.  One  may  argue  himself 
'  black  in  the  face'  that  the  ten-lead 
will  be  covered  as  often  as  the 
queen  by  second  hand  holding  the 
king  and  two  low,  even  though 
knowing  the  leader  to  lead  the  ten 
from  queen,  knave,  ten,  etc.,  but 
the  fact  is  otherwise.  It  may,  per- 
haps, be  said  that  it  isn't  well  to 
cover  with  the  king  in  either  case. 
That  I  admit;  but  it  doesn't  alter 
the  fact.  It  is  when  second  hand 
holds  ace  and  low  he  hardly  ever 
plays  ace  on  the  ten  led,  no  matter 
what  rule  the  leader  adopts;  for 
there  is  always  a  chance,  and  lately 
a  good  chance,  that  the  ten  is  a 
supporting  card;  whereas,  if  the 
queen  is  led,  second  hand,  holding 
ace  and  low,  almost  always  covers, 
or  holding  king  and  low,  generally 
covers.  In  short,  the  play  of  second 
hand  is  very  different  in  actual 
practice  from  what  it  used  to  be. 

1 '  The  same  arguments  apply  to 
the  lead  of  the  ten  from  king, 
knave,  ten,  to  wit,  that  the  lead  of 
the  ten  will  clear  up  the  suit  better, 
on  the  average,  than  the  lead  of  the 
fourth  best.  I  need  not  amplify  on 
this,  as  it  seems  to  me  a  self-evident 
proposition.  The  possibility  of 
second  hand  holding  ace  and  queen 
isn't  worth  considering,  it  would 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


happen  so  seldom,  and  then  it 
wouldn't  make  much  difference 
what  is  led. 

"The  confusion  in  the  meaning 
of  the  queen-leads  is  not  a  suffi- 
cient ground  or  reason  for  changing 
the  leads.  There  is  very  little,  if 
any,  injury  resulting  from  such 
confusion,  as  compared  to  that  re- 
sulting from  a  failure  to  clear  the 
suit.  One  is  occasional  and  not 
very  probable;  the  latter  most  prob- 
able on  every  lead. 

"  Whatever  confusion  it  may 
cause  is  no  greater  than  the  confu- 
sion in  the  meaning  of  the  lead  of 
the  ten  by  the  new  method.  The 
ten  is  a  very  important  and  useful 
card.  It  is  led  as  a  supporting  card 
very  frequently  under  the  present 
methods  of  play,  and  adopting  it  as 
the  card  to  lead  from  queen,  knave, 
ten,  is  introducing  just  as  much  new 
confusion  as  is  taken  out  by  the 
change  in  the  lead. 

"These  two  rules  have  had  the 
test  of  over  one  hundred  years'  ex- 
perience, and  have  stood  the  test 
without  a  waver.  And  now,  for 
what  seems  to  me  a  fanciful  whim, 
they  are  to  be  thrown  overboard. 
For  my  part,  I  need  more  solid 
argument  than  any  I  have  seen 
adduced  yet  to  change  my  belief. 
And  the  present  method  of  play 
only  makes  the  suggested  changes 
seem  to  me  more  emphatically 
foolish." 

For  more  than  a  hundred  years  it  has 
been  the  rule  to  lead  the  ten  from  king, 
jack,  ten,  and  others;  but  of  late  the  ex- 
perts have  been  advocating  the  lead  of 
the  small  card,  and  this  has  led  to  cor- 
responding changes  in  the  play  of  the 
second  hand.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
experience  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
has  not  been  sufficient  to  settle  this 
question.  Thirty  years  ago  "  Pern- 
bridge"  suggested  the  lead  of  the  small 
card;  but  some  of  our  foremost  players, 
among  them  the  famous  analyst,  George 
L.  Bunn,  still  insist  that  the  ten  is  the 
better  lead.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  0.],  Roches- 
ter (N.  Y.)  Post-Express,  Oct.  14,  1896. 


American  Leads,  History  of. — 

It  would  be  absurd  to  claim  that 
the  American  leads  in  their  entirety 
are  the  marvelous  product  of  one 
or  two  whist  brains.  These  leads 
embrace  to  a  large  extent  leads 
which  are  almost  as  old  as  whist 
itself;  they  are  naturally  grafted 
upon  and  preserve  what  is  best  in 
the  parent  tree.  They  are  simply 
the  outgrowth  and  systemization 
of  informatory  play.  Information 
has  always  been  conveyed  by  the 
fall  of  the  cards  at  whist,  but  as  the 
game  developed  it  was  deemed  wise 
andgood  to  add  certain  conventional 
plays,  and  to  give  them  a  meaning 
in  card  language  that  should  be 
understood  by  all  who  would  take 
the  trouble  to  learn  them.  Lord 
Henry  Bentinck's  trump  signal  was 
the  first  great  innovation  of  this 
kind,  and  marked  a  distinct  era  in 
the  history  of  the  game.  Thirty 
years  later,  in  1865,  Waller  A.  Lewis, 
better  known  in  the  whist  world  as 
"  Cam,"  advanced  the  idea,  in  his 
"What  to  Lead,"  that  small  cards 
could  be  profitably  used  in  convey- 
ing information  aside  from  their 
employment  in  the  trump  signal. 
His  proposition,  that  long  suits 
which  did  not  contain  an  honor  be 
opened  with  the  smallest  card  but 
one,  in  order  to  give  partner  infor- 
mation to  that  effect,  met  with  some 
approval,  but  more  opposition,  and 
is  now  remembered  only  as  an  ex- 
periment. Among  those  who  ob- 
jected to  it  was  a  writer  in  the 
Westminster  Papers  for  November, 
1868,  who  thought  his  own  proposed 
mode  of  leading  the  lowest  of  a  se- 
quence, in  intermediate  sequences, 
was  more  important.  Thus,  from 
king,  six,  five,  four,  two,  he  would 
lead  the  four. 

All  these,  and  similar  discussions 
and  proposals,  seemed  to  make  no 
permanent  practical  impression, 
until  "Cavendish"  brought  the 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


18 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


force  of  his  whist  genius  to  bear 
upon  the  situation.  His  book, "  The 
Principles  of  Whist, "  had  long  since 
given  him  a  standing  with  whist- 
players  the  world  over,  and  every 
succeeding  edition  gave  fresh  evi- 
dence of  his  progressiveness  and 
aggressiveness  as  well.  His  keen 
insight  into  the  very  heart  and 
mystery  of  the  game,  so  to  speak, 
and  his  ability  to  grasp  and  solve 
its  greatest  problems,  made  him 
the  acknowledged  leader  and  ex- 
ponent of  its  latest  improve- 
ments. The  system  which  culmi- 
nated in  what  is  now  popularly 
known  as  the  American  leads,  had 
its  real  inception  in  a  number  of 
innovations  proposed  and  advocated 
by  him,  and  not  the  least  of  these 
was  his  famous  "penultimate"  lead 
from  suits  of  five  containing  no 
high-card  combination  to  lead  from. 
This  useful  informatory  device  was 
incorporated  by  him  in  his  book,  in 
1872,  and  met  with  general  favor, 
although  it  caused  no  little  discus- 
sion as  well.  The  idea  of  leading 
the  last  but  one  from  suits  of  five 
naturally  suggested  other  varia- 
tions, and  among  these  was  a  prop- 
osition published  in  the  Westmin- 
ster Papers  for  January,  1875,  that 
"  while  you  ought  to  lead  the  low- 
est card  in  four-suits  (i.  e.,  suits  of 
four) ,  you  should  lead  the  third  from 
the  top  in  five-suits. ' '  This  was  the 
first  sprouting  of  the  idea  which 
was  to  figure  so  prominently  in  the 
American  leads  in  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent and  more  comprehensive 
form  as  the  fourth-best  principle; 
but  the  suggestion  of  1875  fell  un- 
heeded upon  the  ears  of  conserva- 
tive England.  Likewise  unheeded 
was  a  notable  improvement  pro- 
posed by  Colonel  (now  General) 
Drayson,  in  his  "Art  of  Practical 
Whist,"  in  1879.  The  latter  had 
ingeniously  supplemented  "Caven- 
dish's "  penultimate  by  the  ante- 


penultimate lead  from  suits  of  six 
Recognition  of  the  value  of  this 
idea  first  came  from  America, 
where  both  the  penultimate  and 
antepenultimate  were  practiced, 
and  where  they  led  to  the  further 
extension  and  development  already 
alluded  to.  Among  the  most  origi- 
nal and  brainy  advocates  of  good 
whist  in  America  was  Nicholas  B. 
Trist,  of  New  Orleans,  a  regular 
correspondent  of  "Cavendish's," 
who  had  discussed  many  important 
points  of  whist  practice  with  the 
great  English  authority.  "  Caven- 
dish," as  editor  of  the  whist  de- 
partment of  the  field,  frequently 
gave  Mr.  Trist's  ideas  to  the  public. 
In  1883,  Mr.  Trist  conceived  the 
idea  of  combining  all  the  advan- 
tages which  had  previously  attached 
to  the  old  lead  of  the  lowest  from 
four,  the  penultimate,  and  the  ante- 
penultimate, in  one  general  rule, 
and  that  was  to  lead  the  fourth 
best  from  all  suits  in  which  there  is 
no  combination  suitable  for  a  high- 
card  lead.  The  fourth  best  he 
counted  from  the  top  of  the  suit, 
and  this  important  distinction  car- 
ried with  it  an  additional  advan- 
tage. By  means  of  the  fourth  best, 
thus  counted  from  the  highest  card 
down,  exactly  three  cards  higher 
than  the  one  led  are  always  shown 
to  be  in  the  leader's  hand.  The 
new  fourth-best  generalization  was 
communicated  to  and  fully  ap- 
proved of  by  "Cavendish,"  who, 
curiously  enough,  had  arrived  at 
about  the  same  conclusion  in  regard 
to  a  uniform  rule,  independent  of 
Mr.  Trist,  their  letters  on  the  sub- 
ject crossing  each  other  on  the 
ocean.  "  Cavendish"  insisted,  how- 
ever, that  his  American  friend  was 
a  little  ahead,  and  freely  gave  him 
the  credit,  at  the  same  time  apply- 
ing himself  with  energy  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  new  lead,  show- 
ing it,  among  the  very  first,  to  Dr. 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


Pole.  The  latter  "  fully  concurred 
in  the  elegance  of  the  simplifica- 
tion," and  remarked  that  it  seemed 
to  have  been  in  the  air  for  some 
time,  and  might  now  be  consid- 
ered fully  established  as  a  principle 
of  play. 

There  was  another  direction  in 
which  Mr.  Trist  rendered  important 
assistance  in  perfecting  the  new  sys- 
tem. He  followed  up  some  valuable 
suggestions  of  "Cavendish,"  who, 
several  years  previously,  had  intro- 
duced his  now  recognized  leads  of 
ace  followed  by  queen  to  show  ace, 
queen,  jack,  and  one  small,  and  ace 
followed  by  jack  to  show  ace, 
queen,  jack,  and  more  than  one 
small;  and  who  had  also  formula- 
ted the  rule  that  the  higher  of  two 
indifferent  cards  on  second  round, 
meant  a  maximum  of  four;  the 
lower,  a  minimum  of  five.  Mr. 
Trist,  having  thus  noticed  the  ad- 
vantageous use  that  had  been  made 
of  variations  in  the  play  of  "in- 
different high  cards ' ' — that  is,  cards 
of  equal  value  for  trick-making 
purposes — proposed  to  carry  this 
further.  Says  Pole:  "The  cases  were 
many  where  a  player  had  to  lead 
one  card  of  a  sequence;  and,  Mr. 
Trist  reasoned,  according  to  the  new 
privilege,  the  leader  might,  by 
choosing  different  cards  for  the 
purpose,  convey  by  convention  dis- 
tinct items  of  information  for  each 
card.  In  settling  how  this  should 
be  arranged,  he  ingeniously  took 
advantage  of  some  ordinary  expe- 
dients which  had  already  prevailed 
for  trick-making  purposes.  Mr. 
Trist  reasoned  thus:  '  Here  are 
two  cases  where  it  has  been  settled 
that  differences  are  made  in  the 
card  led,  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing different  results  conducive  to 
trick-making;  why  should  not  these 
differences  be  utilized  also  for  giv- 
ing the  partner  information  ?  Why 
cannot  we  make  it  understood  that 


in  all  cases  of  the  leading  of  indif- 
ferent high  cards,  whether  the  gen- 
eral policy  of  trick-taking  dictates 
it  or  not,  the  same  rule  shall  ap- 
ply?' He  consulted  'Cavendish,' 
who  warmly  approved  of  the  sug- 
gestion, and  this  at  once  was  regis- 
tered and  widely  adopted  as  another 
item  of  American  leads." 

After  receiving  all  of  Mr.  Trist's 
suggestions,  from  time  to  time, 
"Cavendish"  rounded  out  and 
finished  the  whole  scheme,  and  en- 
ergetically advocated  it  in  public. 
He  wrote,  argued,  discussed,  an- 
swered questions  and  met  objec- 
tions in  the  Field  and  other  period- 
icals. He  also  lectured  on  the 
subject  of  the  new  leads,  and  in  the 
following  year  (1885)  published  his 
book  entitled  "  Whist  Develop- 
ments, American  Leads,  and  the 
Plain  Suit  Echo,"  which  he  dedi- 
cated to  Mr.  Trist,  in  honor  of 
whose  native  land  he  had  named 
the  new  system  American  leads. 
He  described  the  leads  at  length, 
and  laid  down  the  following  max- 
ims in  defining  them:  "  i.  When 
you  open  a  suit  with  a  low  card, 
lead  your  fourth  best.  2.  On  quit- 
ting the  head  of  your  suit,  lead 
your  original  fourth  best.  [This 
maxim  caused  considerable  discus- 
sion for  several  years,  and  "  Caven- 
dish "  now  prefers  to  say,  lead  the 
fourth  best  remaining  in  your  hand, 
while  Mr.  Trist  holds  to  it  as  first 
formulated.]  3.  With  two  indiffer- 
ent high  cards,  lead  the  higher  if 
you  opened  a  suit  of  four;  the  lower 
if  you  opened  a  suit  of  five. ' ' 

Although  the  promulgation  of 
the  leads  gave  rise  to  controversy 
and  much  violent  opposition,  which 
has  by  no  means  subsided  as  yet, 
they  have  been  accepted  by  the 
great  majority  of  whist-players  in 
America.  They  were  duly  incor- 
porated, in  1886,  by  "  Cavendish," 
in  the  edition  of  his  "  Laws  and 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


20 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


Principles  of  Whist,"  as  established 
rules  of  practice,  and  the  American 
Whist  League,  at  its  first  annual 
congress,  in  1891,  formally  adopted 
them  as  the  system  that  should  rule 
in  the  interplay  of  League  clubs. 

As  TOLD  BY  "CAVEXDISH."— Long  be- 
fore the  system  of  American  leads  was 
thought  of  there  were  certain  combina- 
tions of  high  cards,  led  in  a  particular 
way,  which  showed  more  than  four  in 
suit  in  the  leader's  hand.  The  most  not- 
able, and  perhaps  the  most  ancient,  of 
these,  was  the  lead  of  king,  from  king, 
queen,  knave,  and  one  small  card;  the 
lead  of  knave,  from  king,  queen,  knave, 
and  more  than  one  small  card.  These 
leads  are  to  be  found  in  Hoyle,  as  early 
as  1742. 

But  little  progress  was  made  in  the  di- 
rection of  imparting  information  of  num- 
ber, until  I  suggested  that  from  ace, 
queen,  knave,  and  one  small,  ace  then 
queen  should  be  led;  that  from  ace, 
queen,  knave,  more  than  one  small,  ace 
then  knave  should  be  led. 

This  was  originally  proposed  by  me  at 
the  same  County  Club  where  the  penulti- 
mate was  first  played  (see  Whist  of  Janu- 
ary, 1894).  A  remarkably  good  player, 
my  partner,  led  ace  then  queen  from  a 
very  long  suit,  of  which  I  had  king  and 
two  small.  I  did  not  unblock,  and  the 
consequences  were  disastrous.  My  part- 
ner maintained  that  I  should  have  played 
king  on  his  queen.  I  maintained,  if  his 
suit  was  so  long  that  he  wished  me  to 
unblock,  he  should  have  followed  the  ace 
with  the  lowest  of  his  queen-knave  se- 
quence. A  discussion  ensued  (I  wish  I 
had  noted  the  date),  and  after  consider- 
ing and  analyzing  the  cases,  I  shortly 
after  electrified  the  County  Club  players 
by  announcing  that,  in  future,  from  ace, 
queen,  knave,  more  than  four  in  suit,  I 
should  lead  ace,  then  knave;  and  that 
from  queen,  knave,  ten,  more  than  four 
in  suit,  I  should  lead  queen,  then  ten. 
This,  I  was  informed,  was  another  of  my 
"dodges"  for  showing  number,  for 
which  I  was  told  later  I  had  a  "  veritable 
craze." 

I  replied  that  the  exhibition  of  number 
•was  only  a  collateral  issue  of  such  leads, 
the  true  principle  being  that  if  you  want 
your  partner  to  win  the  second  round 
you  should  play  the  lowest  of  cards  in  se- 
quence, such  a  card  being  a  card  of  pro- 
tection in  case  your  partner  is  weak. 
This  is  invitation  to  him  not  to  pass  the 
trick  unless  such  a  play  suits  his  hand; 
the  reverse  play  is  a  distinct  invitation  to 
him  not  to  win  the  trick.  Now,  as  it 
happened,  from  my  analysis,  that  I 
should  seldom  lose  by  inviting  my  part- 


ner to  win  my  trick  when  I  held  five  of 
the  suit,  but  that  I  should  often  lose  by- 
holding  out  the  invitation  to  win  a  trick 
twice  over,  with  only  four,  I  had  con- 
cluded only  to  make  the  winning  invite, 
when  I  had  more  than  four  of  my  suit 
originally. 

Finally,  I  carried  my  point,  as  regards 
these  two  leads,  and  also  as  regards  the 
lead  of  knave,  from  knave,  ten,  nine, 
etc.,  now  abandoned  in  plain  suits.  The 
higher  of  two  indifferent  cards,  on  the 
second  round,  meant  a  maximum  of  four; 
the  lower,  a  minimum  of  five.  And  here 
the  matter  remained  for  a  long  time, 
until  Mr.  Trist  proposed  to  apply  the 
same  rule  of  play  to  the  lead  of  ten  from 
king,  knave,  ten,  etc  ,  on  the  second 
round,  when  queen  is  forced  on  the  first 
round.  Then  simultaneously  (our  letters 
crossed  on  the  Atlantic),  we  formulated 
the  rule:  with  two  high  indifferent  cards, 
lead  the  higher  if  you  opened  a  suit  of 
four  cards;  the  lower  if  you  open  a  suit 
of  more  than  four.  The  advantage  of 
this  policy,  once  pointed  out,  is  so  ob- 
vious, that  no  serious  opposition  has 
ever  been  offered  to  the  above-described 
method  of  leading  from  high  indifferent 
cards. 

It  also  became  obvious  that  on  the  lead 
of  a  knave,  from  king,  queen,  knave,  etc., 
which  shows  five  to  start  with,  king  and 
queen  become  high  indifferent  cards. 
Hence,  the  second  lead  of  king  proclaims 
the  original  possession  of  five  exactly; 
the  second  lead  of  queen  equally  pro- 
claims the  possession  originally  of  six  or 
more. 

Later  on,  the  ace,  king,  queen-leads  had 
to  be  reconsidered.  It  was  finally  agreed 
that  an  original  lead  of  queen,  which  wins 
the  trick,  shows  your  partner  to  have  a 
suit  of  more  than  four,  provided  he  does 
not  hold  both  ace  and  king.  The  ace  and 
king  become  high  indifferent  cards; 
hence,  queen  followed  by  ace  shows  five 
exactly;  queen  followed  by  king  shows 
more  than  five. 

It  is  not  agreed  that  any  great  advan- 
tage results,  as  a  rule,  from  showing  more 
than  five.  As  I  stated  in  the  previous 
article  (see  Whist  of  January,  1894),  suits 
of  six  or  seven  cards  in  most  cases  de- 
clare themselves  from  the  fall  of  the 
cards.  Still,  it  is  advisable,  in  order  to 
complete  the  system,  and  to  show  how 
cards  can  be  made  to  talk,  to  include  the 
cases  where  more  than  five  cards  are 
held.  The  most  important  point  is  to 
enable  partner  to  distinguish  between 
four  and  more  than  four. 

The  American  system  of  leading  was  as 
yet  incomplete,  as  no  provision  had  been 
made  for  the  case  of  leading  a  high  card 
and  then  a  low  one.  Thus,  from  ace  and 
four  or  more  small,  lead  ace,  then  small. 
But  which  of  the  small  ones  should  be 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


21 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


selected  ?  Mr.  Trist  and  I  set  to  work  to 
answer  this  question.  Five  at  least  in 
suit  is  declared  on  the  second  lead.  It  is 
obvio_us  that  with  knave,  ten,  nine,  etc., 
in  suit,  the  card  to  lead  after  the  ace  is 
the  nine,  to  protect  the  suit  if  partner 
should  hold  neither  king  nor  queen. 
With  lower  cards,  the  best  second  lead  is 
still  disputed.  Mr.  Trist  is  of  opinion 
that  the  original  fourth  best  should  be 
led  after  ace.  With  all  respect  to  that 
eminent  authority.  I  am  of  opinion  that 
the  fourth  best  of  those  remaining  in 
hand  is  to  be  preferred.  Thus,  from  ace. 
knave,  nine,  eight,  two,  Mr.  Trist  would 
lead  ace,  then  eight ;  I  should  lead  ace, 
then  two.  I  have  worked  out  all  the 
principal  combinations,  and  I  find  the 
pros  and  cons  may  be  summed  up  as 
follows  :  The  lead  of  the  original  fourth 
best  after  ace,  gives  the  third  hand  a 
somewhat  better  chance  of  unblocking  on 
the  second  round,  than  the  lead  of  the 
fourth  best  of  those  remaining.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  lead  of  the  original  fourth 
best  after  ace,  gives  the  second  hand  a 
somewhat  better  chance  of  finessing 
successfully  on  the  second  round,  than 
the  lead  of  the  fourth  best  of  those  re- 
maining in  hand.  Hence,  what  has  to  be 
decided,  is  the  relative  advantage  or  dis- 
advantage of  these  possibilities  to  either 
or  both  sides.  In  my  opinion ,  the  balance 
of  advantage  to  the  leader  and  his  part- 
ner, is  slightly  with  the  lead  of  the  fourth 
best  remaining  in  hand  after  ace  has 
been  led.  Mr.  Whitfeld  is  of  opinion  that 
further  experience  is  required;  he  favors 
the  fourth  of  those  remaining  in  hand, 
as  against  the  original  fourth  best;  but 
he  does  not  feel  sure  that  any  but  the 
lowest  should  be  led  after  the  ace.  Hence, 
referring  to  the  title  of  these  articles,  the 
"Origin  of  American  Leads,"  I  cannot 
say  that  this  branch  has  as  yet  had  an 
"origin,"  beyond  the  origin  of  consider- 
ation and  discussion. 

Mr.  Trist  and  I  agree  as  to  the  best 
card  to  lead  on  the  second  round,  when 
queen  is  led  from  king,  queen,  and  three 
or  more  small  cards  and  queen  wins,  only 
we  class  the  lead  somewhat  differently. 
I  lead  the  fourth  best  of  those  remaining 
in  hand;  Mr.  Trist  leads  the  original 
fourth  best,  ignoring  the  king  (which  is 
marked  with  the  leader).  Thus,  from 
king,  queen,  ten,  eight,  five,  two;  we 
should  both  lead  queen,  then  five. 

The  only  unconsidered  case,  under 
this  head,  is  that  in  which  ten  is  led 
originally,  from  king,  knave,  ten,  etc., 
and  •wins.  The  third  hand  must  hold 
queen.  Hence,  a  small  card  has  to  be  next 
led.  If  I  led  from  a  four-card  suit,  I  can- 
not continue  with  the  fourth  best  of  those 
remaining  in  hand,  as  I  only  have  three. 
I  must  lead  my  only  low  card,  and  can 
give  no  information  as  to  number.  I  am 


inclined  to  the  view  that  if  I  had  five 
originally,  I  should  still  lead  the  lowest, 
i.  e.,  the  fourth  of  those  remaining  in 
hand,  and  not  attempt  to  give  evidence 
of  number.  With  more  than  five  origi- 
nally, I  don't  think  it  is  of  much  conse- 
quence which  of  the  small  cards  I  lead, 
but  I  am  prepared  to  lead  the  fourth  best 
of  those  remaining  in  hand.if  I  have  four, 
and  Mr.  Trist  and  other  authorities 
agree.  The  lead  of  ten,  from  king,  knave, 
ten,  etc.,  is  exceptional,  in  that  it  defies 
classification  with  other  leads,  and  the 
subsequent  play  also  defies  classification. 
—"Cavendish"  [L.A.].  Whist,  Feb.,  1895. 

As  TOLD  BY  FOSTER. — "  American 
leads,"  as  they  are  called,  may  be  divided 
into  three  parts,  none  of  which  origi- 
nated in  America:  i.  The  lead  of  the  penul- 
timate and  antepenultimate.  "Cam," 
about  1860,  suggested  the  lead  of  the  low- 
est but  one,  when  holding  suits  of  five  or 
more,  not  headed  by  an  honor.  This  was 
published  in  1865.  "Cavendish,"  in  the 
Field,  November,  1872,  suggested  the  lead 
of  the  lowest  but  one  from  all  suits  of 
five  or  more  when  a  high  card  was  not 
led  originally.  Drayson,  in  1879,  f°r  the 
first  time,  proposed  the  antepenultimate, 
stating  that  he  had  played  it  for  several 
years  previously.  From  an  American 
player,  N.  B.  Tnst,  came  the  suggestion 
to  count  from  the  top  instead  of  the  bot- 
tom. The  idea  had  already  been  sug- 
gested in  the  Westminster  Papers,  eight 
years  before  (see  vol.  7,  p.  189,  January, 
1875).  2.  The  principle  of  long  and  short 
jumps,  fully  explained  in  F.  W.  M.,  pages 
40  and  42.  This  has  been  so  long  a  part 
of  the  game  that  it  is  not  peculiar  to  any 
system  of  leads.  It  is  given  in  early 
editions  of  "  Cavendish "  long  before 
American  leads  were  heard  ofT  3.  The 
unwritten  fourth  rule  of  American  leads, 
which  involves  the  most  radical  changes 
in  all  leads  from  high-card  combinations. 
In  the  fourth  edition  of  ["  Cavendish's  "] 
"  Whist  Developments,"  pages  7  and  17, 
the  first  two  rules  a_re  given,  and  the 
third  on  page  29,  all  in  red  ink;  but  the 
most  important  of  all  is  in  a  two-line 
paragraph  at  the  bottom  of  page  17.  This 
hitherto  unpublished  fourth  rule  of 
American  leads  is  as  follows  :  "  Never 
lead  a  king  if  you  have  more  than  four 
cards  of  the  suit."  This  *  *  *  is 
"Cavendish,"  pure  and  simple,  with 
nothing  American  about  it.  For  the  sake 
of  clearness,  I  have  always  called  the 
system  of  leads  which  the  adoption  of 
this  fourth  rule  entails,  the  anti-king 
leads.— R.  F.  Foster  [5.  0.],  "Duplicate 
Whist  and  Whist  Strategy,"  1894. 

As  TOLD  BY  PETTES. — The  history  of 
American  leads  is  as  follows:  Six  years 
ago  in  April,  an  illustrated  hand  of 
whist,  by  "N.  B.  T.,"  of  New  Orleans, 
was  printed  in  the  London  Field.  In  it, 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


22 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


A  held  ace,  queen,  knave,  ten,  seven,  of 
a  suit,  and  he  led  first  ace,  then  ten.  It 
was  the  germ  of  a  revolutionary  plan. 
"  Cavendish  "  annotated  the  hand,  and, 
as  his  comments  clearly  show,  did  not 
suspect  the  announcement  of  the  fourth- 
best  card.  In  June  Mr.  Trist  printed 
another  hand,  in  which  A  leads  the 
original  fourth  best,  and  Z  is  made  to 
lead  first  ace,  then  fourth  best.  Two 
weeks  later  "  Lincoln's  Inn  "  furnished 
a  hand  in  which  A  leads  first  ace  spades 
then  two  spades,  holding  three  more, 
and  Y,  holding  ace,  king,  queen,  seven, 
six  diamonds,  plays  ace,  then  king,  then 
queen.  No  adverse  comment  to  either 
mode  of  play  is  editorially  made.  Mr. 
Trist,  a  few  weeks  later,  in  a  letter  to  the 
Field,  proposed  that  after  the  head  of  a 
suit  had  been  quitted,  the  next  lead 
should  properly  be  the  original  fourth 
best,  showing  exactly  two  cards  higher. 
"Cavendish"  wrote  that  "to  formulate 
such  a  rule  would  be  more  difficult  than 
Mr.  Trist  expected."  Mr.  Trist  printed 
his  illustrated  play  of  the  original  fourth 
best,  in  defense  of  his  position,  in  May, 
1684.  That  "  Cavendish  "  had  not  at  that 
date  agreed  to  its  supremacy  is  evident, 
for  in June  following  "Cavendish"  printed 
one  of  his  own  hands,  leading  the  pen- 
ultimate from  a  suit  of  seven  cards. 

Mr.  Trist,  having  promulgated  his  plan 
of  the  leads  of  ace,  then  fourth  best,  and 
of  original  fourth  best,  and  having  clearly 
shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  first-class 
players  everywhere  that  his  system  was 
to  supersede  all  others,  printed  his  ex- 
planation of  the  manner  in  which  the 
original  leader,  when  he  became  second, 
third,  or  fourth  player,  should  use  his 
equal  trick-making  cards.  He  savs:  _''As 
some  of  your  readers  may  not  be  familiar 
with  the  American  rule,  I  state  it  as  fol- 
lows: 'On  the  second  round  of  your  suit 
which  you  originally  led,  if  you  remain 
with  two  high  indifferent  cards,  both  of 
which  your  partner  can  infer  to  be  in 
your  hand,  play  the  higher  if  you  opened 
a  suit  of  four  cards,  the  lower  if  a  suit  of 
five  or  more.' " 

Meantime,  while  Mr.  Trist  was  pre- 
senting his  American  leads,  he  was  met 
by  the  most  determined  opposition.  The 
vituperative  articles  he  distilled  in  his 
mental  alembic.  The  following  remark- 
able passage  in  one  of  his  letters  admits 
of  no  reply:  "The  great  majority  of 
players  lack  the  quick  perception  which 
will  enable  them  to  take  full  advantage 
of  the  information  imparted,  but  this  is 
no  reason  why  really  first-rate  players 
should  be  deprived  of  that  information." 

"Cavendish"  and  some  others  began 
to  see  that  the  American  system  of  leads 
must  displace  that  to  which  they  were 
accustomed,  and  they  frankljr  made 
known  their  opinions.  But  the  jealousy 


against  Mr.  Trist  crept  out  among  many 
of  the  English  players.  Some  of  them 
wanted  that  ''Cavendish,"  because  he  had 
previously  used  the  penultimate,  should 
share  the  credit.  But  the  editor  of  the 
Field  would  not  have  it  so,  and  says  of 
"N.  B.  T.":  "Surely  a  man  who  con- 
ceives a  general  principle  of  play  stands 
on  a  higher  pedestal  than  one  who 
proposes  a  special  course  in  special  in- 
stances." 

One  of  the  English  player-writers  ad- 
vocated the  claim  of  "  Cavendish  "  to  a 
share  in  the  authorship  of  American 
leads,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  pro- 
posed a  knave  from  a  queen,  knave,  five 
in  suit.  The  editor  of  the  Field  very 
properly  said  to  him:  "You  might  as 
well  credit  Hoyle  with  the  authorship  of 
the  American  leads  because,  in  1742,  he 
proposed  the  lead  of  knave  from  king, 
queen,  knave,  and  two  others."  And  the 
editor  of  the  Field  does  not  hesitate  to 
state  with  emphasis:  "  The  formulation 
of  a  general  principle  of  play  was  first 
proposed  by  N.  B.  T.  To  mm  is  due  the 
extension  to  other  cases,  and  the  credit 
of  the  generalization." 

Mr.  Trist  gives  "  Cavendish "  much 
p_raise  for  his  assistance  in  the  publica- 
tion of  his  plans  In  a  letter  to  "G.  W. 
P.."  Mr.  Trist  says;  "It  is  a  source  of 
great  satisfaction  to  me  to  see  that  Ameri- 
can leads  meet  such  hearty  approval." 
And  he  adds:  "'Cavendish'  of  his  own 
accord  has  admirably  analyzed  the  un- 
blocking system  of  the  third  hand,  and 
he  should  have  the  credit,  by  his  earnest 
efforts  in  the  Field,  magazines,  and  lec- 
ture-rooms, of  getting  American  leads 
adopted  by  the  Ipest  players."  The  un- 
blocking system  is  as  old  as  Folkestone, 
but  its  application  in  the  very  extended 
analysis  in  "Whist  Developments"  is, 
on  the  part  of  "Cavendish,"  ingenious, 
and,  before  the  recent  introduction  of  the 
"  New  Play,"  was  well-nigh  exhaustive. 

The  enmity  to  anvthiug  original,  how- 
ever good,  did  not  abate  among  the  Eng- 
lish players.  On  the  twenty-fourth  of 
January,  1885,  "  Merry  Andrew "  ar- 
ranged a  hand  which  by  the  order  of 
American  leads  might  lose  a  trick,  and, 
placing  out  of  view  the  whole  value  of 
information  given  to  partner,  insisted 
upon  leading  the  lowest  card  from  a  suit 
of  six.  On  January  10.  1885,  "  Mogul," 
one  of  the  "uncompromising  bull-dogs," 
who  "agree  to  nothing."  whose  "per- 
sonal rights  are  paramount  to  all  consid- 
erations "  (the  quotations  are  the  words 
of  one  of  "Mogul's"  contemporaries), 
determined  not  to  acknowledge  whatever 
could  be  considered  an  innovation  upon 
a  plan  that,  once  having  been  thought- 
proper,  must  be  forever  defended,  argued 
in  the  Field  that  A,  holding  queen,  ten, 
eight,  seven,  four,  two  of  a  suit,  should 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


lead  the  two.  "  Cavendish,"  who  had 
been  converted  to  the  new  theory,  en- 
deavored to  show  him  that  even  the 
"  Cavendish "  idea  of  the  penultimate 
lead  would  not  answer,  but  that  the  Amer- 
ican lead  of  the  seven  was  the  only  proper 
lead  to  make. 

"  Cavendish  "  tells  "  Mogul,"  as  "  Mo- 
gul" states,  "with  the  tone  of  an  abso- 
lute whist  dictator,  that  the  penultimate 
is  to  be  abolished  altogether— that  it  will 
abdicate  in  favor  of  the  card  of  uniform- 
ity, the  fourth  best."  "  Mogul  "  says : 
41 '  Cavendish  '  twits  me  with  being,  as 
regards  my  view,  a  minority  of  one,  but 
this  only  proves  his  ignorance  of  the 
views  of  the  players.  Does  he  think  his 
disciples  constitute  the  entire  world  ?" 

From  a  letter  of  an  American  whist- 
player  we  quote  :  "  The  short-whist  play- 
ers seem  to  have  an  idea  that  Hoyle  pat- 
ented whist,  and  that  his  patent  having 
expired,  'Cavendish'  alone  sells  the 
manufactured  article."  And  there  are 
those  who  cry:  "Hoyle  is  great,  and 
1  Cavendish '  is  his  prophet !"  But  "  Cav- 
endish," on  the  evening  of  Wednesday, 
February  25,  1885,  in  the  drawing-room  of 
the  United  Whist  Club,  in  London,  read 
his  lecture  upon  American  leads,  ad- 
vising their  adoption  because  of  their 
superiority,  and  stating  that  "  they  owed 
their  full  development  to  Nicholas  Browse 
Trist,  of  New  Orleans,  U.  S.  A." 

American  leads  were  adopted  in  this 
country,  and  put  into  practice  immedi- 
ately upon  their  announcement.  The 
fourth  best,  as  a  matter  of  principle  and 
play,  and  not  as  a  penultimate  card, 
merely  indicative  of  one  lower  held,  was 
instantly  in  favor  here  among  the  best 
players.— G.  W.  Petles\L.  A.  P.],  "Amer- 
ican Whist  Illustrated" 

As  TOLD  BY  N.  B.  TRIST. — N.  B.  Trist, 
the  father  of  American  leads,  gives  their 
history  in  an  exhaustive  and  most  inter- 
esting article  in  Harper's  Magazine  for 
March,  1891.  He  begins  by  calling  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  great  majority 
of  players  have  rather  confused  ideas 
as  to  the  time  when  some  of  the  most 
important  features  were  incorporated 
into  the  game.  Laboring  under  the  im- 
pression that  all  there  is  good  in  whist 
has  been  introduced  in  comparatively 
modern  times,  they  are  surprised  to  learn 
that  a  good  many  of  the  rules,  as  laid 
down  by  Hoyle,  are  now  followed  bjj  them 
in  daily  practice.  Among  these  is  the 
rule  laid  down  in  his  book,  in  1742,  that 
with  king,  queen,  jack,  and  two  or  more 
small  cards,  the  jack  should  be  led.  The 
rule  that  when  returning  partner's  lead, 
you  should  play  the  higher  card  having 
but  two  remaining,  and  the  lowest  hav- 
ing three,  is  also  old,  having  been  first 
printed  by  Payne.  The  next  important 


development  was  the  call  for  trumps, 
and  then  came  "  Cavendish,"  with  his 
protective  discard  from  strength  (1867), 
the  penultimate  lead  from  suits  of  more 
than  five  cards  (1872),  the  echo  of  the 
call  (1874):  and  on  September  n  and  Oc- 
tober 16,  1875,  he  published  in  the  Field 
two  articles  which,  to  Mr.  Trist's  mind, 
"  are  so  important  as  forerunners  of  the 
present  system  of  American  leads,  show- 
ing what  was  then  '  in  the  air,'  as  it  has 
since  been  called,"  that  he  quotes  from 
them  at  length. 

"  From  ace,  queen,  knave,  and  two  or 
more  small  ones,"  said  "Cavendish,"  in 
one  of  these  articles,  "  the  proper  lead  is 
ace,  then  knave,  instead  of  the  usual  ace, 
then  queen;  because,  with  five  of  suit, 
you  want  partner,  if  he  held  king  and 
two  small  ones  originally,  to  put  his  king 
on  second  round."  He  also  says:  "  The 
usual  lead  from  ace,  queen,  knave,  ten, 
is  ace,  then  queen.  This,  however,  is 
wrong,  as  it  is  not  the  game  for  partner 
to  put  king  on  queen  led  after  ace,  he 
having  king  and  two  small  ones  origi- 
nally. He,  therefore,  blocks  the  suit  on 
the  third  round.  The  proper  lead_  from 
ace,  queen,  knave,  ten,  with  or  without 
small  ones,  is  ace,  then  ten.  *  *  *  The 
partner  of  the  player  who  leads  ace,  then 
ten,  should  put  the  king  on  the  ten— in 
plain  suits — if  he  had  three  originally, 
but  not  if  he  had  four.  Hence  *  *  *  the 
third  player's  hand  can  be  counted  when 
he  has  the  king."  He  then  proceeds  to 
show  that,  by  a  parity  of  reasoning, 
the  proper  lead  from  the  queen,  knave, 
ten  combination  is  queen,  then  knave, 
with  four  in  suit;  and  queen,  then  ten, 
with  more  than  four. 

"These  leads,"  says  Mr.  Trist,  "were 
evidently  so  correct  that  they  found  im- 
mediate favor.  They  are  introduced  in 
the  eleventh  edition  of  'Cavendish  on 
Whist,'  1876.  From  the  foregoing,"  he 
adds,  "  it  would  appear  that  a  great  whist 
advance  was  made  between  the  years  1867 
and  1876." 

Drayson's  recommendation,  in  1879,  of 
the  lead  of  the  antepenultimate  from  a 
suit  of  six  cards,  is  next  noticed.  Dray- 
son  "furthermore  suggested,  with  ace 
and  five  others,  to  lead  the  ace,  then  the 
smallest  but  one — that  is,  the  original 
fifth  best.  This,  to  some  extent,  fore- 
shadowed American  leads,  although  the 
object  of  the  Drayson  rules  was  solely  to 
show  number.  In  the  Field  for  April  8, 
1882,  the  same  author  suggested  that, 
when  the  trumps  were  all  'out,  the  play 
of  an  unnecessarily  high  card  would  be 
a  direction  to  change  the  suit.  He  argues 
that  the  call  for  trumps  is,  in  reality,  a 
command  to  '  change  the  suit  to  trumps;' 
consequently  when,  the  trumps  being  all 
out,  you  play  an  unnecessarily  high  card, 
you  can  only  imply  that  you  want  the 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


suit  changed  to  another  plain  suit.  This 
suggestion  appears  to  be  sound,  and  will 
no  doubt  be  eventually  adopted  as  a  rule 
of  play  by  advanced  players. 

"  In  three  articles,  the  first  of  which 
appeared  in  the  Field  of  April  28,  1883, 
Dr.  William  Pole  applied  the  laws  of 
probabilities  to  the  ever-vexed  question 
of  the  play  of  the  king  and  a  small  card, 
second  hand,  with  the  result  of  confirm- 
ing the  practice  of  playing  the  small  card, 
as  a  general  rule." 

With  these  preliminaries  Mr.  Trist  ap- 
proaches the  epoch  of  American  leads; 
and  first  of  all  he  states  the  rules  by 
which  they  are  governed,  as  follows: 

"  i.  When  you  open  a  strong  suit  with 
a  low  card,  lead  the  fourth,  best. 

"  2.  When  you  open  a  strong  suit  with 
a  high  card,  and  next  lead  a  low  card, 
lead  the  original  fourth  best,  ignoring  in 
the  count  any  high  card  marked  in  your 
hand. 

"  3.  When  you  remain  with  two  high  in- 
different cards,  lead  the  higher,  if  you 
opened  a  suit  of  four;  the  lower,  if  you 
opened  a  suit  of  more  than  four. 

"Rules  land  2,"  he  continues,  "are 
component  parts  of  the  principle  govern- 
ing the  original  lead,  which  demands  that 
it  should  be  from  the  longest  suit,  inas- 
much as  they  provide  a  system  which 
points  out  the  card  to  be  uniformly  led 
from  the  long  suit,  under  the  contingen- 
cies mentioned  in  those  rules.  The  selec- 
tion of  the  particular  card  to  be  led  is  not 
purely  arbitrary,  but  is  founded  on  rea- 
son." This  he  next  demonstrates,  say- 
ing among  other  things: 

"A  suit  of  four  cards  is  considered  to 
be  numerically  strong,  because  it  con- 
tains a  number  of  cards  over  the  average 
due  to  each  player.  It  is  the  long  suit  of 
minimum  strength,  and  therefore  is  the 
one  held  most  frequently.  It  is,  so  to 
speak,  the  type  of  the  long  suit. 

"  One  of  the  results  of  opening  a  four- 
suit  from  the  bottom  is,  that  the  leader 
remains  with  three  cards  higher  than  the 
one  led.  The  information  contained  in 
this  simple  fact  is  very  important,  as  it 
often  enables  the  partner  of  the  leader 
to  place  certain  cards  in  his  hands." 

The  opening  of  a  four-card  suit  thus 
affording  valuable  information,  he  asks, 
"can  not  this  information  be  imparted 
in  the  opening  of  long  suits  containing 
more  than  four  cards  ?  The  solution  of 
the  question  is  simple:  Bring  that  class 
of  cases  under  one  system  and  treat  every 
long  suit  opened  with  a  low  card  as  if  it 
contained  four  cards  only:  there/ore,  lead 
yourfourth  test,  and  the  rest  follows. 

"The  second  branch  of  American  leads, 
which  comes  under  rules,"  continues  Mr. 
Trist,  "relates  to  the  lead  of  high  indif- 
ferent cards,  marked  in  the  player' s  hand, 
and  is  based  on  the  principle  that  with 


such  cards,  in  opening  suits  of  more  than 
average  numerical  strength,  the  aim 
should  be  to  get  the  master  card  out  of 
partner's  hand  so  as  to  free  the  suit.  This 
principle  is  at  least  as  old  as  Hoyle,  and 
he  put  it  in  practice,  as  we  have  seen 
above,  by  directing  that,  with  king,  queen, 
knave,  and  two  small  ones,  you  should 
begin  with  the  knave,  and  giving  the 
reasons  for  so  doing.  This  was  an  isola- 
ted case,  which  'stood  alone  in  its  glory,' 
until  'Cavendish,'  carrying  the  principle 
one  step  further,  introduced,  in  1875,  the 
modification  of  the  three  leads  quoted 
above." 

_  In  July,i883,  Mr.Trist  proposed  another, 
in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  "  Caven- 
dish," and  in  which  he  says:  "With  a 
suit  headed  by  king,  knave,  ten,  the  lead 
of  the  ten  forcing  out  the  queen,  I  always 
follow  with  king  when  I  had  originally 
five  or  more.  I  have  no  book  authority 
for  this,  but  I  find  it  gives  my  partner 
valuable  information."  In  publishing 
the  letter,  "Cavendish"  said  he  bad  sub- 
mitted the  lead  to  several  good  players, 
and  they  were  all  of  the  opinion  that  it 
was  correct  and  justifiable.  The  idea  was 
susceptible,  however,  of  being  carried 
still  further,  and  in  March,  1884,  Mr.  Trist 
sent  to  the  Field  a  short  article  in  which  he 
suggested  the  adoption  of  the  uow  gener- 
ally accepted  rule  for  the  play  of  high 
indifferent  cards,  arguing  that  it  was 
based  on  the  extension  of  a  recognized 
principle,  and  giving  a  number  of  exam- 
ples. He  comments  as  follows: 

"  Mark  how  slowly  the  application  of  a 
whist  principle  seems  to  work  itself  into 
the  human  understanding.  Hoyle  gives 
an  isolated  case — king,  queen,  knave 
lead— involving  a  principle.  One  hundred 
and  thirty-odd  years  elapse  before  'Cav- 
endish' applies  it  to  other  leads;  eight 
years  more  go  by  before  the  principle  is 
extended  to  another  isolated  case— king, 
knave,  ten  example;  and  it  takes  another 
twelve  mouths'  mental  incubation  to 
bring  forth  the  generalization  of  the 
principle.  What  appears  to  be  specially 
worthy  of  note  is  the  fact  that  the  kiug, 
knave,  ten  example  was  before  the  best 
whist-players  of  the  world  for  several 
months,  and  not  one  of  them  seems  to 
have  perceived  that  it  was  but  the  appli- 
cation to  one  case  of  the  extension  of  a 
well-established  principle,  and  which  was 
susceptible  of  being  generalized  so  as  to 
embrace  numerous  cognate  cases. 

"  During  the  interval  between  the  pub- 
lication of  the  two  articles  on  the  lead  of 
high  indifferent  cards,  I  furnished  to  the 
Field  a  letter  on  '  the  penultimate  lead  on 
the  second  round  of  the  suit'  In  which  the 
penultimate  was  recommended  as  the 
proper  lead  after  quitting  the  head  of  the 
suit,  in  order  to  show  number.  In  com- 
menting on  this  suggested  method  of 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


play,  'Cavendish,'  iu a  Field^ article, after 
giving  one  favorable  position  and  two 
unfavorable  ones,  concluded  by  saying: 
'  If  N.  B.  T.  will  class  the  cases  after 
analysis  in  which  a  trick  cannot  be  given 
away  by  his  method,  and  can  thence  for- 
mulate a  plain  rule  of  play,  I  think  his  pro- 
posed method  might  be  advantageously 
employed.  Perhaps  he  •will  kindly  try 
his  hand  at  this,  and  send  result  to  the 
field.  I  think,  however,  he  will  find  it 
more  troublesome  than  he  expects.' 

"This  elicited  the  suggested  analysis 
published  in  the  Field,  April  5,  1884,  the 
result  of  which  was  the  formulating  of  a 
rule  of  play  which  would  leave  a  never- 
varying  interval  of  two  cards  between 
the  card  first  led  and  the  one  led  to  the 
second  round;  afterward  put  in  a  more 
concise  way  by  directing  the  follow  of 
the  'original  fourth  best.' 

"The  lead  of  the  fourth  best  when 
opening  a  suit  with  a  low  card  was  not 
advocated  by  me  in  print,  but  was  settled 
between  '  Cavendish '  and  me  by  corre- 
spondence. What  is  not  generally  known 
— for  Mr.  Henry  Jones  has  modestly 
kept  it  to  himself— is  that  he  independ- 
ently suggested  this  rule  of  play  in  a 
letter  which  crossed  one  from  me  of  the 
same  import.  In  his  letter  '  Cavendish ' 
said:  '  I  call  four  the  normal  number  in 
strong  suits.  It  is  the  type;  more  than 
four  is  very  strong.  Treat  every  suit 
(except  ace-suits  and  king,  queen,  knave- 
suits  with  five)  as  though  you  held  only 
four,  without  the  supernumerary  small 
cards.'  I  wrote:  '  Treat  every  long  suit  as 
if  it  were  originally  the  ordinary  long 
auit  of  four  cards;  consequently,  lead  the 
fourth  from  the  top,  or  drop  down  to  the 
fourth  from  the  top,  on  quitting  the  head 
of  the  suit.' 

"It  seems  from  the  above  that  our 
ideas  on  the  subject  ran  parallel,  and 
whatever  credit  may  attach  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  fourth  best  when  a  low 
card  is  led,  '  Cavendish '  is  certainly  en- 
titled to  his  share  of  it. 

"  For  some  time  after  the  publication 
of  the  articles  in  the  Field,  nothing  more 
appeared  in  print  on  the  subject.  In  the 
meantime  it  was  evident  from  the  letters 
of  Mr.  Jones  that '  American  leads,'  as  he 
called  them,  were  growing  in  his  estima- 
tion. He  wanted  me  to  publish  them  in 
pamphlet  form,  but  not  being  inclined  to 
do  so,  I  left  it  for  him  to  champion  the 
leads,  and  so  on  the  ninth  of  August,  1884, 
there  appeared  in  the  Field  the  first  arti- 
cle on  American  leads  by  '  Cavendish,'  in 
the  introduction  to  which  he  said: 
'Having  satisfied  ourselves  that  these 
leads  are  sound  and  in  harmony  with 
general  principles  of  play,  and  that  they 
are  advantageous  to  those  who  practice 
them,  there  is  evidently  but  one  course 
open  to  us,  viz.,  to  give  them  our  unquali- 


fied support.'  In  this,  and  in  two  other 
articles  which  followed  during  the  same 
month,  he  explained  the  whole  system 
of  American  leads  in  a  clear  and  forcible 
manner,  which  must  have  carried  con- 
viction to  any  unbiased  mind. 

"  That  an  unknown  individual,  signing 
himself  N.  B.  T.,  was  suggesting  some 
innovations  to  the  game  seemed  to  be  a 
matter  of  perfect  indifference  to  the  con- 
servatives, who  paid  not  the  slightest 
attention  to  his  articles;  but  when  'Cav- 
endish' declared  that  he  intended  to  give 
his  unqualified  support  to  American 
leads,  the_  mediaeval  division  of  players 
rose  up  in  arms  against  the  proposed 
improvements. 

Mogul,'  a  whist  celebrity,  put  on  his 
war  paint,  and  made  some  savage  attacks 
in  the  Field  on  American  leads  and  their 
authors,  denouncing  the  leads  as  '  abomi- 
nable modern  inventions.'  '  Pembridge," 
the  clever  author  of  '  Whist,  or  Bumble- 
puppy?"  rushed  into  print  with  'The 
Decline  and  Fall  of  Whist,'  in  which  he 
gave  vent  to  his  pent-up  feelings  '  of  ab- 
horrence of  the  recent  proceedings  of  the 
new  academy;'  and  several  of  the  lesser 
whist  lights  also  entered  the  lists  against 
American  leads. 

"  The  denunciations  of  these  parties 
did  not  in  the  least  alter  '  Cavendish's1 
opinion,  for  he  continued  to  champion 
American  leads  in  every  possible  man- 
ner. In  February,  1885,  he  delivered  a 
lecture  on  the  subject  to  a  large  gather- 
ing of  prominent  whist-players,  in  the 
drawing-room  of  the  United  Whist  Club, 
in  London,  a  summary  of  which  appeared 
in  the  New  York  Spirit  of  the  Times, 
March  14,  1885.  The  following  month  he 
published,  in  the  same  paper,  an  article 
entitled  '  Mr.  Barlow  on  American  Leads 
at  Whist,' containing  an  instructive  les- 
son under  the  guise  of  a  clever  travesty 
of  the  old-fashioned  style  of  '  Sandford 
and  Merton,'  and  of  the  pompousness  of 
Mr.  Barlow,  who  did  not  forget  to  back 
up  Harry  and  snub  Tommy,  as  was  his 
habit.  In  December  of  the  same  year 
he  published  an  article  on  American 
leads  in  Bailey's  Magazine,  and,  finally, 
after  the  pros  and  cons  had  been  pretty 
thoroughly  threshed  out  in  the  Field,  he 
incorporated  the  whole  system  of  Ameri- 
can leads  in  the  sixteenth  edition  of  his 
'  Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist,'  1886,  the 
recognized  text-book  of  the  whist-player. 
From  that  moment  the  future  of  those 
leads,  as  a  permanent  feature  of  the 
game,  was  assured." 

American    Leads,    Objections 

to. — The  four  most  conspicuous 
opponents  of  the  American  leads 
among  whist-writers  of  acknowl- 
edged ability  were:  "Mogul" 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


26 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


(Matthias  Boyce),  R.  A.  Proctor, 
and  "Pembridge"  (J.  P.  Hewby), 
in  England;  and  R.  F.  Foster,  in 
America.  Bitter,  indeed,  was  the 
war  of  words  which  these  gentlemen 
waged  upon  the  new  system  of 
leads,  from  its  first  promulgation. 
"Pembridge"  wrote  his  "Decline 
and  Fall  of  Whist"  for  the  purpose 
of  combatting  the  rapidly  spread- 
ing heresy,  and  "Mogul"  was 
savage  in  his  denunciations,  de- 
claring that  "the  modern  signal- 
game  is  fit  only  for  sharpers  and 
rogues,  who  may  constantly  play 
together  and  invent  their  own  sig- 
nals. It  is,"  he  continued,  "put- 
ting the  cart  before  the  horse  to 
say  that  the  old  rules  for  leading, 
etc. ,  were  devised  to  give  informa- 
tion; the  fact  being  that  such  rules 
are  the  result  of  calculation  and 
experience  as  to  the  best  chances 
of  trick -making,  and  the  inferences 
made  from  the  play  are  rational  and 
logical  deductions,  and  not  merely 
conventional  knowledge."  He  in- 
sisted that  arbitrary  conventions 
were  not  only  useless  from  a  trick- 
making  standpoint,  but  an  insult 
to  the  intelligence  of  partner,  who 
must  be  assumed  so  stupid  that  he 
can  do  nothing  without  special  di- 
rections. If  the  system  is  known 
to  all  the  players  at  the  table,  why 
not  announce  the  combination  by 
word  of  mouth  ?  "  Partner,  I  have 
six  clubs,  ace,  king,  queen,  at  the 
head."  This,  he  argued,  is  done 
in  several  card  games,  notably, 
manille,  which  closely  resembles 
whist;  and  he  further  quoted,  as  a 
precedent,  that  in  the  old  game  of 
triomphe,  or  triumph,  the  part- 
ners could  show  their  hands  to 
each  other.  Proctor  attacked  the 
new  system  in  numerous  essays, 
among' others  in  Longman's  Mag- 
azine for  April,  1886.  Mr.  Foster, 
on  this  side  of  the  water,  also  car- 
ried on  a  determined  warfare  against 


the  new  system;  but  so  strongly 
in  its  favor  was  the  weight  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  swayed  by  the  logic 
of  "Cavendish,"  Trist,  Ames,  Ham- 
ilton, and  other  well-known  ad- 
vocates, that  the  doughty  champion 
of  the  old  leads  incorporated  in 
his  own  works  on  whist  disserta- 
tions on  the  heretical  leads,  and 
instructions  how  to  learn  them. 
Mr.  Foster  has  not  only  constantly 
opposed  the  new  leads  on  theoreti- 
cal grounds,  but  he  has  sought  in 
every  way  to  belittle  the  work  of 
"  Cavendish"  and  Trist  in  invent- 
ing and  perfecting  the  new  system, 
claiming  that  there  is,  practically, 
nothing  new  in  it.  In  one  of  his 
recent  articles  in  the  Monthly  Illus- 
trator, he  says  of  the  leads:  "  The 
author  had  the  pleasure  of  discuss- 
ing them  with  Mr.  Loraine  Bald- 
win, the  author  of  '  The  Laws  of 
Whist,'  and  in  his  day  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  players  in  Eng- 
land. He  could  not  see  the  slight- 
est advantage  in  the  new  leads, 
and  said  none  of  the  best  players 
of  his  acquaintance  had  adopted 
them.  Mr.  Trist,  on  the  other 
hand,  thinks  their  introduction 
'marks  a  great  whist  advance.' 
'  Pembridge'  says  the  advance  is 
toward  the  decline  and  fall  of 
whist." 

Owing  to  the  uncertainty  on  the  first 
round  as  to  what  combinations  American 
leads  may  be  from,  those  adopting  them 
are  taught  never  to  trump  the  first  honor 
led  by  their  partners,  and  never  to  begin 
a  trump  signal  with  only  two  cards.  Of 
course,  the  longer  the  suit,  the  more 
probability  of  some  one  being  void  of  it, 
and  many  are  the  tricks  lost  by  failing 
to  trump  the  queens  of  American-lead 
partners.— #.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

"  American  leads"  are  a  jumble  of  in- 
consistencies. They  are  not  American  at 
all,  having  been  unsuccessfully  urged 
upon  the  attention  of  whist-players 
several  times  during  the  century;  always 
by  Englishmeu  in  English  works  and 
papers.  They  are  called  modern,  but 
they  were  first  suggested  ninety  years 
ago.  They  are  called  scientific,  but" they 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


will  not  stand  the  most  superficial  com- 
parative  analysis.  They  are  said  to  give 
more  information  than  the  old  leads, 
but  it  has  been  conclusively  shown  that 
they  do  not  give  as  much.  They  are  said 
to  have  been  invented  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  showing  the  number  of  cards  in 
the  suit,  but  their  inventor  says  they 
were  designed  solely  to  avoid  unblocking 
on  the  king.  They  are  said  to  take  the 
place  of  the  old  leads,  and  to  necessitate 
anyone  who  has  learned  those  "un- 
learning" them  in  order  to  play  the 
modern  game;  but  no  one  can  play  the 
American  leads  with  less  than  five  cards 
in  a  suit,  so  they  all  have  to  learn  the  old 
system,  in  order  to  know  the  leads  from 
the  more  common  suits  of  four  cards. 
They  are  said  to  be  the  most  "  complete, 
harmonious,  and  perfect  system  of  play 
ever  invented;"  but  their  advocates  are 
continually  suggesting  new  remedi^  for 
their  admitted  defects,  and  their  original 
inventor,  "Cavendish,"  even  goes  so  far 
as  to  acknowledge  that  he  thinks  the 
second  maxim  is  a  fallacy.  They  are  said 
to  have  been  adopted  by  all  the  best 
players.but  the  players  who  have  adopted 
them  have  lost  every  duplicate  whist 
match  on  record,  in  which  they  have 
been  opposed  to  players  of  the  old  leads. — 
#.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.\  "  Whist  Manual " 
(third  edition,  1896). 

When  "  Cavendish  "  visited  this  coun- 
try he  met  most  of  our  strongest  players, 
and  he  stated  it  as  his  opinion  that  Mr. 
Harry  S.  Stevens,  of  the  Chicago  Univer- 
sity Club,  was  the  best  player  he  met  in 
America — an  opinion  which  is  well  sup- 
ported by  Mr.  Stevens's  enviable  record 
as  a  successful  tournament  player. 
Judging  from  the  published  examples  of 
his  play,  he  is  a  staunch  adherent  of 
American  leads:  yet  here  is  a  [quotation 
from  a]  letter  from  him  which  will  sur- 
prise many  of  our  leading  players: 

"  I  am  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  stating 
my  position  to  you.  I  have  felt  from  the 
beginning  that  for  whist-players  of  the 
best  class,  the  number-showing  leads 
would  prove  a  positive  injury  to  the 
game.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  very 
fact  that  they  would  furnish  an  easier 
method  of  counting  partner's  hand  was, 
for  players  of  the  highest  order,  against 
them;  for  they  then  must  handicap  in 
some  degree  the  finer  whist  perception 
which,  before  their  adoption,  was  accus- 
tomed to  count  the  hands,  not  from  any 
such  manifest  indications,  but  from  the 
more  difficult  data  afforded  by  the  fall  of 
the  small  cards.  As  I  wished  to  give 
them  a  thorough  trial  before  making  up 
my  mind  in  regard  to  them,  I  have  used 
them  in  my  play.  But  the  more  I  use 
them,  and  study" their  use  by  others,  the 
more  firmly  I  am  convinced  that  my  first 


impressions    in    regard    to    them  were 
sound." 

Coming  from  such  a  well-known  player, 
this  is  a  very  strong  argument  against 
American  leads.  At  the  same  time,  we 
should  be  very  sorry  to  see  them  set 
aside,  for  it  is  unlikely  that  we  shall  ever 
again  have  such  a  powerful  recruiting 
agency.  In  the  whist  literature  of  the 
past  few  years  we  find  a  vast  army  of 
writers  and  players  upholding  American 
leads  as  the  quintessence  of  scientific 
whist.  Opposed  to  them  we  find  a  single 
author  who  has  consistently  fought  for 
what  he  considers  the  more  intellectual 
game — the  old  leads,  with  an  occasional 
resort  to  the  short  suits.  The  advocates 
of  the  new  leads  base  their  argument 
chiefly  on  their  almost  universal  adop- 
tion in  America;  but  to  our  mind  this 
only  goes  to  support  our  assertion  that 
the  great  majority  of  whist-players  are 
still  in  the  preliminary  stages  of  their 
development. — R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.\,  New 
York  Sun,  January  12,  1896. 

There  are  only  four  combinations  of 
cards  affected  by  the  new  system  of  lead- 
ing, which  are  as  follows: 

[(i)  Ace,  king,  queen,  jack,  and  another; 
(2)  ace,  king,  queen,  and  two  others;  (3) 
ace,  king,  and  three  others;  (4)  king, 
queen,  and  three  others.] 

Under  the  old  system  these  were  all 
king-leads,  and  if  the  player  adopts  the 
system  of  unblocking  on  the  king,  they 
are  still  king-leads,  according  to  "  Cav- 
endish," who  says  that  failure  to  unblock 
on  the  king  was  the  only  reason  for 
changing  them.  The  name,  "American 
leads,"  originated  with  "Cavendish," 
and  was  given  as  a  sub-title  to  his 
"  Whist  Developments,"  published  in 
1885.  The  work  contained  no  mention 
of  American  leads,  as  we  understand 
them,  but  on  page  83  an  attempt  was 
made  to  show  that  it  was  unsafe  to  un- 
block on  a  king  led.  Not  until  some 
years  afterwards  was  it  proposed  to  in- 
vite the  partner  to  unblock  by  not  lead- 
ing the  king,  the  present  system  of  leads 
being  invented  for  that  purpose.  The 
system  has  been  widely  advertised  and 
tried.  In  England  it  has  been  rejected 
as  confusing  and  unnecessary,  but  in 
America  it  has  been  very  generally- 
adopted,  even  by  good  players.  When  it 
was  found  that  it  was  not  unsafe  to  un- 
block on  a  king  led,  the  apologists  for 
these  leads  claimed  that  they  should  still 
be  retained  because  they  gave  "  fuller 
and  clearer  information."  This  also  has 
been  shown  to  be  a  fallacy,  because  they 
give  no  definite  information  on  the  first 
round,  and  add  little  to  the  old  leads  on 
the  second.  The  chief  objection  to  them 
is  that  they  necessitate  a  backward  game, 
for  the  partner  must  refuse  to  trump  any 


AMERICAN  LEADS 


28 


AMERICAN  WHIST 


original  lead  of  a  high  card,  and  cannot 
safely  begin  a  signal  on  the  first  round. 
If  we  carefully  study  these  new  leads, 
we  shall  find  them  easily  learned  by  the 
application  of  the  following  rules,  the 
first  of  which  might  be  called  the  fourth 
maxim  of  American  leads:  Never  lead  a 
king  if  you  have  more  than  four  cards 
of  the  suit.  Having  applied  this  rule, 
we  shall  find  that  the  following  will  en- 
able us  to  lead  correctly  from  any  of  the 
four  combinations  under  consideration: 
Always  lead  the  lowest  of  your  head  se- 
quence.— JR.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "  Whist 
Manual"  (third  edition^  1896). 

"American  leads"  propose  a  syste- 
matic course  when  opening  the  strong 
suit  at  whist,  thus  bringing  the  whole 
scheme  of  leading  within  the  purview 
of  general  principles.  Three  objections 
have  been  urged  against  the  adoption  of 
American  leads: 

(1)  That  they   complicate   the  game. 
It  is  no  objection  to  an  intellectual  game 
that  .it  exercises  the  minds  of  the  play- 
ers.   There  is  yet  another  answer  to  this 
so-called  "  objection,"  viz.,  a  simple  de- 
nial of  its  truth.     Seven  years'  experi- 
ence has  caused  many  thoughtful  players 
to  conclude  that  American  leads  simplify 
the  game;    and    others   admit   that,   at 
least,  the   complication   argument    has 
been  grossly  exaggerated. 

(2)  That  they  seldom  affect  the  result. 
The  explanation  is  that  American  leads 
add  little  which  is  new  to  the  game.  They 
rather  aim  at  consolidating  the  old  prac- 
tice, and  at  extending  a  law  of  uniform- 
ity to  cases  not  hitherto  provided  for. 

(3)  That  the    precise    information  af- 
forded may  be  of  more  use  to  the  oppo- 
nents than  to  the  leader's  partner.  Under 
similar  whist  conditions,  it  is  an  acknowl- 
edged advantage  to  convey  information 
of  strength,  notwithstanding  that  it  is 
published  to  the  whole  table.    It  seems 
unlikely  that  a  player  will  be  at  a  disad- 
vantage, in  the  long  run,  because  he  im- 
parts too  much  information.    No  further 
answer  could  be  made  to  this  objection  on 
the  first  introduction  of  American  leads. 
Now  the  necessary  experience  has  been 
obtained,  it  may  be  stated  without  fear 
of  contradiction,  that  no  players  who  have 
once    adopted   these  leads  have   volun- 
tarily relinquished  them,  on  the  ground 
that  the  adversaries  have  benefited  more 
than  the  leader  and  his  partner,  in  eon- 
sequence  of  the  information  afforded. 

No  doubt,  moderate  players  may  lack 
the  quick  perception  which  would  enable 
them  to  talce  full  advantage  of  the  Amer- 
ican maxims.  This  is  no  reason  why 
better  players  should  be  deprived  of  that 
advantage.  Beginners  can  at  least  be 
drilled  into  playing  according  to  rules 
which  practical  experience  has  shown  to 
be  sound  in  theory.  Whether  the  student 


will  be  able  to  profit  by  the  application 
of  such  rules  must  depend  upon  his  apti- 
tude for  the  game.  At  all  events,  he  may 
easily  learn  to  speak  its  language  intelli- 
gibly, for  the  benefit  of  partners  who 
understand  it. 

Two  cautions  are  necessary  to  the  would- 
be  American  leader  as  regards  the  use 
to  be  made  by  the  adversaries  of  the  in- 
formation given.  The  first  is,  that  these 
leads  are  valueless  unless  partner  is  a 
player  who  counts  the  cards  and  who  is 
prepared  to  unblock  the  long  suit  in  the 
manner  detailed  in  this  volume.  The 
second  is,  that  when  the  opponents  have 
shown  considerable  strength  in  trumps, 
and  especially  when  they  have  the  com- 
mand, it  is  not  advisable,  in  many  cases, 
to  provide  them  with  opportunities  for 
counting,  with  precision,  the  unplayed 
cards  in  the  weak  hands.  This  is  a  mat- 
ter of  judgment,  for  which  no  general 
rule  can  be  laid  down.  —  "  Cavendish  " 
[L.  A.'],  "Whist  Developments"  (fourth 
edition, 


"American  Whi»t."—  This  term 
was  brought  into  prominence  by 
George  W.  Pettes,  the  first  Ameri- 
can to  publish  an  original  work  on 
the  game.  Mr.  Pettes  was  an  en- 
thusiastic advocate  of  American,  as 
distinguished  from  English  or 
foreign,  whist.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  in  this  country  to  play  the 
now  generally  accepted  game  of 
seven  points  without  honors;  and 
while  his  writings  and  ideas  have 
not  lacked  opposition  and  criticism, 
in  some  respects,  even  in  his 
native  land,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  their  interest  and  value,  or  of 
the  influence  which  they  have  ex- 
ercised upon  the  development  of 
whist  in  America.  It  seems  to 
have  been  his  ambition  to  have  all 
the  improvements  and  systems  of 
play  in  this  country  united  under 
the  name  of  American  whist,  with 
himself  as  special  advocate  and  de- 
fender. In  conformity  with  this 
idea,  he  incorporated  the  American 
leads  as  part  of  his  system,  supple- 
menting the  labors  of  Trist  and 
"  Cavendish  "  with  what  he  called 
the  "New  Play"  (q.  v.  ).  The 
material  differences  between  his 


AMERICAN  WHIST 


29    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


system  and  the  American  leads 
proper  were  as  follows:  leading 
ace  also  from  ace,  queen,  ten, 
nine;  and  from  ace,  jack,  ten, 
nine.  Leading  queen  from  queen, 
jack,  and  two  below  the  seven; 
and  from  queen,'  jack,  nine,  and 
two  or  more.  Leading  jack  from 
jack,  ten,  nine,  and  one  or  more; 
and  from  jack,  ten,  and  two  small. 
Leading  ten  from  ace,  king,  queen, 
jack,  and  ten  only;  from  king, 
queen,  jack,  ten,  and  one  or  more; 
and  from  king,  jack,  ten,  and  one 
or  more.  The  nine  he  treated  as  a 
high  card,  and  led  from  a  single 
combination — king,  jack,  nine, 
with  or  without  others  (except  ace 
and  queen). 

Short  whist,  not  counting1  honors,  as 
played  in  America  and  France,  is  known 
as  American  whist.  It  is  played  now  a 
good  deal  in  England,  and  is  there  grow- 
ing in  favor.— A.  J.  Mclnlosh  [L.  A.], 
"Modern  Whist,"  1888. 

In  1878,  the  Berkeleys,  of  Boston, framed 
a  series  of  orders  to  govern  the  revision 
of  long  whist,  and  called  the  new  play 
the  American  game.  In  1889,  the  Des- 
chapelles  Club,  of  Boston,  adopt ed  a  com- 
pleted code  of  laws  for  the  government 
of  American  whist.— G.  W.  Pettes[L.A.P.], 
"American  Whist  Illustrated." 

About  ten  years  ago  a  small  club  was 
formed  in  Boston,  whose  members,  hav- 
ing great  respect  for  the  creed  of  the 
Folkestone  circle,  determined  to  study 
whist  to  the  promotion  of  a  like  purpose, 
the  glory  of  the  game.  Study  convinced 
them  not  only  that  it  was  necessary  for 
the  development  of  the  power  of  the 
cards  that  all  of  them  should  be  played, 
but  that  it  was  not  essential  to  shorten 
the  game  by  giving  points  to  cards 
which  did  not  make  tricks.  They 
adopted  James  Clay's  golden  maxim,  "  It 
is  of  more  importance  to  inform  your 
partner  than  to  deceive  your  adversary;" 
and  his  precept,  "The  best  whist-player 
is  he  who  plays  the  game  in  the  most 
simple  and  intelligent  way."  They  be- 
lieved that  the  laws  for  that  player  should 
be  simple  and  intelligible,  and  framed  a 
code  of  distinguished  difference  from  the 
voluminous  one  that  regulates  the  Eng- 
lish play.  Their  method  was  at  once 
prepared  for  assimilation  with  and  ac- 
ceptance of  improvements  and  inven- 
tions which  were  somewhat  rapidly  to 
follow  each  other,  and  which  were 


destined  to  be  of  the  first  importance  to 
the  permanency  and  credit  of  the  game. 
The  discard  from  the  strong  suit  upon 
the  opponent's  trump  play,  the  lead  of 
the  penultimate,  and  the  echo  of  the  call 
had  been  incorporated  into  the  play  of 
both  long  and  short  whist;  but  it  was 
after  the  introduction  of  the  amended 
and  revised  game,  in  practice  in  this 
country,  to  which  these  students  gave 
the  name  of  American  whist,  that  the 
leads  of  ace,  then  king,  if  no  more  of  the 
suit  are  held;  of  king,  then  knave,  from 
the  four  honors;  and  of  the  nine  when 
king  and  knave,  and  not  ace  or  queen, 
are  in  hand,  were  adopted  as  standard 
plays  in  the  best-ordered  game. — G.  W. 
Pettes  \_L,  A.  P.],  "American  Whist  Illus- 
trated." 

American  Whist  League. — This 

great  organization,  to  which  more 
than  to  any  other  one  cause  may 
be  ascribed  the  wonderful  popular- 
ity which  whist  enjoys  in  this 
country,  was  formed  at  Milwaukee, 
Wis.,  April  14-17,  1891.  It  was  the 
outcome  of  the  enthusiasm  in  whist 
play  aroused  by  the  Milwaukee 
Whist  Club— the  first  at  which 
whist  was  exclusively  played  at  the 
time.  Its  high  standard  of  play, 
and  its  almost  unbroken  line  of 
victories  over  all  the  teams  that 
could  be  mustered  against  its  chief 
players,  had  given  it  deserved  pres- 
tige at  home  and  abroad,  so  that 
when  it  issued  an  invitation  to  the 
lovers  of  whist  in  America,  to  meet 
in  the  first  whist  congress  ever  held, 
the  response  was  hearty  and  gen- 
eral. The  leading  spirit  in  the 
movement  was  Eugene  S.  Elliott, 
the  founder  of  the  club,  and  he  is 
universally  honored  now  as  the 
founder  of  the  League  and  its  first 
presiding  officer. 

The  opening  session  of  the  con- 
gress was  called  to  order,  in  the 
Ladies'  Athenaeum  building,  by 
Cassius  M.  Paine,  president  of  the 
Milwaukee  Whist  Club,  and  Mr. 
Elliott  was  made  temporary  and 
then  permanent  chairman.  Twen- 
ty-five clubs  were  represented,  and 
at  various  times,  during  subsequent 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    30    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


sessions,  thirty-nine  clubs  partici- 
pated, being  represented  by  eighty- 
three  delegates.  The  work  of  the 
congress  included  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  which  formulated 
a  code  of  laws  for  the  American 
game,  differing  in  many  important 
respects  from  that  in  force  in  Eng- 
land. Another  important  action 
was  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolution,  offered  by  A.  G.  Safford: 
"  Resolved,  That  the  First  Ameri- 
can Whist  Congress,  while  it  does 
not  assume  to  dictate  to  the  players 
of  the  game  of  whist  whether  or 
not  such  players  shall  lay  wagers 
upon  the  result  of  the  game,  hereby 
declares  itself  of  the  opinion  that 
betting  on  the  result  of  the  game 
by  players  or  outsiders  is  contrary 
to  good  morals,  tends  to  injure  the 
game,  and  to  deteriorate  the  style 
of  play."  The  congress  also  re- 
commended the  American  leads,  as 
set  forth  in  the  appendix  of  the 
eighteenth  edition  of"  Cavendish," 
as  the  system  for  the  interplay  of 
League  clubs. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  feat- 
ures of  each  annual  congress  of  the 
League  are  the  matches  played  by 
individuals  and  clubs.  At  the  first 
congress,  the  straight  whist  match, 
twenty-six  tables,  Milwaukee  vs. 
Visitors,  was  won  by  Milwaukee, 
by  a  score  of  1525  to  1258.  The 
Streeter  diamond  medal,  for  highest 
individual  score  at  duplicate  play, 
was  won  by  E.  Price  Townsend, 
of  the  Hamilton  Club,  Philadel- 
phia. The  duplicate  whist  match, 
Orndorff  system,  two  tables,  twenty- 
four  deals,  Milwaukee  vs.  Visitors, 
was  won  by  the  visitors  by  one 
trick.  At  this  congress  the  cele- 
brated Hamilton  Trophy  (q.  v.) 
was  tendered  to  the  League  by  Dr. 
M.  H.  Forrest;,  of  the  Hamilton 
Whist  Club,  Philadelphia,  and  duly 
accepted. 

Henry  Jones  ("Cavendish")  and 


N.  B.  Trist  were  elected  honorary 
members.  Of  the  thirty-nine  clubs 
represented  at  the  congress,  twenty- 
five  joined  the  League,  which  was 
organized  with  Eugene  S.  Elliott 
as  president,  as  did  also  twenty- 
three  clubs  not  represented  at  the 
congress,  thus  making  the  total 
membership  forty-eight  clubs  at  the 
end  of  the  first  year. 

The  Second  Annual  Congress. — 
At  the  second  congress,  held  in  New 
York,  July  19-23,  1892,  with  an  at- 
tendance of  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight  delegates  and  sixty-nine  al- 
ternates, representing  thirty-four 
clubs,  the  laws  governing  the  Amer- 
ican game,  adopted  at  Milwaukee, 
were  revised,  as  was  also  the  League 
constitution,  and  Eugene  S.  Elliott 
was  unanimously  re-elected  presi- 
dent. Sixteen  clubs  participated 
in  the  first  match  for  the  Hamilton 
Trophy,  and  in  the  final  contest 
the  Hamilton  team  and  the  Capital 
Bicycle  Club  team  were  tied  for 
first  place.  The  tie  was  played  off 
at  the  next  congress,  when  the 
Capitals,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Low, 
Wooten,  Barrick,  and  Borden  (the 
latter  two  taking  the  places  of 
Messrs.  Bingham  and  Eakin  in  the 
previous  play),  came  off  victorious. 

The  total  membership  reported  at 
the  second  congress  was  69  clubs. 

The  Third  Annual  Congress. — 
The  third  whist  congress  was  held 
at  Chicago,  June  20-24,  1893,  and 
was  attended  by  two  hundred  and 
eighty-four  delegates  and  fifty- 
three  alternates,  representing  forty- 
six  clubs.  At  this  congress  the 
work  of  the  previous  gatherings 
was  perfected,  the  laws  of  whist 
being  again  revised  and  adopted, 
together  with  the  etiquette  of  whist. 
Eugene  S.  Elliott  was  again  elected 
president.  The  match  of  Chicago 
vs.  All-Americans,  duplicate  whist, 
eighty  players  on  a  side,  was  won 
by  Chicago,  by  nineteen  tricks.  In 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE  31    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


the  match  of  Chicago  vs.  All-Amer- 
icans,  straight  whist,  the  visitors 
won  by  one  hundred  and  thirty 
tricks.  The  first  prize  went  to 
Messrs.  Hinsle)'  and  Carleton,  of 
the  Carthage  Whist  Club,  and  the 
second  prize  to  Messrs.  'Flint  and 
Norton,  of  the  Chicago  Whist  Club. 
The  Hamilton  Club  Trophy  (eigh- 
teen clubs  entering)  was  won  by 
the  following  team  from  the  Min- 
neapolis Chess,  Checkers,  and  Whist 
Club:  J.  H.  Briggs,  J.  F.  Whallon, 
O.  H.  Briggs,  and  George  L.  Bunn. 
The  contest  for  club  pairs  (twelve 
clubs  entering)  was  won  by  the 
Capital  Bicycle  Club,  of  Washing- 
ton. The  free-for-all  match,  dupli- 
cate whist,  progressive  pairs,  was 
won  by  W.  H.  Hawes  and  J.  H. 
Baldwin,  of  the  Chicago  Whist  Club. 
During  the  year  five  clubs  withdrew 
or  disbanded,  and  thirty-one  joined, 
making  a  total  of  ninety-five  when 
the  next  congress  assembled  at 
Philadelphia.  There  were  thirty- 
six  independent  whist  clubs;  eigh- 
teen of  which  were  departments  of 
other  clubs;  three  chess,  checkers, 
and  whist  clubs;  five  athletic  clubs, 
and  thirty-three  social  clubs.  The 
ninety-five  clubs  were  situated  in 
sixty-four  cities  and  towns,  in 
twenty-three  States  and  the  District 
of  Columbia.  The  total  member- 
ship of  the  clubs  was  14,455,  out  of 
which  5166  were  active  whist-play- 
ers. There  were  also  five  honorary 
members  of  the  League — Henry 
Jones  ("  Cavendish  "),  N.  B.  Trist. 
Fisher  Ames,  William  Pole,  and 
A.  W.  Drayson — and  fourteen  as- 
sociate members. 

The  Fourth  Annual  Congress. — 
At  the  fourth  congress,  held  at 
Philadelphia,  May  22-26,  1894,  the 
laws  of  duplicate  whist  were 
adopted.  At  this  meeting  there 
were  present  about  four  hundred 
and  forty-four  delegates  and  forty- 
seven  alternates,  representing  fifty 


clubs.  Captain  John  M.  Walton, 
of  Philadelphia,  was  elected  presi- 
dent, to  succeed  Eugene  S.  Elliott, 
who,  having  served  continuously 
from  the  organization  of  the  League, 
declined  further  election.  The 
organization  of  State  leagues  of 
whist  clubs  and  inter-State  leagues 
was  suggested.  The  Hamilton  Club 
Trophy  (twenty-three  clubs  enter- 
ing) was  won  by  the  following  team 
from  the  University  Whist  Club,  of 
Chicago:  J.  L.  Waller,  W. Waller,  J. 
H.  Baldwin,  and  H.  Trumbull.  The 
progressive  match  for  fours  (twenty- 
nine  teams  entering)  was  won  by 
the  Albany  (N.Y. )  Whist  Club.  In- 
dividual prizes  went  to  E.  L.  Smith 
and  B.  Lodge,  Jr.,  of  the  Albany 
Club,  and  Messrs.  Walker  and  Staf- 
ford, of  the  Hyde  Park  Whist 
Club.  The  American  Whist  League 
Challenge  Trophy,  played  for  the 
first  time  (sixteen  clubs  entering), 
was  won  by  the  following  team  from 
the  Minneapolis  Chess,  Checkers, 
and  Whist  Club:  J.  H.  Briggs,  O. 
H.  Briggs,  W.  H.  Wheeler,  and  W. 
G.  Bronson,  Jr.  The  straight  whist 
match  (one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  players)  was  won  by  E.  C. 
Howell  and  L.  M.  Bouve,  of  the 
American  Whist  Club,  Boston.  In 
the  progressive  match  for  pairs  (fifty 
pairs  entering),  the  winners  were: 
Messrs.  Taylor  and  Harban,  each 
eleven  tricks  ahead  of  average 
north  and  south  score;  and  Messrs. 
Evans  and  Russell,  ten  tricks  ahead 
of  average  east  and  west  score. 
The  record  prize  was  won  by  the 
University  Whist  Club,  of  Chicago. 
During  the  year  eleven  clubs 
withdrew  or  disbanded,  but  forty- 
four  were  added,  making  the  total 
membership  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-eight. These  clubs  were  situated 
in  eighty-seven  cities  and  towns, 
in  twenty- five  States  and  in  the 
District  of  Columbia.  New  York 
State  had  twenty-eight  clubs,  in 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    32   AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


eleven  cities  or  towns;  Illinois,  thir- 
teen, in  eight  cities  or  towns;  Penn- 
sylvania, eleven,  in  two  cities  or 
towns;  Massachusetts,  nine, in  seven 
cities  or  towns;  California  and  Wis- 
consin, seven  each,  in  six  cities  or 
towns  each ;  Missiouri  and  Indiana, 
six  each,  in  five  cities  or  towns 
each;  Michigan  and  Minnesota, 
five  each,  in  five  cities  or  towns 
each;  New  Jersey  and  Iowa,  four 
each,  in  four  cities  or  towns;  Rhode 
Island,  four,  in  two  cities  or  towns; 
Washington,  three,  in  three  cities 
or  towns;  Oregon,  three,  in  one 
city;  South  Dakota  and  Nebraska, 
two  each,  in  two  cities  or  towns; 
Delaware,  Maryland,  North  Caro- 
lina, Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Ohio, 
Tennessee,  and  West  Virginia,  one 
each.  Brooklyn  had  fourteen 
League  Clubs;  Philadelphia,  ten; 
Chicago,  six;  Providence,  Albany, 
Boston,  New  York,  and  Portland, 
Ore.,  three  each;  Indianapolis, 
St.  Louis,  Oakland,  Cal.,  and  Mil- 
waukee, two  each.  The  clubs  rep- 
resented in  the  League  had  a  total 
membership  of  21,758,  of  which 
6956  were  whist-players. 

The  Fifth  Annual  Congress. — At 
the  fifth  congress,  held  at  Minne- 
apolis, Minn.,  June  18-22,  1895, 
fifty-five  clubs  were  represented  by 
delegates,  and  the  attendance  was 
large,  as  usual.  President  Walton 
was  unable  to  attend,  much  to  his 
regret.  In  a  letter  to  the  congress 
he  made  the  following  reference  to 
a  most  important  subject:  "As 
long  as  our  contests  are  not 
prompted  by  motives  of  gain  they 
will  commend  themselves  to  the 
consideration  of  honorable  and 
cultured  men  of  all  ages;  and  to 
maintain  the  integrity  of  our  great 
American  Whist  League,  so  favor- 
ably known  throughout  the  land, 
the  policy  inaugurated  of  depre- 
cating the  playing  for  profit  should 
be  fearlessly  adhered  to."  These 


words  met  with  the  hearty  approval 
of  all  present.  Attention  was  called 
to  the  fact  that  the  League  had,  in 
February,  been  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  Rhode  Island,  ' '  for  the 
encouragement  and  promotion  of 
the  study  and  play  of  whist,  and 
for  other  literary,  educational,  and 
social  purposes  connected  there- 
with or  incident  thereto."  The 
executive  committee  reported  the 
following  concerning  private  con- 
ventions, which  was  adopted  by  the 
League:  "The  committee  ac- 
knowledges the  right  of  contestants 
to  use  any  well-known  and  estab- 
lished method  of  play,  and  any 
original  method  not  given  a  secret 
pre-arranged  meaning;  but  this 
committee  emphatically  disap- 
proves of  private  conventions,  and 
defines  a  private  convention  to  be 
any  unusual  method  of  play  based 
upon  a  prior  secret  agreement." 
Theodore  Schwarz,  of  Chicago,  was 
elected  president  of  the  League, 
and  Walter  H.  Barney,  who  for 
four  years  had  faithfully  served  as 
recording  secretary,  was  made  vice- 
president;  B.  D.  Kribben,  of  St. 
Louis,  was  elected  recording  secre- 
tary; R.  H.  Weems,  of  Brooklyn, 
was  re-elected  corresponding  sec- 
retary, and  B.  L.  Richards,  of  Rock 
Rapids,  Iowa,  was  re-elected  treas- 
urer. A  cup  was  donated  by  the 
Minneapolis  Chess,  Checkers,  and 
Whist  Club,  to  be  used  as  a  trophy 
to  be  played  for  by  pairs  at  each 
annual  congress.  The  holding  of  a 
correspondence  tourney  between 
League  clubs  the  coming  winter 
was  approved. 

The  matches  at  the  congress  re- 
sulted as  follows  :  The  contest  for 
the  Hamilton  Trophy  for  the  year 
i895-'96,  was  won  by  the  team 
from  the  Hyde  Park  Whist  Club,  of 
Chicago  (Messrs.  Rogers,  Mitchell, 
Walker,  and  Parsons),  by  twelve 
tricks.  The  contest  for  the  first 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE   33   AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


possession  of  the  American  Whist 
League  Challenge  Trophy  for  1895- 
'96,  was  won  by  the  team  from  the 
Nashville  Whist  Club  (Messrs. 
Shwab,  Cooper,  Branner,  and  Mc- 
Clung),  by  five  tricks.  In  the 
match  for  club  pairs,  Messrs. 
Smith  and  Snow,  of  the  Albany 
(N.  Y.)  Whist  Club,  were  the  win- 
ners. The  first  progressive  match 
for  fours  was  won  by  Messrs. 
Wood,  Parsons,  Mitchell,  and  W. 
J.  Walker,  of  the  Chicago  Whist 
Club.  For  the  second  progressive 
match  for  fours,  the  Executive  Big 
Four  (Messrs.  Morse,  Weems, 
Wooten.and  Kribben)  and  the  four 
from  the  Hamilton  Club  of  Phila- 
delphia (Messrs.  Work,  Remak, 
Ballard.and  Mogridge)  were  tie  for 
first  place,  and  prizes  were  awarded 
to  both  teams.  The  straight  whist 
match  was  won  by  Messrs.  Sperry 
and  Witherle,  of  the  St.  Paul  Chess 
and  Whist  Club. 

During  the  year  the  League  lost 
twenty-three  clubs  and  enrolled 
thirty,  making  the  total  member- 
ship one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
clubs,  located  in  ninety-two  cities 
and  towns,  with  25,765  members, 
of  which  7208  where  whist-players. 

The  Sixth  Annual  Congress. — 
The  sixth  congress  of  the  League 
was  held  at  Manhattan  Beach, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  June  23-27,  1896, 
when  sixty-seven  clubs  were  rep- 
resented by  a  large  number  of  dele- 
gates. President  Schwarz,  in  his 
opening  address,  made  the  follow- 
ing reference  to  a  very  important 
matter:  ' '  There  is  still  another  sub- 
ject which  I  approach  with  some 
hesitation,  because  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  as  to  the  policy  to 
be  pursued.  At  the  first  congress 
Mr.  Trist  was  not  present,  but  he 
sent  us  a  communication  in  which 
he  advocated  the  adoption  of  some 
text-book  upon  the  game,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  whist  what  it 


was  intended  to  be,  a  language,  and 
every  card  an  intelligible  sentence. 
He  said,  in  that  paper,  that  if  a 
whist-player  from  the  East  met  one 
from  the  West,  it  should  not  be 
necessary  for  them  to  ask  each  other 
what  system  they  played,  but  the 
cards  should  speak  for  themselves. 
Nothing  was  done  at  that  congress, 
and  nothing  has  been  done  since. 
In  common  with  others,  I  hoped 
that  after  that  congress  there  would 
be  a  blending,  and  that  the  annual 
meetings  would  have  a  tendency  to 
harmonize  different  systems  and 
different  methods.  Instead  of  that, 
however,  we  have  been  getting 
wider  and  wider  apart,  until  to-day 
a  whist-player  cannot  sit  at  a  table 
with  a  stranger  without  asking  him 
what  system  he  plays.  New  con- 
ventions have  arisen.  The  echo 
means  two  or  three  different  things. 
There  are  a  half-a-dozen  different 
methods  of  discard;  there  are  long- 
suit  theorists  and  short-suit  theor- 
ists, and  taken  altogether  there  is 
a  wider  difference  to-day  than  there 
was  at  the  start.  Now,  it  seems  to 
me  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League  to  correct  this 
state  of  affairs,  if  it  is  possible.  We 
can  appoint  a  committee  of  expert 
players,  men  who  have  fought  their 
way  to  the  front,  and  let  them  sift 
the  different  methods  in  vogue  at 
the  present  time,  and  recommend 
to  the  whist-players  of  the  country 
that  which  they  think  is  best.  I  do 
not  mean  by  this  that  we  should 
adopt  any  text-book  upon  the  game, 
or  that  we  should  arbitrarily  impose 
upon  the  players  of  the  country 
any  system,  nor  would  I  restrain 
individual  liberty  of  action.  It 
would  be  simply  in  the  nature  of  a 
recommendation,  and  would  tell  the 
players  of  the  American  Whist 
League,  and  the  whist-players  at 
large,  just  what  we  thought  was 
best,  without  preventing  them 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    34    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


from  playing  something  else,  if 
they  desired  to  do  so. "  A  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  later,  that  the 
president  appoint  an  advisory  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  feasibility  of 
carrying  out  the  suggestion  in  his 
opening  address,  "that  a  standing 
committee  be  appointed  to  sift  the 
different  methods  or  systems  of 
play,  etc.,  and  recommend  that 
which,  in  their  judgment,  is  the 
best"  The  president  appointed  as 
such  advisory  committee:  P.  J. 
Tormey,  Milton  C.  Work,  R.  H. 
Weems,  Cassius  M.  Paine,  N.  B. 
Trist,  H.  A.  Mandell,  C.  A.  Hen- 
riques,  George  L.  Bunn,  and  E.  C. 
Howell.  This  committee,  with  one 
dissenter  only — and  that  one  with 
an  "  if" — approved  the  recommen- 
dation of  President  Schwarz,  and 
asked  the  appointment  of  a  per- 
manent standing  committee  to  re- 
port at  the  seventh  congress  a  sys- 
tem of  play  which,  in  their  judg- 
ment, was  the  best,  etc.,  and  this 
was  done,  as  follows:  Committee  on 
System  of  Play— Milton  C.  Work, 
Philadelphia;  John  H.  Briggs,  Min- 
neapolis; George  W.  Keehn,  Chi- 
cago; George  L.  Bunn,  St.  Paul; 
Thomas  A.  Whelan,  Baltimore;  E. 
A.  Buffinton,  Brooklyn;  L.  M. 
Bouve",  Boston. 

It  was  announced  that  the  act  of 
incorporation  had  been  amended 
so  as  to  provide  for  the  admission 
to  the  League  of  "  voluntary  associ- 
ations and  clubs  "  of  foreign  coun- 
tries as  well  as  those  of  this  coun- 
try. A  resolution  was  adopted 
that  "the  Hamilton  Club  Trophy  be 
and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  to 
be  the  Championship  Trophy  of 
the  American  Whist  League  for 
teams  of  four  representing  League 
clubs."  It  was  also  decided  that 
it  be  kept  as  a  perpetual  trophy  to 
be  played  for  at  each  annual  con- 
gress, and  held  by  the  club  winning 
it  until  the  next  succeeding  con- 


gress. The  annual  dues  of  asso- 
ciate members  were  raised  from 
two  to  five  dollars.  It  was  decided 
that  the  committee  on  laws  con- 
sider the  question  of  revising  the 
code  of  botli  straight  and  duplicate 
whist  during  the  coming  year,  and 
receive  recommendations  from 
clubs  or  individuals,  and  formulate 
a  report.  The  only  change  in  the 
officers  made  was  the  election  of 
W.  H.  Barney  as  president,  and  H. 
A.  Mandell  as  vice-president. 

The  various  contests  at  this  con- 
gress resulted  as  follows:  The  Ham- 
ilton Trophy  was  won  by  the  team 
from  the  Hamilton  Club,  of  Phil- 
adelphia (Messrs.  Milton  C.  Work, 
GustavusRemak,  Jr.,  E.  A.  Ballard, 
and  Frank  P.  Mogridge).  The  A. 
W.  L.  Challenge  Trophy  was  won 
by  the  team  from  the  Whist  Club, 
New  York  (Messrs.  C.  A.  Hen- 
riques,  W.  E.  Hawkins,  C.  R. 
Keiley,  and  E.  A.  Buffinton).  The 
contest  for  the  Minneapolis  Tro- 
phy, for  pairs  representing  League 
clubs,  resulted  in  a  tie  between 
the  pair  from  the  Hamilton  Club, 
of  Philadelphia  (Messrs.  Paul  Clay- 
ton and  Arthur  D.  Smith),  and  the 
team  from  the  Baltimore  Whist 
Club  (Messrs.  Beverley  W.  Smith 
and  A.  H.  McCay).  The  final  re- 
sult was  determined  by  the  trick 
score,  and  the  Baltimoreans  thereby 
won  the  trophy.  The  contest  for 
the  Brooklyn  Trophy,  for  teams  rep- 
resenting auxiliary  associations, 
was  won  by  the  fourteen  players 
representing  the  New  England 
Whist  Association,  by  nine  tricks. 
In  the  first  progressive  match  for 
pairs,  Messrs.  Faber  and  Rich  had 
the  high  score  for  north  and  south, 
and  Messrs.  Langmuir  and  Stiles 
for  east  and  west.  In  the  second 
match,  the  winners  of  north  and 
south  were  Messrs.  Neuman  and 
Bouton;  and  east  and  west,  Messrs. 
Williamson  and  Britton.  The 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    35   AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


match  for  progressive  fours  was 
won  by  the  team  from  the  Balti- 
more Whist  Club  ( Messrs.  Thomas, 
Dennison,  Huntley,  and  Dr.  W.  F. 
Smith).  The  straight  whist  match 
was  won  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Payot, 
and  the  match  between  men  and 
women  was  ungallantly  carried  off 
by  the  former  by  twenty  tricks. 
The  highest  scores  for  women  were: 
Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews  and  Miss  Bessie 
E.  Allen,  plus  3^ ;  Mrs.  Fenollosa 
and  Miss  Harrison,  plus  3^;  the 
highest  score  for  men,  W.  H.  Whit- 
feld  and  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  plus 
ixi£. 

The  Seventh  Annual  Congress. — 
The  seventh  congress  of  the  League 
was  held  at  Put-in- Bay,  Ohio,  July 
6-10,  1897.  Sixty-eight  clubs  were 
represented,  and  upwards  of  three 
hundred  whist-players  were  in  at- 
tendance. Among  these  was  a  del- 
egation from  the  newly-organized 
Woman's  Whist  League. 

President  Walter  H.  Barney,  in 
his  annual  address,  noticed  the  for- 
mation of  four  local  or  auxiliary 
leagues  during  the  past  year, 
namely,  one  in  the  State  of  Michi- 
gan, one  in  Tennessee,  another  in 
New  York,  and  another  under  the 
name  of  the  Atlantic  Whist  Asso- 
ciation, consisting  of  clubs  in  the 
States  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  and  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  Two  had  been  admitted 
to  auxiliary  membership  in  the 
League.  After  dwelling  upon  the 
importance  of  such  organizations 
as  a  proper  supplement  to  the 
League,  and  warmly  commending 
and  welcoming  the  Woman's  Whist 
League,  he  touched  upon  an  old 
but  interesting  subject,  as  follows: 

"  The  work  of  the  American 
Whist  League  in  creating  interest 
in  good  whist-play — whist  in  its 
best  form — is  now  practically  an 
accomplished  fact;  and  the  League 
should  now  devote  its  energy  and 


efforts  to  the  development  of  the 
game.  The  contests  held  at  these 
annual  gatherings,  and  the  matches 
for  the  Challenge  and  Brooklyn  tro- 
phies, with  their  published  scores 
and  play,  are  doing  a  work  of  the 
greatest  educational  value;  but  it 
falls  far  short  of  what  our  members 
have  a  right  to  expect  of  an  organi- 
zation like  the  American  Whist 
League.  The  country  looks  to  the 
League  for  a  standard  of  play.  The 
failure  to  meet  and  present  a  re- 
port on  the  part  of  the  special  com- 
mittee on  system  of  play,  appointed 
at  the  last  congress,  is  most  unfor- 
tunate. Very  many  looked  forward 
to  this  report  as  something  which 
would  form  the  beginning  of  a 
foundation  upon  which  a  more  en- 
during structure  could  be  erected. 
*  *  *  There  is  a  great  demand 
for  something  which  the  young 
student  may  tie  to,  as  agreed  upon 
by  the  majority  of  players.  *  *  * 
We  need  something  which  can  be 
referred  to  as  the  'standard  system;' 
and  to  which  all  can  refer  their  own 
game  as  presenting  such  and  such 
variations.  Although  the  work  has 
difficulties,  it  should  not  be  impos- 
sible to  present  some  scheme  which 
would  be  accepted  as  a  standard; 
though,  I  have  no  doubt,  there  are 
few  players  who  would  not,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  vary  from 
it  in  some  particulars. 

' '  It  seems  to  the  chair  that  the 
League  should  go  further  in  the 
work  of  assisting  its  members  and 
the  thousands  of  students  of  the 
game.  We  ought  to  use  our  great 
organization  for  a  more  systematic 
study  of  the  game.  Our  efforts 
should  be  combined;  the  results  of 
those  efforts  should  be  classified. 
Thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  experiments  are  tried  almost 
daily  in  clubs  of  the  League,  and 
the  results  are  kept  in  a  most  lim- 
ited circle.  Still  more  would  be 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    36    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


tried,  if  the  results  of  those  exper- 
iments could  be  made  more  gener- 
ally useful." 

Upon  the  president's  recommen- 
dation, vacancies  in  the  committee 
on  system  of  play  were  filled,  and 
the  committee  was  asked  to  report 
at  this  congress.  The  committee, 
as  thus  constituted,  consisted  of 
George  W.  Keehn,  Lander  M. 
Bouve",  E.  A.  Buffinton,  W.  G. 
Bronson,  Jr.,  Charles  F.  Snow,  and 
H.  A.  Mandell. 

The  most  important  thing  done  in 
the  way  of  legislation  was  the  re- 
vision of  the  laws  of  duplicate  whist, 
the  laws  of  straight  whist  being  left 
untouched.  The  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  laws  contained  the  fol- 
lowing explanation  for  this  action: 

"  During  the  past  year  very  many 
changes  in  the  code  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  and  considered  by  your 
committee,  but  after  careful  deliber- 
ation the  committee  is  unanimously 
in  favor  of  leaving  wholly  un- 
changed the  present  code,  which 
is  the  work  of  masters,  and  which 
has  been  in  existence  for  four  years, 
giving,  upon  the  whole,  entire  satis- 
faction. Tinkering  and  tampering 
with  such  a  code  is  to  be  deprecated, 
and  we  believe  that  no  change 
should  ever  be  made  in  it  unless  it 
should  be  vitally  important.  This 
is  not  the  case  at  present,  nor  is  it 
likely  ever  to  be.  Respect  for  a 
good  code  grows  and  increases  as 
time  passes,  and  the  various  pro- 
visions become  imbedded  in  the 
minds  of  the  whist-players  of  the 
world.  Duplicate  whist,  however, 
requires  some  special  provisions, 
and  hence  this  League  promulgated 
a  code  for  its  government  at  the 
Chicago  congress  in  1893.  At  the 
fourth  congress  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1894,  the  present  code  was  enacted, 
and  has  stood  without  change  since. 
Your  committee  proposes  certain 
changes  in  the  laws  of  duplicate 


whist,  as  hereafter  stated,  and  it 
believes  that  whist-players  generally 
will  apply  to  straight  whist  such  of 
the  special  laws  of  duplicate  as  are 
applicable,  and  thus  the  alleged  de- 
fects and  deficiencies  of  the  present 
code  will  be  obviated." 

The  committee  was  composed  of 
P.  J.  Tormey,  San  Francisco,  chair- 
man; Gustavus  Remak,  Jr.,  Phila- 
delphia; Irving  T.  Hartz,  Chicago; 
Robert  H.  Weems,  Brooklyn;  Cas- 
sius  M.  Paine,  Milwaukee. 

The  amendments,  as  adopted  on 
the  report  of  the  committee,  were 
as  follows: 

(1)  lyaw  "A."    Amend  paragraph  4  so 
as  to  read:    "  Each  side  shall  keep  its  own 
score,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  players  at 
each  table  to  compare  the  scores  there 
made,  and  see  that  they  correspond." 

(2)  Law  "A."    Amend  section  5  so  as  to 
read:    "In  a  match  between  two  teams, 
the  total  number  of  tricks  shall  be  divided 
by  two,  and  the  team  whose  score  of  tricks 
taken  exceeds  such  dividend,  wins  the 
match  by  the  number  of  tricks  in  excess 
thereof." 

(3)  Law   "D."    Amend  so  as  to  read: 
"  The  trump  card  must  be  recorded,  before 
the  play  begins,  on  a  slip  provided  for 
that  purpose.    When   the  deal  has  been 
played,  the  slip  on  which  the  trump  card 
has  been  recorded  must  be  placed  face 
upwards  by  the  dealer  on  the  top  of  his 
cards,  but  the  trump  card  must  not  be 
again  turned  until  the  hands  are  taken  up 
for  the  purpose  of  overplaying  them,  at 
which  time  it  must  be  turned  and  left 
face  upwards  on  the  tray  until  it  is  the 
dealer's  turn  to  play  to  the  first  trick.   The 
slip  on  which  the  trump  card  is  recorded 
must  be  turned  face  downwards  as  soon 
as  the  trump  card  is  taken  up  by  the 
dealer;  if  the  trump  card  has  been  other- 
wise recorded,  such  record  must  also  be 
then  turned  face  downwards. 

"  The  dealer  must  leave  the  trump  card 
face  upwards  on  the  tray  until  it  is  his 
turn  to  play  to  the  first  trick,  when  it 
should  be  taken  into  his  hand.  If  it  is 
not  taken  into  the  hand  until  after  the 
second  trick  has  been  turned  and  quitted, 
it  is  liable  to  be  called. 

"After  it  has  been  lawfully  taken  up,  it 
must  not  be  named,  and  any  player 
naming  it  or  looking  at  the  trump  slip 
or  other  record  of  the  trump  is  liable  to 
have  his  highest  or  lowest  trump  called 
by  his  right-hand  adversary  at  any  time 
during  the  play  of  that  deal  before  such 
adversary  has  played  to  any  current 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    37    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


trick,  or  before  the  preceding  tnck  is 
turned  and  quitted,  in  case  it  is  the 
offender's  turn  to  lead.  The  call  may  be 
repeated  until  the  card  is  played,  but  it 
cannot  be  changed." 

(4)  I^aw  "  G."  Add  an  additional  para- 
graph, viz.:   "A  player  may  ask  his  ad- 
versaries if  they  have  any  of  the  suit  re- 
nounced;   but    the   question    establishes 
the  revoke,  if  it  is  his  partner  who  has 
renounced  in  error." 

(5)  Add  the  following:  "  Cards  liable  to 
be  called. — The  holder  of  a  card  liable 
to  be  called  can  be  required  to  play  it  only 
by  his  right-hand  adversary;  if  such  ad- 
versary  plays   without   calling    itj    the 
holder  may  play  as  he  pleases;  if  it  is  the 
holder's  turn  to  lead,  the  card  must  be 
called  before  the  preceding  trick  is  turned 
and  quitted,  or  the  holder  may  lead  as  he 

E leases.      The  unseen  cards  of  a  hand 
iced  on  the  table  are  not  liable  to  be 
called." 

"Enforcing  penalties. — A  player  ^hav- 
ing the  right  to  call  a  suit  loses  such  right, 
unless  he  announces  to  the  adversary 
first  winning  a  trick,  before  the  trick  so 
won  by  such  adversary  is  turned  and 
quitted,  what  particular  suit  he  desires 
led." 

"A  player  has  the  right  to  remind  his 
partner  that  it  is  his  privilege  to  enforce 
a  penalty,  and  also  to  inform  him  of  the 
penalty  he  can  enforce." 

"A  player  has  the  right  to  prevent  his 
artner  from  committing  any  irregu- 
arity,  except  renouncing  in  error." 


P 

Ic 


In  confirmation  of  the  action  of 
the  executive  committee,  the  con- 
gress amended  the  rules  governing 
the  contests  for  the  Challenge 
Trophy  so  as  to  stimulate  interest 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  (See, 
"  Challenge  Trophy.") 

The  annual  report  of  the  record- 
ing secretary  showed  a  member- 
ship of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six 
clubs  in  the  League,  with  a  total 
membership  of  31,733  persons,  of 
which  number  8655  are  active 
whist-players.  New  York  State 
leads,  with  thirty-two  clubs;  Illi- 
nois, Massachusetts,  and  Pennsyl- 
vania have  fourteen  clubs  each; 
New  Jersey  has  twelve;  Michigan, 
Missouri,  and  Ohio,  seven  each; 
Wisconsin,  six;  California  and  Min- 
nesota, five  each;  Iowa  and  Ten- 
nessee, four  each;  Indiana,  Rhode 


Island,  and  Washington,  three  each; 
District  of  Columbia,  Maryland, 
Nebraska,  and  South  Dakota,  two 
each;  and  Colorado,  Delaware,  Ken- 
tucky, Louisiana,  Oregon,  Texas, 
Vermont,  and  West  Virginia,  one 
each.  Among  the  cities,  Brooklyn 
leads,  with  fourteen  clubs;  Philadel- 
phia has  twelve;  Chicago,  six;  Al- 
bany and  Boston,  four  each;  New 
York,  Providence,  and  St.  Louis, 
three  each;  and  Indianapolis,  To- 
ledo, Milwaukee,  San  Francisco, 
Los  Angeles,  Washington,  Kala- 
mazoo,  St.  Paul,  Utica,  and  Seattle, 
two  each.  Thirty-one  clubs  were 
added  to  and  eleven  taken  from  the 
membership  during  the  past  year. 
The  present  membership  is  made 
up  as  follows  : 


No. 


m_ 

Clubs. 


Total 
Mem- 


Players- 
Independent  Whist 

Clubs  .......  66  4,430         4,430 

Departmental  Whist 

Clubs  .......   16  669         6,348 

Chess     and     Whist 

Clubs  .......   n  709         i,597 

Social  Clubs    ....  52  2,194       12,677 

Athletic  Clubs   .  .   .   I  r  653         6,643 


Total 156        8,655 

Associate  Members 

Honorary  Members 


31,695 
33 
5 

3L733 

The  recommendation  of  Presi- 
dent Barney,  with  regard  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  bureau  for  experi- 
mental play,  was  referred  to  the 
executive  committee  to  report  at 
the  next  congress.  The  committee 
on  system  of  play  was,  on  motion, 
continued,  and  directed  to  report  to 
the  executive  committee  at  its  mid- 
winter meeting,  and  afterwards  to 
the  next  congress. 

It  was  decided  to  limit  the  League 
membership  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  clubs,  and  the  associate 
membership  to  forty  persons.  One 
of  the  novel  features  of  the  congress 
was  the  publication  of  a  daily 
whist  journal  called  Echoes,  which 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    38    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


was  ably  edited  by  Tracy  Barnes,  of 
Toledo. 

The  thirteen  general  contests 
participated  in  by  the  various 
teams  and  individual  players  re- 
sulted as  follows:  The  Hamilton 
Trophy  ( fourteen  teams  contesting) 
was  won  by  a  team  from  the  Phila- 
delphia Whist  Club,  consisting  of 
Dr.  Joseph  S.  Neff,  E.  Stanley 
Hart,  Leoni  Melick,  and  W.  T.  G. 
Bristol.  Out  of  the  thirteen 
matches,  not  a  single  defeat  was 
recorded  against  the  Philadelphia 
team.  The  p^ay  was  begun  at 
two  o'clock  Tuesday  afternoon,  and 
continued  every  afternoon  and 
evening  for  the  rest  of  the  week. 
In  the  final  match,  Philadelphia 
was  opposed  by  the  team  from  the 
Chicago  Duplicate  Whist  Club 
(John  T.  Mitchell,  captain;  J.  B. 
Norton,  G.  W.  Keehn,  and  W.  J. 
Walker).  Philadelphia  won  by 
twelve  tricks. 

The  contest  for  the  first  posses- 
sion of  the  new  Challenge  Trophy 
was  won,  by  sixteen  tricks,  by  the 
following  team  from  the  Toledo 
(O.)  Whist  Club:  Dr.  Frank  Hart, 
captain;  Clarence  Brown,  C.  H. 
Beckham,  and  C.  L.  Curtis.  The 
other  team  in  the  final  match 
consisted  of  E.  Le  Roy  Smith,  cap- 
tain; C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  C.  F. 
Snow,  and  D.  Muhlfelder,  repre- 
senting the  Albany  Whist  Club. 
Fourteen  clubs  participated  in  this 
contest. 

In  the  contest  for  the  Minne- 
apolis Trophy  (q.  v. )  for  club  pairs 
there  were  fifteen  entries.  Six  sit- 
tings were  held,  and  F.  W.  Mathias 
and  L.  J.  Mathias,  the  pair  from 
the  Toledo  Whist  Club,  won,  with 
the  lowest  losing  score  of  76,  the 
next  being  85. 

In  the  contest  for  the  Brooklyn 
Trophy  (q.  v.)  for  teams  represent- 
ing auxiliary  associations,  there 
were  three  contestants — the  New 


York  State,  New  England,  and  At- 
lantic Whist  Associations.  New 
York  was  the  victor,  winning  both 
matches  against  the  others.  At- 
lantic won  one  match  from  New 
England  and  lost  one  to  New  York. 
New  England  lost  both  matches. 

In  the  first  progressive  pairs 
match  (Tuesday),  forty-two  pairs 

Earticipated.  F.  S.  Wilson  and  F. 
.  Clark,  of  the  Dartmouth  Club, 
New  Bedford,  made  high  score 
north  and  south,  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty-two  tricks;  plus  score, 
nine.  William  Gorton  and  L. 
McL.  Jackson,  of  the  Toledo 
Yachting  Association,  made  high 
score  east  and  west,  with  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  tricks;  plus 
score,  eight. 

In  the  second  progressive  pairs 
match  (Wednesday),  there  were 
fifty  entries.  The  Columbia  Ath- 
letic team  (Dr.  George  Walls  and 
George  W.  Morse)  made  the 
highest  score  north  and  south, 
with  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine 
tricks;  plus  score,  eleven.  The 
Top-of-Nothing  team  ( R.  F.  Foster 
and  Miss  C.  H.  Schmidt)  made  the 
highest  score  east  and  west,  one 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  tricks; 
plus  score,  eleven. 

In  the  third  progressive  pairs 
match  (Thursday),  there  were 
thirty-four  pairs.  The  highest  score 
was  made  by  E.  T.  Baker  and  R.  F. 
Foster  for  north  and  south,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  tricks; 
plus  score,  six;  and  for  east  and 
west  two  pairs  were  tied,  each 
having  one  hundred  and  five  tricks, 
with  a  plus  score  of  seven.  They 
were  Dr.  George  Walls  and  C.  A. 
Henriques,  and  E.  C.  Kieb  and  L. 
J.  Bruck. 

In  the  fourth  progressive  pairs 
match  (Friday), forty-four  pairs  were 
entered,  and  the  successful  winners 
of  the  prizes  were:  Yale  (O.  S. 
Bryant  and  N.  B.  Beecher),  north 


AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    39    AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


and  south,  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  tricks;  plus  score,  thirteen. 
Greater  New  York  (E.  T.  Baker 
and  R.  F.  Foster),  east  and  west, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  tricks; 
plus  score,  nine. 

In  the  first  progressive  fours  con- 
test (Tuesday),  for  individual  prizes 
presented  by  the  Trist  Duplicate 
Whist  Club,  of  San  Francisco,  thir- 
ty-one tables  were  filled — match 
score  to  win.  The  four  from  the 
Buffalo  Whist  Club  (M.  E.  Ander- 
son, E.  P.  Thayer,  C.  S.  Davis,  and 
W.  Shepherd)  won  by  twenty  and 
one-half  matches.  Three  teams 
tied  for  second  place,  and  of  these, 
the  Top-of-Nothing  team  (R.  F. 
Foster,  Miss  C.  H.  Schmidt,  E.  C. 
Fletcher,  and  Mrs.  C.  S.  Water- 
house)  made  the  highest  score  for 
tricks,  being  twenty  points  plus, 
while  Buffalo  was  seventeen. 

In  the  second  progressive  fours 
(Wednesday),  fifteen  tables  were 
filled — trick  score  to  win.  The  suc- 
cessful contestants  were  H.  K. 
James,  William  C.  Emerson,  C.  J. 
McDiarmid,  and  C.  F.  Johnson, 
constituting  the  Cincinnati  team. 
Their  score  was  two  hundred  and 
four  tricks. 

In  the  third  progressive  fours 
(Thursday),  nineteen  tables  were 
filled — match  scores  to  win.  The 
Greater  New  York  team  was  de- 
clared the  winner  by  thirteen  and 
one-half  matches,  the  players  con- 
stituting the  team  being  E.  T. 
Baker,  Mrs.  F.  H.  Johnson,  Dr. 
George  Walls.and  Miss  M.  H.  Camp- 
bell; the  Top  of-Nothing  team 
(R.  F.  Foster,  Miss  C.  H.  Schmidt, 
E.  C.  Fletcher,  and  Mrs.  C.  S. 
Waterhouse)  being  second. 

In  the  fourth  progressive  fours 
(Friday),  nineteen  tables  were  filled. 
Wayne,  of  Detroit  (J.  W.  Weston, 
C.  W.  Rogers,  C.  H.  Springer,  and 
G.  W.  Heighs),  tied  with  Nashville 
(W.  N.  Wright,  Jr.,  C.  S.  Lawrence, 


J.  E.  Shwab,  and  E.  B.  Cooper), 
the  trick  score  standing  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  each;  but  on  the 
match  score  Wayne  won,  being 
twelve  and  one-half  matches  to  ten 
for  Nashville. 

In  the  progressive  straight  whist 
contest,  on  Saturday  evening,  twen- 
ty-two pairs  entered.  The  winners 
were  Mrs.  Clarence  Brown,  of  To- 
ledo, and  Walter  H.  Barney,  ex- 
president  of  the  League,  who  made 
one  hundred  and  fifty-four  tricks. 
Miss  Bessie  E.  Allen,  of  Milwaukee, 
and  William  C.  Harbach,  of  Des 
Moines,  were  second. 

The  highest  scores  for  the  indi- 
vidual events  were  mostly  made  by 
the  advocates  of  the  short-suit 
game,  but  in  the  main  the  long-suit 
game  predominated.  The  teams 
which  reached  the  finals  in  the  two 
most  important  contests  (Philadel- 
phia and  Chicago  for  the  Hamilton 
Trophy,  and  Toledo,  Albany,  and 
American  for  the  Challenge  Tro- 
phy), are  all  adherents  of  the  long- 
suit  system. 

It  was  decided  to  hold  the  eighth 
annual  congress  in  New  England, 
at  a  place  to  be  designated  by  the 
executive  committee. 

The  officers  and  committees  of 
the  League  for  i897-'98,  are  as 
follows: 

Henry  A.  Mandell,  president,  Majestic 
Building,  Detroit,  Mich.;  E.  Le  Rov 
Smith,  vice-president,  619  Broadway,  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.;  Clarence  A.  Henriques,  re- 
cording secretary,  25  West  Forty-ninth 
street,  New  York  City,  N.  Y.;  L.  G.  Par- 
ker, corresponding  secretary,  L.  S.  &  M. 
S.  Building,  Toledo,  Ohio;  Benjamin  I,. 
Richards,  treasurer,  Rock  Rapids,  Iowa. 

Eugene  S.  Elliott,  ex-president,  Pabst 
Building,  Milwaukee,  Wis.;  John  M. 
Walton,  ex-president,  4205  Chester  ave- 
nue, Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Theodore  Schwarz, 
ex-president,  517  Royal  Insurance  Build- 
ing, Chicago,  111.;  Walter  H.  Barney,  ex- 
president,  Industrial  Trust  Co.  Building, 
Providence,  R.  I. 

Directors— Term  expires  1900:  S.  St.  J. 
McCutchen,  170  Broadway,  New  York; 
P.  J.  Tormey,  220  Sutter  street,  San  Fran- 


A.  W.  L.  CHALLENGE  TROPHY  40 


AMES,  FISHER 


cisco,  Cal.;  Bertram  D.  Kribben,  Bank  of 
Commerce  Building,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Wil- 
liam Hudson,  392  Main  street,  Buffalo.N.Y. 
Term  expires  1899:  J.E.  Shwab,  Nashville. 
Tenn.;  John  T.  Mitchell,  Union  National 
Bank,  Chicago,  111.;  Thomas  A.  Whelan, 
Fidelity  Building,  Baltimore,  Md.;  Rob- 
ert H.  Weems,  220  Lincoln  place,  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.  Term  expires  1898:  Geo.  L. 
Bunn,  New  York  Life  Building,  St.  Paul, 
Minn.;  George  H.  Fish,  corner  Seven- 
teenth street  and  Broadway,  New  York; 
George  W.  Morse,  26  State  street,  Boston, 
Mass.;  Joseph  S.  Neff,  M.  D.,  2300  Locust 
street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Cassius  M. 
Paine,  28  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mil- 
waukee, Wis. 

Committee  on  Laws — P.  J.  Tonney,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.;  Robert  H.  Weems, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.;  Theodore  Schwarz,  Chi- 
cago, 111.;  Leoni  Melick,  Philadelphia, 
Pa.;  Milton  F.  Smith,  Baltimore,  Ma. 

Tournament  Committee — Walter  H. 
Barney,  chairman,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Committee  on  System  of  Play — George 
W.  Keehn,  Chicago,  111.;  Lander  M. 
Bouv6,  Boston,  Mass.;  E.  A.  Buffinton, 
Jackson,  Mich.;  W.  G.  Bronson,  Jr.,  St. 
Paul,  Minn.;  Charles  F.  Snow,  Albany, 
N.  Y.;  H.  A.  Mandell,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Lander  M.  Bouv6,  657  Washington 
street,  Boston,  Mass.,  representative  to 
executive  committee  from  New  England 
Whist  Association. 

L.  J.  Bruck,  Ridgewood,  N.  J. ,  represen- 
tative to  executive  committee  from  New 
Jersey  Whist  Association. 

Harrington  Lodge,  Jr.,  69  First  street, 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  representative  to  executive 
committee  from  New  York  State  Whist 
Association. 

C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  Easton,  Pa.,  repre- 
sentative to  executive  committee  from 
Atlantic  Whist  Association. 

General  L.  W.  Heath,  103  Jefferson  ave- 
nue, Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  representative 
to  executive  committee  from  Michigan 
Whist  Association. 

American  Whist  League  Chal- 
lenge Trophy. — See,  "Challenge 
Trophy." 

Ames,  Fisher. — An  American 
whist  author,  and  one  of  the  chief 
disciples  and  exponents  of  the 
school  of  ' '  Cavendish  ' '  and  Trist. 
Mr.  Ames  was  born  in  Lowell, 
Mass.,  January  24,  1838,  and  is  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College.  He 
has  practiced  law  in  the  city  of  Bos- 
ton for  upwards  of  thirty  years,  hav- 
ing been  for  a  large  part  of  the  time 
one  of  the  assistant  city  solicitors. 


He  comes  of  a  renowned  ancestry, 
his  grandfather  having  been  Fisher 
Ames,  the  great  orator  and  tribune 
of  the  people  during  the  stormy 
times  of  the  forming  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States.  The 
father  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
was  Seth  Ames,  one  of  the  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts, of  whom  it  was  said  by 
the  chief  justice  that  his  style  in 
speech  and  writing  embodied  the 
purest  and  best  English  of  this 
generation. 

Fisher  Ames  has  the  scholarly 
attributes  and  qualities  of  his  an- 
cestors, all  of  whom,  like  himself, 
were  Harvard  men.  He  wrote 
"  Modern  Whist,"  which  was  pub- 
lished by  the  Harpers  in  1879.  His 
"  Practical  Guide  to  Whist  "  was 
published  by  the  Scribners  in  1891, 
and  his  "  American  Leads  at 
Whist,"  in  1891.  The  latter  books 
have  had  several  revisions  and  gone 
through  many  editions.  He  is  also 
the  inventor  of  the  Ames  Whist 
Lesson  Cards,  by  means  of  which 
the  proper  leads  are  taught,  being 
indicated  on  the  margins  of  the 
cards.  Another  helpful  contrivance 
of  his  is  "  Whist  in  Brief  "  (1895), 
which  he  himself  considers  about 
as  good  as  anything  which  he  has 
accomplished  in  the  whist  line.  It 
contains  almost  every  essential  di- 
rection for  correct  play  in  whist, 
all  in  the  compass  of  a  card  the 
size  of  an  ordinary  playing-card 
(printed  on  both  sides). 

As  a  whist-player,  Mr.  Ames  is 
studious,  analytical,  and  conserva- 
tive. He  has  studied  all  the  meth- 
ods and  systems  so  that  he  may 
know  how  to  meet  them  and  occa- 
sionally adopt  them  as  special 
hands  may  apply.  However,  his 
own  system  of  play  is  the  long-suit 
game  with  American  leads,  and  is 
very  effective.  He  resides  at  New- 
ton, a  suburb  of  Boston,  and  was 


AMUSEMENT 


ANSON,  GEORGE 


for  a  long  time  a  member  of  the 
Newton  Club  team,  which  held  high 
rank,  winning  in  two  successive 
tournaments  of  the  New  England 
Whist  Association. 

The  "Practical  Guide  to  Whist,"  by 
Fisher  Ames,  of  Boston,  is  a  valuable 
condensation  of  the  "  Cavendish"-Trist 
system  of  play.—  W.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.], 
'•'English  Whist." 

Mr.  Fisher  Ames  has  added  to  his  book, 
"A  Practical  Guide  to  Whist,"  a  chapter 
entitled,  "  Some  Modern  Innovations  in 
Whist,"  in  which  he  discusses  all  the 
recent  developments,  explaining  their 
construction  and  criticising  their  merit. 
Mr.  Ames  does  not  accept  every  new  idea 
that  presents  itself.  On  the  contrary,  he 
leans  to  the  conservative  side,  and  so 
•when  he  does  approve  an  innovation  it  is 
pretty  certain  to  possess  merit.  His  plan 
of  discussing  the  questions  is  of  great 
advantage  to  students,  as  it  gives  them 
a  full  understanding  of  the  plays,  which 
is  always  desirable,  even  if  they  do  not 
put  them  into  practice. —  Whist  \L.  A .], 
April,  1897. 

Amusement,  Playing  for. — The 

fact  that  whist  in  played  for  amuse- 
ment is  often  made  an  excuse  for 
bad  play  by  bumblepuppists.  A 
player  has  no  more  right  to  inflict 
such  play  upon  his  partner,  or  op- 
ponents, however,  than  he  would 
have  to  play  wrong  notes  in  music 
or  talk  bad  grammar,  simply  be- 
cause he  found  enjoyment  therein. 

People  in  general  entertain  strange 
notions  concerning  whist.  Many  say, 
"  Oh ,  I  don't  know  much  about  the  game. 
I  only  play  for  amusement.  You  must 
not  expect  me  to  know  about  it.  I  haven't 
the  time."  As  well  say,  "  Oh,  I  don't 
know  much  about  the  meaning  of  words. 
I  only  read  for  amusement  '  Ivanhoe,'  or 
'  Middlemarch.'  You  must  not  expect 
me  to  understand  them.  I  haven't  the 
time."— G.  W.  Petles  [L.  A. P.],  "Ameri- 
can Whist  Illustrated.'" 

Four  people  sit  down  nominally  to  play 
whist,  when  suddenly  one  of  them  an- 
nounces, to  the  consternation  of  his 
partner,  that  he  is  not  there  with  any 
such  intention,  but  solely  for  his  own 
amusement.  *  *  *  Now,  no  one  has  the 
slightest  objection  to  your  amusing  your- 
self as  long  as  you  do  not  annoy  anybody 
else.  I  go  further  than  this,  and  admit 
your  abstract  right  to  amuse  yourself  at 
your  partner's  expense;  but  I  protest 
against  your  expecting  him  to  rejoice 


with   you   in    his    own    discomfiture. — 
"Pembridge"  [L+O.] 

An  a  lyst.  -See, '  'Whist  Analyst. " 

Andrews, Mrs.T.  H. — First  presi- 
dent of  the  Woman's  Whist  League 
of  America  (q.  v. ),  which  she  was 
largely  instrumental  in  organizing, 
at  Philadelphia,  April  27-29,  1897. 
Although  Mrs.  Andrews  had  never 
played  whist  up  to  within  five 
years  prior  to  the  organization  of 
the  League,  she  soon  developed 
into  a  player  and  teacher  of  na- 
tional reputation.  She  organized 
the  Trist  Whist  Club,  of  Philadel- 
phia, in  1894,  and  originated  a 
whist  tournament  for  women  in  the 
fall  of  1895  (the  first  of  the  kind 
ever  held),  out  of  which  grew  the 
still  broader  idea  of  the  Woman's 
League.  On  June  20,  1896,  she  was 
elected  to  associate  membership  in 
the  American  Whist  League. 

Mrs.  Andrews  is  very  success- 
ful as  a  teacher,  her  keen  percep- 
tion, quick  insight  into  character, 
and  ready  sympathy  contributing 
largely  to  the  efficiency  of  her  in- 
struction. 

Anson,    George. — One    of    the 

foremost  of  English  whist-players 
in  his  day.  He  was  a  brother  of 
the  first  Earl  of  Lichfield,  and 
served  in  the  army  as  an  ensign  at 
the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Later  in 
life  he  was  made  commander-in- 
chief  of  one  of  the  Indian  depen- 
dencies, and  this  was  followed  soon 
after  by  his  appointment  to  the 
post  of  commander-in-chief  of  all 
the  British  forces  in  India.  To  him, 
John  Loraine  Baldwin  first  sugges- 
ted his  plan  for  revising  the  Eng- 
lish whist  laws.  He  was  named 
second  in  the  list  of  the  best  play- 
ers he  had  ever  met,  by  Lord  Ben- 
tinck.  His  mode  of  play  appears 
to  have  included  some  ideas  which 
to-day  would  be  classed  with  those 
of  short-suit  players.  For  in- 


ANSWERING  TRUMP 


ARTICLES  ON  WHIST 


stance,  he  claimed  that  it  was  the 
height  of  bad  play  to  lead  from  a 
long  suit  containing  nothing  higher 
than  a  ten  if  you  had  a  suit  with 
an  honor  to  lead  from,  unless  from 
strength  of  trumps  there  was  a  pos- 
sibility of  bringing  in  the  small 
cards.  He  died  in  India,  May  27, 
1857,  and  his  remains  were  brought 
to  England  and  buried  in  Kensal 
Green  cemetery,  three  years  later. 

AnsweringTrump  Signal. — See, 
"Echo." 

Antepenultimate     Lead. — The 

lead  of  the  last  card  of  a  suit  but 
two,  first  announced  by  A.  W.  Dray- 
son,  in  1879,  to  indicate  the  pos- 
session of  six  cards.  (See,  "Ameri- 
can Leads,  History  of.") 

"Aquarius." — A  pseudonym 
under  which  Lowes  d'Aguilar  Jack- 
son, an  English  writer,  published 
a  number  of  books  on  the  game. 
His  best-known  compilations  are 
"Easy  Whist"  (1883)  and  "Ad- 
vanced Whist  "  (1884).  Copies  of 
his  books  were  sent  to  '  'Cavendish" 
for  review  in  the  Field,  but  the 
latter  declined  to  notice  them,  as 
he  considered  them  "downright 
rubbish." 

A  series  of  text-books,  ranging  from 
"  Easy  Whist"  in  1883,  to  "  Improved 
Whist"  in  1890,  have  been  favorably  re- 
ceived by  the  younger  lovers  of  the  game. 
Their  authorship  is  concealed  under  the 
title  of  "Aquarius,"  but  he  is  understood 
to  be  Lowes  d'Aeuilar  Jackson,  a  civil 
engineer.—  W.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.\,  "Eng- 
lish Whist." 

Arbitrary  Signals. — Signals  to 
which  a  meaning  is  attached  by 
agreement,  as  distinguished  from 
natural  inferences  drawn  from  the 
fall  of  the  cards.  When  the  mean- 
ing of  such  arbitrary  signals  is 
known  only  to  those  originating  or 
employing  them,  they  are  called 
private  conventions  (g.  v.). 


Arlington  Club. — A  celebrated 
whist  club  in  London,  which,  in 
1863,  appointed  a  committee  of 
nine  to  co-operate  with  John  Lo- 
raine  Baldwin  in  revising  the  Eng- 
lish laws  of  whist.  The  club  was 
originally  called  the  Turf  Club,  but 
in  order  to  rid  itself  of  some  ob- 
jectionable members,  dissolved  and 
reorganized  as  the  Arlington.  Later 
on  the  club  moved  to  the  premises 
it  now  occupies,  and  at  the  same 
time  resumed  its  original  name,  be- 
ing now  known  as  the  Turf  Club. 

•'Artful     Dodger,     The."  — In 

Dickens's  novel  of  ' '  Oliver  Twist, ' ' 
the  Artful  Dodger,  when  playing 
dummy  in  Pagan'1  s  den,  is  com- 
mended for  ' '  wisely  regulating  his 
play  by  the  result  of  his  observa- 
tions on  his  neighbor's  cards." 

Articles  on  Whist  in  Periodi- 
cals.— An  attempt  is  here  made  to 
present,  in  alphabetical  order,  the 
titles  of  the  more  important  articles 
that  have  appeared  in  English  and 
American  periodicals,  upon  the 
subject  of  whist,  from  the  earliest 
times  to  the  present  day.  When 
taken  in  connection  with  the  nu- 
merous text-books  and  other  vol- 
umes published  upon  the  ' '  game  of 
games"  (see,  "  Books  on  Whist"), 
this  list  may  well  impress  the  stu- 
dent with  the  magnitude  and  im- 
portance of  the  subject,  which  has 
engaged  the  attention  of  many  of 
the  ablest  minds  of  the  day. 

"American  Leads,"  by  A.  W.  Drayson, 
The  Field,  London,  Jan.  31,  1885. 

"American  Leads,"  by  "  Merry  Andrew," 
The  Field,  London,  Jan.  10,  1885; 
March  28,  1885. 

"American  Leads,"  by  "  Mogul"  (Mat- 
thias Boyce).  The  Field,  London,  Dec. 
20,  1884;  Feb.  7  and  March  21,  1885. 

"American  Leads,"  by  N.  B.  T.  (Nicho- 
las Browse  Trist),  The  Field,  Lon- 
don, Feb.  28,  1885;  March  28,  1885. 

"American  Leads,"  by  "Quisquis,"  The 
Field,  London,  Feb.  ai,  1885. 


ARTICLES  ON  WHIST         43 


ARTICLES  ON  WHIST 


"American  Leads  at  Whist,"  F.  H.  Lewis, 
The  Field,  London,  March  7,  1885. 

"American  Leads  at  Whist  and  their  His- 
tory," byN.  B.  Trist,  Harper3 s  Maga- 
zine, vol.  82,  p.  599,  March,  1891. 

"American  Leads  at  Whist,"  by  "  Caven- 
dish," Macmillaris  Magazine,  vol.  53, 
p.  235. 

"American  Whist,"  by  G.  T.  Lamgan, 
American  Magazine,  vol.  I,  p.  55. 

"American  Whist,"  Saturday  Review,  vol. 
69,  p.  748. 

"Card-Playing  and  Free  Whist,"  Na- 
tional  Review,  vol.  16,  p.  347.  Reply 
thereto,  by  H.  A.  Cohen,  National  Re- 
view, vol.  16,  p.  614. 

"Cards  [Whist]  Played  by  Machinery," 
William  Pole,  Macmillan's  Magazine, 
vol.  33,  p.  241,  Jan.  1876. 

"  Catechism  of  Whist,"  Blackwood's  Mag- 
azine,vo\.  38,  p.  637.  (Humorous.)  Nov. 
1835. 

"  Cheating  at  Whist,"  Spectator,  London, 
April  5,  1879. 

"Club  Whist,"  Blackwood's  Magazine, 
May,  1877. 

"Conventions  at  Whist,"  by  W.  Pole, 
Fortnightly  Review,  vol.  31,  p.  576, 
April,  1879. 

"Developments  of  Whist,"  (a  review  of 
"Cavendish"),  London  Spectator, 
vol.58,  p.  1259. 

"  Duplicate  Whist,"  by  G.  Fletcher,  New 
Review,  vol.  n,  p.  490,  Nov.  1894. 

"  English  Whist  and  English  Whist-Play- 
ers," Temple  Bar,  vol.  97,  p.  527,  Apnl, 
1893;  vol.  98,  p.  103,  May,  1893.  Same 
article  in  Littell's  Living  Age,  vol.  197, 
p.  515,  May  27,  1893,  and  vol.  198,  p. 
217,  July  29,  1893. 

"Game  of  Whist,  The,"  All  the  Year 
Round,  vol.  2,  p.  480. 

"Game  of  Whist,  The,"  by  "Cavendish," 
London  Society,  vol.  9,  pp.  65  and 
161. 

"Game  of  Whist,  The,  "Chambers'* Jour- 
nal, vol.  39,  p.  133. 

"Game  of  Whist,  The,"  London  Society, 
vol.  7,  p.  57. 

"  Game  of  Whist,  The,"  by  William  Pole, 
Macmillan's  Magazine,  vol.  7,  p.  201. 

"Hints  to  Players  of  Whist,"  by  "  T. 
Pam,"  London  Magazine,  vol.  14,  p. 
102,  Jan.  1826. 

"  How  to  Play  Whist,"  (a  review  of  Proc- 
tor's book)  by  J.  I.  Minchin,  Acad- 
emy, vol.  27,  p.  128. 

"  Home  Whist,"  by  R.  A.  Proctor,  Knowl- 
edge, vol.  8,  p.  323,  Oct.  9,  1885. 

"  Improved  Whist,"  Saturday  Review, 
vol.  71,  p.  419. 

"  Is  there  any  Science  in  Whist  ?"  by  R. 
A.  Proctor,  Knowledge,  vol.  n,  p.  34. 

"  Is  Whist  Signaling  Honest  ?"  by  R.  A. 
Proctor,  Longman's  Magazine,  vol.  7, 
p.  602. 

"Ladies'  Whist,"  London  Spectator,  vol. 
661  P-  47>  Jan-  10>  l89r- 


"Language  of  Whist,  The,"  by  R.  A. 
Proctor,  Longman's  Magazine,  vol.  6, 
p.  596,  Oct.  1885. 

"Mrs.  Battle's  Opinions  on  Whist,"  by 
Charles  Lamb,  London  Magazine,  vol. 
3,  p.  161. 

"  Modern  Whist,"  by  William  Pole,  Quar- 
terly Review,  vol.  130,  p.  43,  Jan.  1871. 
Same  article  in  Littell's  Living  Age, 
vol.  108,  p.  707,  March  28,  1871. 

"Modern  Whist,"  Temple  Bar,  vol.  79, 
P-  544- 

"Our  Whist  Column,"  by  "  Fiveof  Clubs" 
(R.  A.  Proctor) ,  Knowledge,  vol.  5,  pp. 
153,  489;  vol.  6,  pp.  19-534;  vol.  7,  pp. 
39-5!3;  vol.  8,  pp.  103-148;  vol.  9,  p.  33. 
Same  in  New  York  Tribune,  1885, 
Feb.  8,  15,  22,  March  I,  8,  15,  30,  April 
5,  12,  May  3. 

"Rational  and  Artificial  Whist,"  by  M. 
("Mogul"),  Corn/till  Magazine,  vol. 
53.  P-  143.  Feb.  1886. 

"  Rules  for  Playing  the  Game  of  Whist," 
Sporting  Magazine,  1793. 

"Short  Whist,"  Blackwood's  Magazine, 
vol.  97,  p.  461. 

"  Teaching  Whist,"  by  E.  L.  Godkin, 
The  Nation,  New  York,  vol.  45,  p.  187. 

"Trump  Leads  in  Whist,"  Outing,  N.  Y., 
April-Sept.  1885. 

"  Unscientific  American  Whist,"  Knowl- 
edge, vol.  6,  p.  307,  Oct.  10,  1884. 

"Varieties  of  Whist,"  Saturday  Review, 
London,  vol.  66,  p.  533. 

"  What  America  has  Done  for  Whist,"  by 
"  Cavendish,"  Scribner's  Magazine, 
New  York,  vol.  20,  p.  540,  Nov. 
1896. 

"  Whist,"  Temple  Bar,  vol.  91,  p.  521. 

"  Whist,"  Blackwood's  Magazine,  vol. 
157,  P-  64,  Jan.  1895. 

"Whist,"  by  "Cavendish,"  London  So- 
ciety, vol.  7,  p.  57,  Jan.  and  Feb.  1865. 

"Whist,"  Eclectic  Magazine,  vol.  72,  p. 
687;  vol.  84,  p.  523;  vol.  108,  p.  707;  vol. 
133,  p.  626. 

"Whist,"  by  William  Pole,  Chambers'! 
Journal,  vol.  39,  p.  133. 

"  Whist,"  by  B.  E.  Pote,  Foreign  Quarterly 
Review,  No.  48. 

"  Whist  and  its  Masters,"  by  R.  Frederick 
Foster,  Monthly  Illustrator,  Sept. 
1896,  to  March,  1897,  inclusive.  I.  The 
Old  School.  II.  The  New  School. 
III.  The  Signaling  School.  IV.  The 
Scientific  School.  V.  The  Number- 
showing  School.  VI.  The  Duplicate 
School.  VII.  The  Private  Conven- 
tion School 

"Whist  and  Whist-Players,"  by  A.  Hay- 
ward,  Fraser's  Magazine,  vol.  79, 
p.  487. 

"Whist  as  a  Business,"  London  Society, 
vol.  37,  p.  42,  Jan.  1880. 

"Whist  as  a  Recreation,"  Knowledge,  vol. 
9,  p.  190. 

"Whist  at  Our  Club,"  Blackwood's  Mag- 
azine, vol.  121,  page  597,  May,  1877. 


ASK  FOR  TRUMPS,  THE       44    ATWATER,  MRS.  FRANK  H. 


"  Whist  at  the  English  Court,"  by  Geo. 
W.  Curtis,  Harper's  Magazine,  Easy 
Chair,  vol.  52,  p.  936. 

"Whist  by  Deschapefles,"  Foreign  Quar- 
terly Review,  vol.  24,  p.  335. 

"Whist  Fads,"  by  "Cavendish,"  Scrib- 
ner's  Magazine,  July,  1897. 

"Whist  in  America,"  by  F.  W.  Crane, 
Cosmopolitan,  vol.  19,  p.  196,  June, 
1895- 

"Whist  Chat,"  by  R.  A.  Proctor,  Long- 
man's Magazine,  vol.  5,  p.  369,  Feb. 
1885. 

"Whist  Convention  of  1896,  The,"  by 
F.  W.  Crane,  Illustrated  American, 
vol.  20,  p.  56,  June  4,  1896. 

"  Whistology."  All  the  Year  Round,  vol. 
2,  p.  480,  March  17,  1860. 

"  Whist  Reminiscence  "  (a  story),  Black- 
wood's  Magazine,  vol.  205,  p.  345. 

"Whist  Signaling  and  Whist  Strategy," 
by  R.  A.  Proctor,  Longman's  Maga- 
zine, vol.  9,  p.  365. 

"Whist  Spoilers,"  by  A.  Stuart,  Temple 
Bar,  vol.  90,  p.  118. 

"Whist  Stories,"  London  Society,  vol.43, 
P-  95- 

"  Young  Whist  Players'  Novitiate,"  by 
F.  B.  Goodrich,  Harper's  Magazine, 
vol.  81,  p.  112. 

Ask  for  Trumps,  The. — See, 
"Trump  Signal." 

Associate  Members  of  the 
League. — The  by-laws  of  the 
American  Whist  League  provide 
that  individual  whist-players  may 
be  admitted  as  associate  members 
of  the  League  by  a  vote  of  the  ex- 
ecutive committee,  provided  they 
are  not  members  of  any  League 
club.  The  aggregate  number  of 
associate  members  shall  not  ex- 
ceed forty.  Associate  members 
have  the  rights  of  delegates  at  all 
meetings  of  the  League  so  far  only 
as  to  permit  them  to  speak,  make 
motions,  serve  on  committees,  and 
participate  in  contests  for  individ- 
uals; but  they  shall  not  be  eligible 
to  office,  or  privileged  to  vote  unless 
otherwise  qualified.  The  dues  to 
be  paid  by  each  associate  member 
are  five  dollars  per  annum.  The 
number  of  associate  members  re- 
ported at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
League  in  1897,  after  deducting 
eleven  resignations,  was  thirty,  as 
follows:  Mrs.  Isabella  H.  Adams, 


Mrs.  Charlotte  L.  Ainsworth,  Miss 
Bessie  E.  Allen,  Mrs.  T.  H.  An- 
drews, Miss  Susan  D.  Biddle,  Mrs. 
Julia  B.  Bradt,  Mrs.  Clarence 
Brown,  Colonel  A.  S.  Burt,  Mrs. 
William  E.  Earle,  H.  H.  Everard, 
Mrs.  S.  B.  Farnum,  Richard  Fenby, 
Mrs.  Martha  W.  Fenollosa,  Cap- 
tain E.  B.  Fuller,  Miss  R.  Frances 
Harrison,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Hawley,  I.  W. 
Holman,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Jenks,  John 
E.  Lundstrom,  Mrs.  Henry  McCrea, 
Mrs.  William  Henry  Newbold,  Mrs. 
Lillian  C.  Noel,  Mrs.  Lavinia  S. 
Nowell,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Pilling,  Miss 
Charlotte  H.  Schmidt,  Madame  la 
Vicomtesse  de  Sibour,  Mrs.  Henry 
E.  Wallace,  Mrs.  Hattie  Waterman, 
Miss  Kate  Wheelock,  and  S.  Wolff- 
sohn. 

Attention  at  the  Whist  Table.— 
One  of  the  first  requisites  of  good 
whist  is  attention.  No  one  should 
attempt  to  play  who  is  not  willing 
to  pay  the  game  that  respectful  at- 
tention which  its  high  merits  de- 
mand. This  cannot  be  too  earnestly 
urged  upon  the  beginner,  and  upon 
other  players  as  well  who  insult 
the  noble  game  by  treating  it  as 
they  might  euchre — as  an  excuse 
for  social  intercourse  and  conver- 
sation. Nobody  can  play  whist  in 
that  manner. 

To  become  a  whist-player,  one  must 
learn  to  see  what  is  taking  place  before 
his  eyes,  and  to  comprehend  the  meaning 
of  it.— "Major  Tenace"  [L.  <?.]. 

Carefully  study  your  hand  when  you 
take  it  up.  *  *  *  Having  done  this, 
keep  your  eyes  constantly  on  the  table, 
never  looking  at  your  haml,  except  when 
it  is  your  turn  to  play.  No  one  can  be- 
come even  a  moderately  good  whist- 
player  whose  attention  is  not  constantly 
given  to  the  table.— James  Clay  [L.  O+]. 

Atwater,      Mrs.      Frank     H. — A 

highly-esteemed  whist-woman  of 
Petaluma,  California,  whose  good 
work  as  a  contributor  to  the  whist 
journals,  and  as  a  teacher  of  the 
game,  has  made  her  known  not 


~1 


tfW  to  ais'asM  m 


ASK  FOR  TRUMPS,  THE       44 


ATER.  MRS.  FRANK  H. 


.linrlotte  L.  Ainsworth,  Miss 
R.  Alleu,  Mrs.  T.  H.  An- 

.  M»M  Susan  D.  Biddle,  Mrs. 
¥..  Bradt,  Mrs.  Clarence 

•  (  Colonel    A.   S.   Burt,  Mrs. 
4&  fc".    Earlr,  H,   H.  Cverard, 

ft.  Karttncj,  Richard  Fenhy, 

\V,    IVnoliosa,  Cap- 

'    Fallrr.  Miss  R.  Frances 

*-.*.  5«r'    I    R.  Hawley,  I.  W. 

•  •-.  J»;»*.    M.  S.  lenks,  John 

rl*_-nry  McCrea, 

Nt'whoH,  Mrs. 

K«ef.   ^I-T.    Uv;rta  8. 

•.i««jj.  Miss 

me  la 


Modern  Masters  of  Whist. 


-Tritli 


James  Clay. 

•  -     - 


;  '  r 


A.  W.  Drayson. 


*iQavendish. 
t«-'»tM> 


nil 

lH 


*t  th*  Whi»i  T«blc.  — 

William  Pb1e. 

iion.     Nu  one  «h^>uld 

*y  who  is  not  willing 

h  ils  hij;h  merits  de- 
annot  be  too  earnestly 


other  players  as  well  who  insult 
the  noble  ^ame  by  treating  it  as 
tht  r  might  etiohre — as  an  excuse 
for  *>nal  intercourse  and  conver- 
sation. N'>l*>dy  can  play  whist  in 
that  aianner. 

Tv>  tx*  Mjie  a  wh>*c  jiLnver  on*  «»yit 
H.«  rv-es.  en-1  tn  rumftfh,  '.,  «.r-«aiiig[ 

CarrftiMv  «iudi-  >ovir  .••<•'  «'::.-ti  you 
f*k«-  ti  up.  *  *  *  Haviv-.-  done  this, 
kirvV'ur  cy.4  «-otirtif.'.'.>  ,.r.  llie  table, 

.'-•••»   i  »>kllix  •'•'    i    "•      :  .»::'!,  •  xccpt  wlltU 

.'  k  T'Mii  turn  to  v--'  N>'  <«ue  can  be- 
->rnf  i-vi'u  -  motier.«fe!y  j(rKK!  whist- 
•  tt.-.t^  ,-  uot  cnnslautly 

•~-/<tt<f  s  (  >*J  V  (  /.-    ^/'f  I. 


M.  —  A 

-  woman  of 
jvhose  good 
o  the  whist 
her  of  the 
known  not 


AUTHORITY,  WHIST 


45 


AUTOMATON 


only  on  the  Pacific  coast,  but  else- 
where. She  is  an  earnest  student 
of  whist  for  its  own  sake.  For 
several  years  she  has  taught  a  class 
of  from  ten  to  twenty  interested 
pupils,  and  many  of  them  have  be- 
come very  proficient  as  players. 
She  has  persistently  and  continu- 
ally refused  remuneration  of  any 
kind  for  her  labors,  the  love  of 
whist  being  sufficient  inspiration 
for  her  best  efforts  in  its  behalf.  It 
was  almost  wholly  through  her 
efforts,  and  those  of  her  husband, 
that  the  Petaluma  Whist  Club  was 
organized  and  kept  alive  until  able 
to  stand  alone.  Mrs.  Atwater  was 
made  an  associate  member  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  January 
II,  1896.  She  is  also  one  of  the 
most  active  and  energetic  members 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  Whist  Associa- 
tion, of  which  she  was  elected  cor- 
responding secretary  in  1897.  She 
is  an  advocate  of  the  long-suit 
game  and  American  leads.  Mr. 
Tormey  says  of  her  in  the  San 
Francisco  Call:  "  In  the  whist  de- 
partment of  the  Call  Mrs.  Atwater's 
opinion  is  frequently  asked,  and  in 
justice  to  her  ability  we  will  say 
that  she  is  without  doubt  one  of 
the  greatest  students  and  expert 
players  in  the  State.  Her  writings 
in  Whist  have  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  whist  world." 

Authority,  Whist. — An  authority 
on  whist  is  one  who  has  made  the 
subject  a  profound  study,  and  who 
is  able  to  give  opinions  or  advice 
based  on  correct  principles  and 
actual  knowledge.  An  expert 
player  who  has  tested  every  mode 
of  play,  and  whose  judgment  and 
abilities  recommend  him  to  the 
great  majority  of  players,  is  an  au- 
thority upon  whist-play. 

Of  all  the  amusing  types  of  whist- 
players,  perhaps  the  most  amusing  is 
the  local  whist  authority  who  is  in  real- 
ity only  a  third-class  performer. — A,  W, 


Drayson  [L+A  +],  "  The  A  rt  of  Practical 
Whist." 

Automaton  Whist-Player,  An. — 

Dr.  Pole,  in  Macmillan'1  s  Maga- 
zine for  January,  1876,  described  a 
wonderful  automaton,  exhibited  at 
the  Egyptian  Hall,  Piccadilly,  Lon- 
don, which,  among  other  things, 
could  play  scientific  whist.  The 
name  of  this  marvelous  contri- 
vance was  "Psycho."  He  was  a 
little  less  than  adult  size,  and  sat 
cross-legged,  Oriental  fashion,  on 
an  oblong  box,  about  22  x  18  x  15 
inches.  The  box,  with  the  figure 
on  it,  was  entirely  detached  and 
carried  about  by  those  in  charge. 
When  in  action,  "  Psycho"  was 
placed  on  the  top  of  a  strong  hollow 
cylinder  of  transparent  glass.  The 
cylinder  was  placed  on  a  loose 
wooden  platform  about  four  feet 
square,  which  in  turn  rested  upon 
four  legs  about  nine  inches  clear  of 
the  floor.  Before  the  performance 
began  the  platform  was  turned  over 
and  shown,  as  was  also  the  cylinder. 
When  placed  in  position,  the  spec- 
tators were  requested  to  walk 
around  the  figure,  and  to  pass  their 
hands  over  his  head,  to  satisfy  them- 
selves that  there  was  no  wire  or  other 
means  of  communication  between 
"  Psycho"  and  the  sides  or  ceiling 
of  the  room.  A  whist-table  was 
now  prepared,  and  three  persons 
from  the  audience  invited  to  play, 
' '  Psycho"  making  the  fourth.  The 
cards  were  dealt,  and  "  Psycho's" 
taken  up  and  placed  upright,  one 
by  one,  in  a  frame  forming  the  arc 
of  a  circle  in  front  of  him.  When 
it  was  his  turn  to  play,  his  right 
hand  passed  with  a  horizontal  cir- 
cular motion  over  the  frame  until 
it  arrived  at  the  right  card,  which 
he  seized  between  his  thumb  and 
fingers.  Then,  by  a  vertical  move- 
ment of  his  hand  and  arm,  he  took 
it  up,  lifted  it  high  in  the  air  and 
exposed  it  to  the  view  of  the  audi- 


AUXILIARY  ASSOCIATIONS    46    AUXILIARY  ASSOCIATIONS 


ence;  after  which  the  card  was 
taken  by  an  attendant  and  placed 
upon  the  table,  to  be  gathered  into 
the  trick.  "Psycho"  also  played 
other  games  at  cards,  and  could 
add,  multiply,  and  perform  several 
tricks  of  conjuring.  The  figure 
was  operated  on  the  same  princi- 
ples as  the  automaton  chess-player, 
"  Ajeeb,"  in  the  Eden  Mus6e,  New 
York,  and  still  more  closely  re- 
sembled the  famous  "  Yellow  Kid" 
automaton  of  the  New  York  Jour- 
nal, which  was  exhibited  in  1896. 
All  the  figures  named,  it  is  said, 
were  built  by  the  same  genius. 

On  one  occasion,  Coleman  and  [Charles] 
Reade  went  to  the  Egyptian  Hall,  when 
it  was  in  the  hands  of  Maskelyne  and 
Coqke,  to  see  "Psycho"  play  a  rubber  of 
whist.  Reade  was  convinced  that  he  bad 
discovered  the  mystery  of  the  perform- 
ance, and  mounted  the  platform  •with 
the  object  of  proving  his  system  to  the 
discomfiture  of  "Psycho."  The  same 
result  occurred  to  Reade  that  happens  to 
the  rash  performers  who  play  on  a  "  sys- 
tem" at  Monte  Carlo.  He  descended  from 
the  platform  the  picture  of  the  deepest 
•woe.  "To  his  astonishment  he  had  been 
beaten  easily,  almost  ignominiously." 
His  mortification  was  visible  in  his  face 
and  in  his  tones.  He  complained  without 
ceasing,  that  he  had  been  beaten  "three 
games  running  by  a  beastly  automaton." 
W.  P.  Courtney  [£f  O.}^  English  Whist." 

Auxiliary  Associations. — The  or- 
ganization of  the  American  Whist 
League  was  followed  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  numerous  subordinate 
leagues,  inter-state  associations, 
etc.,  in  various  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. At  the  close  of  the  year  1894 
there  were  in  existence,  among 
others,  the  following  bodies:  The 
New  England  Whist  Association, 
comprising  some  thirty-odd  clubs; 
the  Interclub  Whist  League,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  twelve  clubs; 
the  Interclub  Whist  League,  of 
Albany,  N.  YM  twelve  clubs;  the 
New  Jersey  State  Whist  League, 
some  five  or  six  clubs;  the  State 
Whist  League  of  Indiana,  in  pro- 
cess of  formation;  the  Iowa  Whist 


League,  and  the  Interstate  Whist 
League,  formed  at  Portland,  Ore- 
gon, with  ten  clubs.  The  Pacific 
Coast  Whist  Association  had  also 
been  formed  in  San  Francisco. 

Among  those  who  foresaw  that 
such  associations  could  be  made  a 
great  element  of  strength  in  the 
American  Whist  League  was  P.  J. 
Tormey,  of  San  Francisco,  and  his 
suggestion,  acted  upon  by  the 
fourth  congress,  at  Philadelphia,  in 
1894,  led  to  the  adoption  of  provi- 
sions in  the  by-laws  of  the  League, 
June  21,  1895,  whereby  any  ten  or 
more  clubs  ( at  least  three  of  which 
are  members  of  the  League)  which 
are  associated  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  the  game  in  any 
particular  locality  might  be  admit- 
ted to  the  League  as  an  auxiliary 
association.  Each  association  of 
this  kind  is  "  entitled  to  one  repre- 
sentative to  the  executive  commit- 
tee of  the  League,  with  the  privi- 
lege of  the  floor  and  of  debate  in 
matters  relating  to  such  associa- 
tion." 

In  1895  the  Interstate  Whist 
League,  organized  the  previous 
year  at  Portland,  Oregon,  changed 
its  name  to  the  North  Pacific  Whist 
Association.  At  its  second  annual 
meeting  a  membership  of  twenty- 
one  clubs,  representing  eight  cities, 
was  reported.  Its  territory  com- 
prises the  States  of  Oregon  and 
Washington,  and  British  Columbia. 

The  New  England  Whist  Associ- 
ation, with  a  membership  of  thirty- 
five  clubs,  was  the  only  auxiliary 
association  represented  in  the 
League  at  the  fifth  congress, in  1895; 
but  at  the  sixth  congress  the  New 
Jersey  Whist  Association,  com- 
posed of  fourteen  clubs,  and  the 
Indiana  Whist  Association,  com- 
posed of  ten  clubs,  were  also  re- 
ported as  having  been  duly  admit- 
ted. At  the  seventh  whist  congress, 
the  Atlantic  Whist  Association  and 


B 


47 


BAD  PLAYER 


the  New  York  State  Association 
(the  latter  organized  in  1897)  were 
also  represented,  and  similar  asso- 
ciations were  reported  as  recently 
organized  in  Michigan  and  Ten- 
nessee. 

In  1896,  at  Manhattan  Beach,  at 
the  sixth  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  a  trophy  for  auxili- 
ary associations  was  first  played  for, 
and  won  by  the  New  England  As- 
sociation; in  1897,  at  Put-in-Bay, 
it  was  won  by  the  New  York  State 
Association.  (See,  "  Brooklyn  Tro- 
phy.") 

The  real  importance  of  associations  be- 
coming auxiliary  to  the  League  is  that 
we  may  secure  a  unification  of  interests. 
The  necessary  adoption  by  such  associa- 
tions, on  coming  into  the  League,  of  the 
laws,  rules,  and  practices  of  our  organiza- 
tion insures  harmony  and  uniformity  in 
the  practice  of  the  game  throughout  the 
country  which  cannot  be  otherwise  ob- 
tained. *  *  *  These  associations  are  a 
logical  result  of  the  League  movement, 
and  the  proper  supplement  to  its  work; 
they  are  beyond  question  destined  to  be- 
come a  most  important  feature  in  the 
development  of  whist  in  the  next  decade. 
—President  Walter  H.  Barney  [L.  A.],  An- 
nual Address  before  the  A.  W.  L.,  1897. 

B. — The  letter  B  is  usually  em- 
ployed in  published  whist  games 
to  denote  the  partner  of  A,  the 
two  playing  against  Y-Z;  the 
third  hand;  "south,"  i»  duplicate 
whist. 

Bad  Play. — Play  made  through 
ignorance  or  carelessness,  or  both, 
whereby  tricks  or  games  are  lost  at 
whist.  A  severe  form  of  chronic  or 
confirmed  bad  play  is  known  as 
"bumblepuppy  "  (q.  v.).  Bad  play 
is  sometimes  made  by  even  the  best 
of  players,  through  errors  of  judg- 
ment. A  good  player,  however, 
will  not  stick  to  his  bad  play,  or 
defend  it. 

Do  not  accustom  yourself  to  judge  by 
consequences.  Bad  play  sometimes  suc- 
ceeds when  good  would  not. — Thomas 
Mathews  [L.  O.}. 


Bad  play  is  any  kind  of  solecism  per- 
petrated by  somebody  else;  if  by  your- 
self, it  may  be  either  just  your  luck, 
pardonable  inattention,  playing  too 
quickly,  drawing  the  wrong  card,  or — in 
a  very  extreme  case— carelessness,  but  it 
is  never  bad  play.  Sometimes  the  differ- 
ence is  even  greater  than  this,  and  what 
would  be  bad  playing  in  another  in  your- 
self may  be  the  acme  of  skill. — "  Pern- 
bridge^  [L+O.]. 

Bad  Player.— One  who  plays  at 
playing  whist,  or  who,  in  ignorance, 
carelessness,  or  with  malice  afore- 
thought, manages  to  make  life  mis- 
erable for  his  partner  at  the  whist- 
table;  a  bumblepuppist  (q.  v.). 
Deschapelles,  the  great  French 
player,  being  suspected  of  revolu- 
tionary tendencies,  a  search  of  his 
private  papers  revealed  a  list  of 
persons  whom  he  had  selected  for 
the  guillotine.  Among  these  was 
a  citizen  against  whom  he  had 
marked  the  accusation  of  being  a 
very  bad  whist-player.  Although 
a  rather  summary  manner  of  dispos- 
ing of  such  players,  it  is  needless  to 
say  that  Deschapelles'  plan  had 
many  admirers. 

The  bad  players  are  divided  into  two 
classes.  The  one  set  plays  by  rule,  the 
other  by  instinct. — C.  Mossop  [L+O.], 
Westminster  Papers. 

The  usual  fault  of  bad  players  is  that 
they  play  whist  apparently  with  an  ab- 
sence of  common  sense,  aod  commit  acts 
which,  in  any  business  habits  of  life, 
would  cause  them  to  be  considered  little 
better  than  imbeciles. — A.  W.  Drayson 
[L+A  +],  '  The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

There  is  nothing  so  trying  to  the  pa- 
tience and  temper  as  when  there  are  three 
good  players  and  one  bad  player.  This 
bad  player  spoils  the  rubber,  and  entirely 
upsets  all  the  calculations  of  the  good 
players;  and  as  there  seems  to  be  com- 
pensation in  some  games  of  chance,  the 
bad  player  usually  holds  very  good  cards, 
and  necessarily  wins.  He  then  boasts 
that,  in  spite  of  his  adversaries  Deing 
supposed  first-lass  players,  yet  he  won 
the  rubber  against  them,  so  that  he  must 
be  more  skillful  than  they  are. — A.  W. 
Drayson  [L+A  +] , ''  Whist  Laws  and  Whist 
Decisions." 

Some  twenty  years  ago  1  was  playing 
whist,  my  partner  being  the  governor, 
and  one  of  my  adversaries  a  distinguished 


BAKER,  E.  T. 


48 


BAKER,  E.  T. 


general.  My  partner  played  execrably, 
and  lost  when  he  ought  to  have  won. 

When  our  game  had  finished,  the  gen- 
eral said  to  me:  "  I  pitied  you  having  the 
governor  for  your  partner;  he  is  terribly 
bad,  but  it  is  to  be  expected." 

"Why  expected?"  I  inquired. 

"  Because  he  has  been  so  long  an  am- 
bassador and  a  governor,  and  is  so  very 
pompous,  that  no  one  presumes  to  find 
fault  with  his  play,  so  he  fancies  he 
is  a  first-class  player.  If  he  had  been 
accustomed,  as  I  was,  when  a  subaltern, 
to  be  sworn  at  when  he  made  a  great 
blunder,  he  might  have  become  a  good 
player,  but  now  it  is  hopeless."— A.  W. 
Drayson  [L+A+],  Whist,  May,  1897. 

Baker,  E.  T. — A  highly  success- 
ful teacher  of  whist,  and  a  fine 
player  of  the  game,  was  born  in 
Marion,  Ohio,  July  12,  1853.  After 
leaving  school  he  served  sev- 
eral years  in  a  bank  in  his  na- 
tive city,  and  then  removed  to 
Evansville,  Ind.  He  was  private 
secretary  to  the  general  freight 
agent  of  a  leading  railroad  there 
for  a  time,  and  embarked  in  the 
telephone  business  with  him  in 
1879.  This  business  took  Mr.  Baker 
to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  in  1883,  where 
he  was  treasurer  and  manager  of  a 
telephone  company,  and  where,  as 
a  member  of  the  Hermitage  Club, 
he  first  learned  to  play  the  English 
five-point  game  of  whist.  Later  he 
removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  John  T.  Mit- 
chell and  others,  who  had  just 
formed  the  famous  Chicago  Dupli- 
cate Whist  Club.  He  played  with 
Mr.  Mitchell,  as  partner,  all  one 
winter,  and  in  1891  removed  to  New 
York;  and  on  locating  in  Brooklyn 
he  naturally  became  acquainted 
with  Robert  H.  Weems,  and  was 
by  him  induced  to  join  the  Carle- 
ton  Club.  He  played  on  the  team  of 
the  Carleton  Club  for  three  succes- 
sive winters  in  the  Interclub  Whist 
League,  and  was  one  of  the  team 
that  first  secured  the  handsome 
silver  placque,  the  trophy  of  the 
League.  Afterwards,  as  a  member 


of  the  Union  League  Club  team,  he 
again  helped  to  win  this  placque, 
and  at  this  writing  (October,  1897) 
it  is  once  more  held  by  the  Carleton 
Club,  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
The  Brooklyn  Whist  Club  was 
started  by  Mr.  Weems  and  Mr. 
Baker,  who  associated  with  them- 
selves a  number  of  prominent  gen- 
tlemen who  were  interested  in  the 
game.  Mr.  Baker  has  been  its 
treasurer  ever  since  its  organiza- 
tion, and  was  captain  of  its  team  at 
the  Minneapolis  congress  and  after- 
wards. 

Mr.  Baker  has  only  devoted  a 
portion  of  his  time  to  teaching 
whist,  but  has  been  very  successful 
in  New  York  and  Brooklyn  during 
the  last  two  years.having  had  in  that 
time  some  of  the  best  players  as  his 
pupils.  Among  these  is  Mrs.  Baker, 
who  is  very  thorough  in  both  the 
long  and  short-suit  game,  and 
adapts  herself  to  any  kind  of  part- 
ner with  ease.  With  her  as  a  partner, 
Mr.  Baker  got  into  the  finals  at  the 
first  Woman's  Whist  Congress,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  won  second  prize 
in  the  tournament  of  the  New  York 
Whist  Club,  in  the  spring  of  1897, 
being  in  the  lead  up  to  the  final 
game.  At  the  recent  congress  of 
the  American  Whist  League,  at  Put- 
in-Bay, he  accompanied  the  presi- 
dent and  treasurer  of  the  Ladies' 
Whist  Club  of  New  York,  Mrs. 
Johnson  and  Miss  Campbell,  whom 
he  had  instructed  for  a  short  time 
previously  in  the  short-suit  game. 
As  a  team  of  four,  with  Dr.  Walls,  of 
Washington,  they  tied  for  second 
place  in  the  first  match  for  fours, 
and  in  the  third  match  they  won 
first  prize.  Mr.  Baker  also  won 
two  other  prizes  in  the  pair  contests. 

Mr.  Baker  was,  until  a  year  ago, 
a  firm  believer  in  the  long-suit 
game,  although  he  never  advocated 
or  endorsed  American  leads.  He 
played  the  American  leads  when 


BALDWIN,  JOHN  LORAINE     49         BARNEY,  WALTER  H. 


associated  with  those  who  preferred 
them,  but  always  leaned  toward  the 
old  leads  in  preference.  During 
the  past  year  he  has  given  the 
short-suit  theories  and  various  fads 
that  have  been  introduced  into  the 
game  a  thorough  examination  and 
trial,  and  has  adopted  and  recom- 
mended as  his  choice  what  is  known 
as  the  "  Common  Sense  "  game,  or 
as  he  calls  it,  the  "Combination" 
game  (q.  v.),  with  certain  features 
and  modifications  of  his  own.  He 
says:  "  That  it  is  not  a  losing  game, 
the  result  of  my  experience,  and 
of  scores  of  my  pupils  who  have 
adopted  it,  will  prove,  and  that  it 
is  a  better  intellectual  exercise,  and 
a  more  enjoyable  game  to  play,  all 
will  testify  who  have  once  given  it 
a  fair  trial." 

Baldwin,  John  Loraine. — The 
father  of  the  present  English  code 
of  whist  laws.  Through  his  efforts 
a  revision  of  the  laws  (which  had 
received  but  slight  alteration  since 
the  days  of  Hoyle)  was  brought 
about,  and  in  1864  he  published 
"The  Laws  of  Short  Whist,"  to 
which  was  added  a  treatise  on 
the  game  by  James  Clay.  The  fact 
that  short  whist  (the  five-point 
game)  had  almost  entirely  super- 
seded the  old  style,  or  long  whist 
of  ten  points,  was  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  for  the  revision  of  the  laws. 
These  were  framed  by  a  committee 
appointed  by  the  Arlington  (now 
the  Turf)  Club,  and  by  this  club 
submitted  to  the  Portland  Club. 
The  latter  appointed  a  committee 
(of  which  Henry  Derviche  Jones, 
F.  R.  C.  S.,  father  of  "  Cavendish," 
was  chairman)  to  consider  them. 
The  Portland  Club  made  some  sug- 
gestions and  additions,  which  were 
accepted,  and  on  April  30,  the  Ar- 
lington Club,  with  the  Duke  of 
Beaufort  in  the  chair,  resolved 
unanimously,  "  that  the  laws  of 


short  whist,  as  framed  by  the  whist 
committee  and  edited  by  John 
Loraine  Baldwin,  Esq.,  be  adopted 
at  this  club." 

Mr.  Baldwin  died  in  London  in 
the  latter  part  of  November,  1896, 
at  the  age  of  87  years. 

Barney,  Walter  H. — Fourth  pres- 
ident of  the  American  Whist 
League,  was  born  September  20, 
1855,  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  the  son 
of  Josiah  K.  and  Susan  (Ham- 
mond) Barney.  He  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools,  and  in 
Mowry  &  Goff  English  and  Classi- 
cal High  School,  in  which  he  pre- 
pared for  college.  He  was  gradu- 
ated from  Brown  University  in 
1876,  with  the  valedictory,  and  took 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  course,  in 
1879.  He  next  studied  law  in  the 
office  of  Colwell  &  Colt,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Rhode  Island  bar 
in  January,  1879.  He  has  been 
engaged  in  active  practice  ever 
since  that  time.  From  1883  to  1894, 
he  was  associated  with  his  old  in- 
structor, Judge  Colwell,  taking  the 
place  in  the  firm  of  the  Hon.  L.  B. 
B.  Colt  on  the  latter's  election  to 
the  United  States  judgeship.  In  1893 
the  partnership  was  dissolved  on  the 
election  of  Judge  Colwell  as  city 
solicitor.  Mr.  Barney  has  been 
engaged  in  many  large  corporation 
and  equity  cases,  and  has  been  in 
most  of  the  important  constitu- 
tional litigation  carried  on  in  his 
State.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
State  legislature  in  i892-'93,  and  in 
the  city  council  from  1892  to  1896. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  school 
committee  of  the  city  of  Providence 
since  1888,  and  president  of  that 
body  since  1889.  He  is  very  deeply 
interested  in  educational  ques- 
tions, and  has  been  largely  in- 
strumental in  bringing  the  school 
department  of  his  native  city  to  its 
present  high  state  of  efficiency.  He 


BARNEY,  WAITER  H.    50    BARNEY,  WALTER  H. 


has  been  especially  interested  in 
the  subject  of  special  training  for 
teachers,  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
public  school  courses  to  meet  the 
special  requirements  of  different 
classes,  and  in  the  modification  of 
the  administration  of  the  school  de- 
partment so  as  to  eliminate  politics 
and  personal  influence  in  the  se- 
lection of  teachers  and  other  em- 
ployees. 

He  has  been  interested  in  whist 
since  his  college  days,  and  was 
among  the  charter  members  of  the 
famous  Narragansett  Whist  Club, 
of  Providence,  which  was  organ- 
ized in  1884;  was  president  of  the 
club  from  1892  till  1897,  and  has 
been  active  in  the  whist  depart- 
ment of  the  Providence  Athletic 
Association  since  its  organization, 
and  also  as  a  member  of  the  Provi- 
dence Whist  Club.  He  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  First  American  Whist 
Congress  at  Milwaukee,  in  1891, 
and  has  been  present  at  every  suc- 
ceeding congress.  He  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  consti- 
tution at  the  first  congress,  and 
reported  the  constitution  under 
which  the  American  Whist  League 
was  organized.  He  was  elected 
recording  secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League  at  the  first  con- 
gress, and  held  that  position  till 
the  fifth  congress,  at  which  time 
he  was  elected  vice-president.  At 
the  sixth  congress  he  was  elected 
president,  and  after  the  custom 
of  the  League,  retired  at  the 
next  succeeding  congress.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  committee  on 
laws  of  the  first  and  second  con- 
gresses, and  chairman  of  the  special 
committee  appointed  to  revise  the 
laws  in  the  interim  between  the 
second  and  third  congresses.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
laws  at  the  third  congress  which 
reported  the  final  revision  of  the 
laws  of  whist  He  was  also  a  mem- 


ber of  the  committee  on  laws  at  the 
fourth  congress,  and  made  the  ma- 
jority report  on  the  laws  of  dupli- 
cate whist  which  was  adopted  by 
that  congress.  He  took  an  active 
part  in  the  organization  of  the  New 
England  Whist  Association,  in  the 
fall  of  1894,  and  was  its  president 
until  the  annual  meeting  of  1897, 
at  which  time  he  was  elected  hon- 
orary director. 

He  has  been  actively  interested 
in  the  movement  for  the  formation 
of  auxiliary  associations  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  especially  in 
the  formation  of  the  New  York 
State  Association,  of  which  he  is  an 
honorary  member.  In  1897  he  was 
made  chairman  of  the  tournament 
committee  in  charge  of  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  eighth  annual  con- 
gress. 

Mr.  Barney  is  a  skillful  and  en- 
thusiastic whist-player,  and  a  firm 
advocate  of  the  long-suit  game  and 
American  leads.  He  is  also  the 
originator  of  an  important  improve- 
ment in  the  arrangement  of  the 
players  in  duplicate  whist  matches. 
By  his  method  a  difficulty  is  obvia- 
ted in  the  moving  of  players  and 
trays  in  matches  between  teams  of 
eight.  (See,  "Duplicate  Whist 
Schedules.") 

When  several  quartette  teams  compete 
with  each  other,  Howell's  system  of 
arrangement  will  be  found  the  best. 
There  are  two  methods:  for  odd  and  for 
even  numbers  of  teams.  *  *  *  There  is 
a  choice  between  two  systems  of  arrang- 
ing even  numbers  of  teams.  The  first  is 
Mr.  W.  H.  Barney's  improvement  on 
Howell's  system.  The  other  is  Mitchell's, 
which  is  better  suited  to  social  gather- 
ings, at  which  persons  naturally  wish  to 
play  all  the  time.  The  former  is  the 
more  accurate  for  match  play. — R.  F, 
Foster  [S.  O.],  "  Complete  Hoyle,"  1897. 

There  is  little  that  has  been  written  on 
the  game  but  he  has  read  and  carefully 
considered,  and  but  few  whist  publica- 
tions, modern  or  antique,  but  are  on  the 
shelves  of  his  library.  He  has  also  studied 
the  game  from  a  mathematical  and  ana- 
lytical side,  and  has  worked  out  many 
of  the  most  intricate  problems.  For 


BATH  COUP,  THE 


BATTLE,  SARAH" 


instance,  he  has  devoted  weeks  of  labor, 
and  hundreds  of  pages  of  figures,  to  an 
analysis  by  the  doctrine  of  probabilities 
of  the  value  of  the  G.  W.  P.  play  of  the 
nine  from  king,  knave,  nine,  in  suits  not 
containing  the  ten.  He  has  also  a  very 
carefully  prepared  analysis  of  the  situa- 
tion and  relative  value  of  the  lead  of  ace 
and  nine  from  ace,  queen,  ten,  ninej  and 
ace,  knave,  ten,  nine.  Some  of  his  friends 
say  that  he  would  rather  work  out  these 
problems  than  to  play  the  game  itself. 
He,  however,  will  not  admit  that  any- 
thing outranks  the  game  in  interest. — 
C.  S.  Boutcher  \L.  A.],  "  Whist  Sketches," 
1892. 

Bath  Coup,  The. — A  strategic 
play  at  whist  which  originated  at 
Bath,  England,  in  the  time  of 
Hoyle.  The  fourth  hand,  holding 
ace,  jack,  and  others,  refuses  to  take 
a  king  when  it  is  led,  presumably, 
from  king,  queen,  and  others.  He 
retains  the  ace  and  allows  the  king 
to  win,  for  the  chance  of  winning 
the  next  two  tricks,  or  perhaps 
deceiving  the  adversaries  and  profit- 
ing still  more  by  the  demorali- 
zation which  sometimes  ensues. 
There  are  circumstances  under 
which  this  coup,  or  any  other  non- 
cohventional  play,is  justifiable;  but, 
as  a  rule,  it  should  be  employed 
with  caution,  as  it  may  prove  a 
boomerang. 

A  bad  habit  of  fourth-hand  players  is  to 
hold  up  the  tenace,  ace,  jack,  when  a  king 
or  queen  is  led  originally.  This  is  called 
the  Bath  coup,  and  the  suit  must  go 
around  three  times  for  it  to  succeed  in 
making  two  tricks.  The  holder  of  the 
tenace  should  equally  make  two  tricks 
by  playing  the  ace  at  once,  provided  he 
does  not  lead  the  suit  back. — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter {S.  O.\  "Complete  Hoyle." 

The  reader  must  be  governed  by  circum- 
stances in  making  this  play.  If  the  ad- 
versaries are  not  likely  to  be  deceived  by 
your  holding  up  the  ace,  do  not  attempt 
it  unless  strong  in  trumps,  for  you  may 
lose  a  trick,  and  can  only  gain  the  one 
resulting  from  the  tenace.  But  if  you 
think  the  enemy  are  likely  to  be  misled 
by  the  coup,  you  should  adopt  it  by  all 
means;  for  under  the  most  unfavorable 
circumstances  you  lose  only  one  trick, 
while  you  may  gain  three  or  four  if  the 
leader  wrecks  his  hand  by  leading  trumps 
under  the  impression  that  his  suit  is  es- 


tablished.— Vol.  W.Starnes  [S.  O.],  "Short- 
Suit  Whist." 

"Battle,  Sarah."— An  imagi- 
nary character  described  in  one  of 
Charles  Lamb's  "Essays  of  Elia." 
She  was  a  gentlewoman  with  a 
great  fondness  for  whist,  and  em- 
bodied Lamb's  ideas  of  what  a  per- 
fect whist-player  should  be  like. 
Several  ladies'  whist  clubs  in  the 
United  States  have  been  named  in 
her  honor. 

When  asked  whether  he  regarded 
Sarah  Battle  as  simply  a  creation 
of  fancy  or  a  real  personage,  ' '  Cav- 
endish "  replied:  "Sarah  Battle  I 
know  nothing  about,  beyond  what 
I  have  read  in  Lamb's  'Essays.' 
Many  writers  of  fiction  draw  their 
characters  from  life,  but  you  can- 
not be  sure  of  Lamb's  methods." 
W.  P.  Courtney,  on  the  other  hand, 
says:  "  Every  one  knows  the  per- 
fect picture  of  a  whist-player  given 
to  us  in  the  person  of  Sarah  Battle; 
and  from  Lamb's  own  opinions,  and 
the  habits  of  those  around  him  at 
these  festive  gatherings,  her  char- 
acter must  have  been  painted." 

"A  clear  fire,  a  clean  hearth,  and  the 
rigor  of  the  game."  This  was  the  cele- 
brated wish  of  old  Sarah  Battle  (now  with 
God),  who,  next  to  her  devotions,  loved  a 
good  game  of  whist.  She  was  none  of 
your  lukewarm  gamesters,  your  half-and- 
half  players,  who  have  no  objection  to 
take  a  hand  if  you  want  one  to  make  up 
a  rubber;  who  affirm  that  they  have  no 
pleasure  in  winning;  that  thev  like  to  win 
one  game  and  lose  another;  that  they  can 
while  away  an  hour  very  agreeably  at  a 
card-table,  but  are  indifferent  whether 
they  play  or  no;  and  will  desire  an  ad- 
versary, who  has  slipped  a  wrong  card, 
to  take  it  up  and  play  another.  These 
insufferable  triflers  are  the  curse  of  a 
table.  One  of  these  flies  will  spoil  a 
whole  pot.  Of  such  it  may  be  said  that 
they  do_  not  play  at  cards,  but  only  play 
at  playing  at  them. 

Sarah  Battle  was  none  of  that  breed. 
She  detested  them,  as  I  do,  from  her 
heart  and  soul,  and  would  not,  save  upon 
a  striking  emergency,  willingly  seat  her- 
self at  the  same  table  with  them.  She 
loved  a  thorough-paced  partner,  a  deter- 
mined enemy.  She  took  and  gave  no 


BEGINNER 


52     BENTINCK,  LORD  HENRY 


concessions.  She  never  made  a  revoke 
nor  even  passed  it  over  in  her  adversary 
without  exacting  the  utmost  forfeiture. 
She  fought  a  good  fight— cut  and  thrust. 
She  held  not  her  good  sword  (her  cards) 
"like  a  dancer.1  She  sat  bolt  upright, 
and  neither  showed  you  her  cards,  nor 
desired  to  see  yours.  All  people  have 
their  blind  side— their  superstitions;  and 
1  have  heard  her  declare,  under  the  rose, 
that  hearts  was  her  favorite  suit. 

1  never  in  my  life— and  I  knew  Sarah 
Battle  many  of  the  best  years  of  it— saw 
her  take  out  her  snuff-box  when  it  was 
her  turn  to  play,  or  snuff  a  candle  in  the 
midst  of  a  frame,  or  ring  for  a  servant 
until  it  wasiairly  over.  She  never  intro- 
duced or  connived  at  miscellaneous  con- 
versation during  its  progress.  As  she  em- 
phatically observed.  "  cards  were  cards;" 
and  if  I  ever  saw  mingled  distaste  in  her 
fine  last-century  countenance,  it  was 
at  the  airs  of  a  young  gentleman  of  a 
literary  turn,  who  had  been  with  diffi- 
culty persuaded  to  take  a  hand,  and  who, 
in  his  excess  ol  candor,  declared  that  he 
thought  there  was  no  harm  in  unbending 
the  mind  now  and  then,  after  serious 
studies,  in  recreations  of  that  kind!  She 
could  not  bear  to  have  her  noble  occupa- 
tion, to  which  she  wound  up  her  faculties, 
considered  in  that  light.  It  was  her  busi- 
ness, her  duty,  the  thing  she  came  into 
the  world  to  do— and  she  did  it.  She  un- 
bent her  mind  afterwards  over  a  book. — 
Chat  lei  Lamb,  "Essays  of  Elia." 

Beginner. — A  beginner  at  whist 
is  one  who  is  learning,  or  trying 
to  learn,  the  rudiments  of  the 
game.  Strict  attention  to  rules  is 
necessary  on  his  part;  he  must  learn 
to  creep  before  he  can  walk.  When 
he  has  learned  the  rules,  and  be- 
come proficient  in  applying  them, 
he  may  proceed  to  learn  how  to 
play  in  exceptional  cases,  often 
contrary  to  general  rules. 

Maxims  and  rules  adapted  for  begin- 
ners are  disregarded  as  the  player  ad- 
vances.—  Charles  Mossop  [L+O.],  West- 
minster Papers,  November  z,  1878. 

Beginners,  Mistakes  of. — Mis- 
takes of  beginners  are  excusable  in 
a  measure,  especially  if  an  effort  is 
made  to  correct  the  errors  and  to 
profit  thereby.  Three  common 
mistakes  of  beginners  are  thus 
stated  by  Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A. 
H.]  in  his  "  Whist  of  To-day:" 


"  I.  Trying  to  learn  all  at  once. 
2.  Imagining  you  know  it  all  before 
you  know  it  half.  3.  Trying  to 
learn  without  combining  practice 
with  precept" 

A  beginner  who  attemps  to  handle  the 
weapons  of  the  expert  simply  plays  with 
edged  tools,  which  will  probably  cut  no 
one  but  himself  and  his  partner. — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  <?.],  "  Complete  Hoyle." 

Study  and  become  familiar  with  the 
laws  and  the  leads.  Play  printed  games 
with  the  cards  before  you.  Understand 
the  reason  for  each  play.  Play  practice 
games  with  good  players.— G.  IV.  Pettes 
[L.  A.  P.},  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 

Bentinck,    Lord     Henry. — The 

originator  or  inventor  of  the  trump 
signal,  or  "blue  peter,"  as  it  was 
humorously  dubbed  upon  its  ap- 
pearance, the  phrase  being  nautical, 
and  referring  to  a  signal  hoisted  on 
shipboard.  He  was  born  Septem- 
ber 14,  1774,  and  was  a  brother  to 
the  fourth  Duke  of  Portland.  From 
1827  to  1835  he  was  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  India.  He  was  also  a  gen- 
eral officer  in  the  army,  colonel  of 
the  Eleventh  Dragoons,  and  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  for  Glasgow.  He 
died  June  17,  1839. 

Lord  Bentinck  was  one  of  the 
players  at  Graham's  Coffee  House, 
a  celebrated  whist  headquarters, 
and  was  considered  one  of  the  finest 
players  of  his  day,  being  rivaled 
only  by  James  Clay.  He  himself, 
on  being  asked  whom  he  considered 
the  four  best  whist-players  he  ever 
knew,  mentioned  Lord  Granville, 
the  Hon.  George  Anson,  and  Henry, 
Lord  de  Ros.  The  fourth  he  would 
not  mention  by  name;  but  he  left  it 
to  be  inferred  that  he  considered 
himself  entitled  to  the  place.  Clay 
he  did  not  mention  at  all. 

Lord  Bentinck  was  the  inventor 
of  the  trump  signal.  He  designed 
or  noticed  some  contrivances  with 
high  cards  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting trumps  led;  and,  being  very 
particular  himself  in  the  use  of 


BEST  CARD 


53       BLIND  WHIST-PLAYERS 


small  cards,  it  occurred  to  him  that 
by  analogous  means  he  could  make 
an  arrangement  of  the  play  of  small 
cards  whereby  a  similar  request  for 
a  trump-lead  could  be  communi- 
cated to  his  partner.  Clay  repre- 
sents him  as  deeply  regretting  his 
invention  of  the  signal  later  in  life, 
"because  it  deprived  him  of  half 
the  advantage  which  he  derived 
from  his  superior  play. "  (See,  also, 
"Trump  Signal.") 

Lord  Henry  Bentinck  was  another 
player,  of  the  past  generation,  of  high 
repute.  *  *  *  He  was  no  doubt  a  fine 
player,  but  tenax  propositi  to  a  degree 
that  militated  against  very  perfect  whist. 
For  instance,  when  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  not  to  be  forced  in  trumps,  I  have 
seen  him  to  allow  a  whole  suit  to  be 
brought  in  against  him  rather  than  take 
the  force.  Again,  he  made  no  distinction 
between  partners,  playing  the  same  game 
with  a  good  as  with  a  bad  one,  whereas 
players  of  the  highest  class  vary  their 
game  to  suit  their  partners.  His  strong 
point  was  his  accurate  observance  of  the 
fall  of  the  cards.  He  was  very  particular 
about  the  play  of  the  small  cards,  and 
this,  no  doubt,  led  him  to  conceive  the 
idea  of  the  call  for  trumps,  which  was  his 
invention. — "  Cavendish.  "  \L,  A.],  "  Card- 
Table  Talk." 

There  is  a  house  in  London  which 
should  be  the  Mecca  of  all  whist-players 
who  believe  in  the  new  school  and  the 
"information"  game;  a  shrine  before 
which  they  should  bow  respectfully  as 
the  fountain-head  of  all  that  is  modern  in 
the  g_ame.  This  is  87  St.  James  street, 
and  it  is  within  sight  of  Marlborough 
House.  Its  fame  rests  chiefly  on  the  fact 
that  it  was  at  one  time  known  as  Gra- 
ham's Club,  and  that  within  its  walls 
Lord  Henry  Bentinck  first  introduced  the 
"blue  peter,"  or  signal  for  trumps,  which 
consists  in  playing  a  higher  card  before  a 
lower  when  no  attempt  is  made  to  win 
the  trick.  That  signal  has  been  to  the 
whist-players  of  the  world  like  the  pillar 
of  fire  to  the  children  of  Israel.  For 
more  than  forty  years  it  has  led  them  up 
and  down  in  the  wilderness  of  arbitrary 
conventions,  but  it  has  never  brought 
them  to  the  promised  land  of  better 
whist.— R.  F.  Foster  [5.  O.],  "Monthly 
Illustrator.'" 

Best  Card — See,"Master  Card." 

Bibliography    of    Whist.— See, 

"Books  on  Whist." 


Blind       Whist- Players.— When 

Disraeli  in  his  romance,  "The  In- 
fernal Marriage,"  represents  the 
sage  and  prophet  Tiresias,  although 
blind,  as  a  phenomenal  whist- 
player,  we  are  led  to  wonder  where 
the  author  obtained  his  inspiration 
for  this  character.  Had  he  lived 
in  this  country  we  might  account 
for  it  by  facts  as  strange  as  fiction 
which  have  came  to  light  concern- 
ing blind  whist-players  in  actual 
life,  who  enjoy  the  game  with  as 
much  zest  as  their  more  fortunate 
partners.  One  of  these  is  Henry  K. 
Dillard,  of  234  South  Twentieth 
street,  Philadelphia,  of  whom 
Whist  of  December,  1894,  says: 
' '  He  may  never  have  delivered  a 
great  oration,  nor  led  an  army  to 
victory,  nor  written  an  epic,  nor 
created  a  great  character  in  fiction, 
but  he  has,  without  eyes,  become  a 
master  of  the  most  intellectual 
game  in  the  world."  Mr.  Dillard 
is  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and  was 
engaged  in  business  until  1883, 
when  he  was  obliged  to  retire  on 
account  of  the  gradual  loss  of  his 
eyesight,  caused  by  a  disease  of  the 
retina,  which  was  brought  on  by 
overwork.  He  knew  something  of 
whist  when  overtaken  by  his  misfor- 
tune, but  through  a  suggestion  made 
two  years  later  he  was  not  only  able 
to  continue  the  study  of  his  favorite 
game,  but  to  become  an  adept  at 
it.  The  idea  of  raised  cards  was 
brought  to  his  attention,  and  since 
then,  through  the  devotion  of  his 
wife,  he  has  been  enabled  to  keep 
himself  in  active  practice.  Mrs. 
Dillard  keeps  constantly  on  hand, 
for  his  use,  cards  pricked  by  sten- 
cil in  such  a  way  that  by  his  delicate 
touch  he  is  able  to  play  the  game 
as  readily  and  accurately  as  any 
others  at  the  table,  each  player 
calling  out  his  card  as  played. 
"  Few  men  can  discuss  the  finer 
points  of  whist  with  more  intelli- 


BLIND  WHIST-PLAYERS       54 


BLUE  PETER  " 


gence,"  says  I.  W.  Holman,  in 
speaking  of  Mr.  Dillard.  "As  illus- 
trating his  remarkable  memory, 
one  evening  during  his  visit  in 
Chicago,  at  the  end  of  a  '  rubber,' 
a  discussion  arose  relative  to  the 
first  deal,  when,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  those  present,  he  placed 
the  entire  fifty-two  cards  in  their 
order  of  play  from  beginning  to 
end." 

Cecil  Smith,  a  young  student  in 
the  University  of  California,  is 
another  blind  whist-player.  He 
has  made  the  game  his  favorite 
pastime,  and  plays  it  as  quickly 
and  as  accurately  as  any  good 
player,  recognizing  the  cards  he 
holds  in  his  hands,  and  using  them 
always  to  the  best  advantage.  He 
has  a  little  machine  with  which  he 
punctures  each  card.  So  fine  are 
the  tiny  holes  made  that  none  of 
the  other  players  notice  them.  The 
cards  are  in  no  way  marred  for  prac- 
tical use,  and  may  be  shuffled  as 
any  other  pack. 

The  following  particulars  con- 
cerning other  blind  players  are 
contained  in  W.  P.  Courtney's 
"  English  Whist  and  Whist-Play- 
ers:" "  The  enthusiasm  for  whist, 
which  overcomes  all  obstacles,  was 
never  more  markedly  shown  than 
in  the  case  of  some  blind  players. 
The  system  adopted  by  Stanley, 
the  blind  organist,  and  leader  of 
the  oratorio  band  in  '  Drury  Lane,' 
is  partly  explained  by  Laetitia  M. 
Hawkins,  in  her  'Anecdotes'  ( 1822) . 
The  cards  were  marked  for  him  by 
his  sister-in-law,  and  a  pack  was  a 
'  great  curiosity,  eagerly  acquired. 
The  "court-card"  system  had  slipped 
her  memory,  but  the  numbers  of  the 
pips  were  pricked  on  the  others  with 
a  very  fine  needle,'  the  suits  being 
marked  in  the  different  corners. 
His  cards  were  arranged  for  him  by 
some  outsider,  and  '  each  person  as 
he  played  named  the  card  which 


he  had  selected  for  that  purpose.1 
Dr.  Thomas  Campbell,  who  came 
from  Ireland  in  1775  and  wrote  his 
1  Diary  of  a  Visit  to  England, '  de- 
scribed Stanley  '  as  a  very  agreeable 
person,  and  comely  for  a  blind  man . ' 
He  played  with  '  as  much  ease  and 
quickness  as  any  man'  Campbell 
ever  saw. 

"  Charles  Bennet,  the  blind  or- 
ganist of  Truro  Church,  played  on 
the  same  plan,  and  soon  became  an 
expert.  When  Mr.  Henry  Faw- 
cett  lost  his  eyesight,  his  secretary, 
Mr.  Dryhurst,  himself  a  whist- 
player,  devised  a  similar  plan  for 
his  chief,  who  learned  to  play  cor- 
rectly with  remarkable  quickness. 
Three  days  after  he  had  begun  the 
experiment,  he  could  play  and  win 
a  game  without  making  mistakes, 
and  without  hesitating  over  the 
cards  longer  than  his  antagonist." 

Blocking. — Obstructing  partner's 
long  suit  by  failing  to  get  rid  in 
time  of  the  commanding  card  in  the 
same.  (See,  "  Unblocking. ") 

Blocking  a  suit,  keeping  a  high  card  of 
it,  so  that  a  player  with  a  number  of 
smaller  cards  cannot  win  tricks  with 
them.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

"Blue  Peter." — A  name  famil- 
iarly applied  to  the  trump  signal 
upon  its  introduction  in  England, 
and  used  synonymously  to  this  day. 
Sometimes  it  is  spoken  of  simply 
as  "the  peter."  Hence,  to  "blue 
peter,"  or  to  "peter,"  means  to 
signal  for  trumps.  Hence,  also, 
the  colloquial  phrase,  ' '  to  peter 
out,"  used  without  reference  to 
whist.  (See,  "Trump  Signal.") 

In  a  poem  entitled  "The  Blue 
Peter,"  published  in  the  Westmin- 
ster Papers,  the  nautical  origin  of 
the  term  is  fully  indicated,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  fondness  of  the 
fair  sex  for  holding  back  their 
trumps  is  also  mildly  satirized.  A 


BOARDMAN,   EMERY 


55 


;BOB  SHORT'S"  RULES 


young  lady  is  supposed  to  be  speak- 
ing: 

Oft  when  I  see  the  cruel  pennon  flying, 
How  my  heart  bounds  and  palpitates, 

and  thumps; 

Sure,  'tis  enough  to  set  a  poor  girl  sigh- 
ing 

To  see    this   cruel   flag— this   call  for 
"trumps." 

Perhaps  the  best  trumps — the  very  best  of 

all, 
My  only  one,  may  be,  "my  own  dear 

Jack!" 

And  yet  I'm  bound  to  answer  to  the  call, 
And  send  him  forth  to  strengthen  the 
attack! 

Is  it  not  quite  unjust— nay,  almost  "  pelf- 

ish," 
For  a  strong  tyrant    thus   my  all   to 

crave  ? 

In  honors  rich  himself,  it  seems  so  selfish 
To  wrest  from  me  the  only  one  I  have. 

Would  it  not  be— I  ask  you,  in  all  meek- 
ness— 

Productive  of  results  at  least  the  same, 
For  him  to  leave  me— pitying  my  weak- 
ness— 
With  little  Jack  to  play  my  little  game? 

I  hope  he  soon  will  go  for  his  last  sail; 
Then,  when  I  greet  him  once  again  on 

shore, 
I'll  pray,  henceforth  new  methods  may 

prevail 
To  ask  for  trumps,  and  "peters"  fly  no 

more! 

The  peter,  simple  in  its  inception,  and 
ineffably  stupid  in  its  execution,  *  *  * 
was  the  pioneer  of  the  mass  of  wood- 
paving  which  has  since  been  laid  down. — 
"  Pembridge,"  [L+O.],  "Decline  and  Fall 
of  Whist." 

Board  man,  Emery. — The  author 
of"  Winning  Whist,"  a  harmonious 
system  of  combined  long-suit  and 
short-suit  play,  was  born  in  Belfast, 
Maine,  March  23,  1849,  where  he 
still  resides.  He  received  a  semi- 
nary education ;  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  October,  1873;  married,  June 
13,  1878;  has  held  the  offices  of  city 
clerk,  city  treasurer,  judge  of  police 
court,  also  of  the  municipal  court; 
has  been  editor  of  the  Belfast  Ad- 
vertiser and  Belfast  City  Press.  In 
his  book  he  recommends  the  Ameri- 
can leads  from  all  suits,  but  not  an 


invariable  adherence  to  the  long- 
suit  system  of  play. 

Mr.  Boardman  defines  two  styles  of 
game — one  the  long-suit  system,  and  the 
other  as  comprising  the  tactics  of  weak- 
ness, consisting  of  concealment,  artifice, 
deception,  finesse,  underplay.  It  has 
always  been  our  understanding  that 
finesse  and  underplay  are  more  particu- 
larly attributes  of  the  long-suit  game, 
and  even  the  other  tactics  come  within  its 
scope.  We  cannot,  there  lore,  subscribe 
to  this  classification. —  Whist  \L.  A.],  Oct.- 
Nov.  J8o6. 

"Bob  Short's"   Rules.— "Bob 

Short's"  Rules  for  playing  whist 
appeared  in  1792,  and  enjoyed  great 
popularity,  many  editions  being  dis- 
posed of.  It  is  said  7000  copies  of 
the  book  were  sold  during  the  first 
twelve  months.  These  rules  were 
based  on  Hoyle,  and  only  professed 
to  be  "Hoyle  Abridged."  They 
were  compiled  by  Anne  Lsetitia 
Aikin,  afterwards  Mrs.  Barbaud, 
the  authoress  of  "  Evenings  at 
Home,"  and  "Early  Lessons  for 
Children."  The  rules  are  herewith 
reproduced  as  a  matter  of  interest 
and  curiosity. 

1.  Lead  from  your  strong  suit,  and  be 
cautious  how  you  change  suits,  and  keep 
a  commanding  card  to  bring  it  in  again. 

2.  Lead  through  the  strong  suit  and  up 
to  the  weak,  but  not  in  trumps  unless 
very  strong  in  them. 

3.  Lead  the  highest  of  a  sequence;  but 
if  you  have  a  quart  or  cinque  to  a  king, 
lead  the  lowest. 

4.  Lead  through  an  honor,  particularly 
if  the  game  is  much  against  you. 

5.  Lead  jour  best  trump  if  the  adversa- 
ries are  eight  [long  whist]  and  you  have 
no    honor,  but    not   if    you    have    four 
trumps,  unless  you  have  a  sequence. 

6.  Lead  a  trump,  if  you  have  four  or 
five,  or  a  strong  hand;  but  not  if  weak. 

7.  Having  ace,  king,  and  two  or  three 
small  cards,  lead  ace  and  king,  if  weak 
in  trumps;  but  a  small  one  if  strong  in 
them. 

8.  If  you  have  the  last  trump,  with  some 
winning  cards,  and  one  losing  card  only, 
lead  the  losing  card. 

9.  Return  your  partner's  lead,  not  the 
adversary's;    and  if  you  had  only  three 
originally,  play  the  best;  but  you  need 
not  return  it  immediately  when  you  win 
with  the  king,  queen,  or  knave,  and  have 
only  small  ones;  or  when  you  hold  a  good 


BOOK 


BOOK-PLAYER 


sequence,  have  a  strong  suit,  or  have  five 
trumps. 

10.  Do  not  lead  from  ace-queen  or  ace- 
knave. 

11.  Do  not  lead  an  ace  unless  you  have 
a  king. 

12.  Do  not  lead  a  thirteenth  card,  unless 
trumps  are  out. 

13.  Do  not   trump  a  thirteenth    card, 
nnless  you  are  a  last  player,  or  want  the 
lead. 

14.  Keep  a  small  card  to  return  your 
partner's  lead. 

15.  Be    cautious    in    trumping   a  card 
when  strong  in  trumps,  particularly  if 
you  have  a  strong  suit. 

16.  Having  only  a  few  small  trumps, 
make  them  when  you  can. 

17.  If  your  partner  refuses  to  trump  a 
suit  of  which  he  knows  you  have  not  the 
best,  lead  your  best  trump. 

18.  When  you  hold  all  the  remaining 
trumps,  play  one,  and  then  try  to  put  the 
lead  in  your  partner's  hand. 

19.  Remember  how  many  of  each  suit 
are  out,  and  what  is  the  best  card  left  in 
each  hand. 

20.  Never  force  your  partner  if  you  are 
•weak  in  trumps,  unless  you  have  a  re- 
nounce or  can  ensure  the  odd  trick. 

21.  When  playing  for  the  odd  trick,  be 
cautious  of  trumping  out,  especially  if 
your  partner  is  likely  to  trump  a  suit;  and 
make  all  the  tricks  you  can  early,  and 
avoid  finessing. 

22.  If  you  take  a  trick  and  have  a  se- 
quence, win  it  with  the  lowest. 

23.  (Second  hand.)    Having  ace,  king, 
and  small  ones,  play  a  small  one,  if  strong 
in  trumps,  but  the  king  if  weak;  and  hav- 
ing ace,  king,  queen,  or  knave  only,  with 
a  small  one,  play  the  small  one. 

24.  (Third    hand.)      Having    ace    and 
queen,  play  the  queen,  and  if  it  wins,  re- 
turn the  ace;  and  in  all  other  cases  play 
the  best,  if  your  partner  leads  a  small 
one. 

25.  Neglect  not  to  make  the  odd  trick 
when  in  your  power. 

26.  Attend  to  the  score,  and  play  the 
game  accordingly. 

27.  Retain  the  card  turned  up  as  long 
as  possible. 

28.  When  in  doubt,  win  the  trick. 

Hoyle's  more  important  teaching  mat- 
ter is  essentially  reproduced  [in  "Bob 
Short's"  Rules],  but  with  considerable 
alterations  of  the  wording,  mostly  quite 
arbitrary  and  unnecessary.  The  division 
into  chapters  is  also  abandoned,  which 
makes  the  book  appear  still  more  con- 
fused and  unmethodical. —  William  Pole 
[L.  A  +],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Book. — The  cards  comprising  the 
first  six  tricks  taken  in  play,  and 


gathered  into  one  lot.  All  the  tricks 
taken  above  a  book  count  toward 
game,  one  point  for  each  trick. 

Book  Game. — The  playing  of 
whist  in  accordance  with  rules  and 
directions  given  in  books.  A  book 
game  is  one  abounding  in  theoreti- 
cal knowledge,  but  very  often  lack- 
ing the  skill  which  comes  from 
practice. 

The  game  as  laid  down  in  the  books  is 
strategical  and  scientific,  and  embodies 
the  wisdom  and  judgment  of  whist  sages 
acquired  after  long,  acute,  and  sound  in- 
vestigation.— A.  J.  Mclntosh  \L.  A.], 
"Modern  Whist,"  1888. 

What  is  required  of  the  game  of  whist  is 
to  make  the  tricks  by  the  most  correct 
play.  In  very  many  cases  the  book  leads 
are  right,  and  you  are  not  unreasonably 
to  play  contrary  to  their  dictation;  but  do 
not  surrender  your  common  sense  to  a 
regulation.— G.  W.  Pelles[L.A.P.],  "Amer- 
ican Whist  Illustrated." 

Some  players  seem  fond  of  making 
mention  of  the  fact  that  they  do  not  play 
the  "book  game,"  prefer  to  play  their 
own  hand,  in  their  own  way,  etc.  An 
illiterate  person  might  explain  that  he 
did  not  talk  book  English,  but  such  ex- 
planation would  be  entirely  unneces- 
sary.— Charles  E.  Coffin  [L.  A.],  "  Gist  of 
Whist." 

Do  not  run  away  with  the  impression 
that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the 
conventionalities  of  the  game  will  enable 
you  to  win  every  time  you  play,  or  will 
even  give  you  any  great  advantage  over 
those  who  do  not  possess  this  knowledge 
to  the  same  extent.  I  am  of  opinion  that 
a  book  knowledge  of  whist  is  of  little 
value  so  far  as  winning  games  is  con- 
cerned. Ignoramuses  sometimes  hit  on 
plays  that  surpass  the  cleverest  devices  of 
genius.  The  great  value  of  the  conven- 
tional knowledge  of  whist  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  game  becomes  an  intellectual 
recreation,  and  the  book-player  derives 
an  inward  satisfaction  from  it  that  it  does 
not  yield  to  others.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.O.]. 

Book-Player. — One  who  plays  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  laid  down 
in  books,  but  who  very  often  is 
lacking  in  practical  knowledge  of 
the  game,  or  handicapped  by  a  too 
rigid  adherence  to  rule. 

The  book-player  is  a  safe  man  as  a  part- 
ner, but  is  not  very  dangerous  as  an  ad- 
versary.— A.  W.  Drayson  [L-\-A+],  "Art 
of  Practical  Whist." 


BOOKS  OF  THE  FOUR  KINGS    57 


BOOKS  ON  WHIST 


The  book-player  depends  entirely  on 
his  knowledge  of  certain  conventionali- 
ties and  signals,  and  when  he  cuts  in  with 
those  who  do  not  know  them  he  is  really 
worse  off  than  if  he  knew  nothing.— R.  f. 
foster  [S.  O.],  "  Whist  Strategy." 

««  Books  of  the  Four  Kings."— 

A  half-humorous  expression,  mean- 
ing a  pack  of  cards.     Now  obsolete. 

Cards  used  to  be  called  in  England 
"the  books  of  the  Four  Kings."  The  best- 
known  instance  is  that  said  to  be  used  by 
Mrs.Piozziin  "Retrospection,"  where  she 
remarks  that  it  is  a  well-known  vulgarity 
in  England  to  say:  "Come  in:  will  you 
have  a  stroke  at  the  history  of  the  Four 
Kings?"—  W.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.],  "Eng- 
lish Whist." 

Books  on  Whist. — A  complete 
bibliography  of  whist  would  num- 
ber hundreds  of  volumes.  The 
following  is  a  carefully  arranged 
alphabetical  list  of  the  more  im- 
portant works  that  have  been  pub- 
lished on  the  game.  In  this  list 
will  be  found  all  those  books  which 
have  affected  or  influenced  the  de- 
velopment of  whist,  from  its  in- 
fancy down  to  the  present  day: 

"  Advanced  Whist,"  by  "  Aquarius" 
(I,.  d'A.  Jackson).  London,  1884;  New 
York,  1884. 

"Advice  to  the  Young  Whist-Player," 
by  Thomas  Mathews.  London  and  Bath, 
1804;  eighteenth  edition  at  Bath,  1828; 
New  York.  1857. 

"American  Hoyle,  The,"  edited  by 
"Trumps,"  New  York,  1865;  thirteenth 
edition  in  1880. 

"American  LeadsSimpHfied,"  by  "Cav- 
endish" (Henry  Jones).  London,  1891. 

"American  or  Standard  Whist,"  by  G. 
W.  P.  (George  W.  Pettes).  Boston,  1880. 
(Eight  editions.) 

"  American  Whist,"  (by  Jacob  A.  Hoek- 
stra).  Originally  published  in  the  Roch- 
ester (N.  Y.)  Post-Express,  1888.  Second 
edition,  1893. 

"American  Whist  Illustrated,"  by  G. 
W.  P.  (G.  W.  Pettes).  Boston  and  New 
York,  1890.  (Ten  editions. ) 

"Art  of  Practical  Whist,  The,"  by  A. 
W.  Drayson.  London  and  New  York, 
i87_9-  In  J897  it  had  passed  through  five 
editions. 

"Card  Essays,  Clay's  Decisions,  and 
Card-Table  Talk,"  by  "Cavendish" 
(Henry  Jones).  London,  1880. 

"Common  Sense  in  Whist,"  by  Charles 
R.  Keiley.  New  York,  1898. 


"  Compend  of  Short  Whist,  A,"  by  S. 
Seymour.  Quebec,  1878. 

"Correct  Card,  or  How  to  Play  at 
Whist, "  by  Arthur  Campbell- Walker, 
London,  1876;  New  York,  1876.  (Thir- 
teenth thousand  published  in  1885.) 

"  Das  Edle  Whist"  (''The  Noble  Game 
of  Whist"),  by  T.  S.  Ebersberg.  Vienna, 
Leipsic,  etc.,  1836.  (Eighth  edition  in 
1888.) 

"Decline  and  Fall  of  Whist,  The," 
by  "Pembridge"  (J.  P.  Hewby).  Lon- 
don, 1884. 

"Duplicate  Whist,"  by  John  T.  Mit- 
chell. Chicago,  189 1 ;  second  edition,  Kala- 
mazoo,  1897. 

"  Duplicate  Whist  and  Whist  Strategy," 
by  R.  F.  Foster.  New  York,  1894. 

"Easy  Whist,"  by  "Aquarius"  (L.  d'A. 
Jackson).  London,  1883;  New  York,  1884. 

"  Encyclopedia  of  the  Game  of  Whist, 
Prefaced  with  Words  of  Advice  to  Young 
Players,"  by  William  Cusack-Smith.  Lon- 
don, 1891. 

"  English  Whist  and  Whist-Players,"  by 
William  Prideaux  Courtney.  London  and 
New  York,  1894. 

•'  Epitome  of  the  Game  of  Whist,  An," 
by  E.  M.  Arnaud.  Edinburgh,  1829. 

"Evolution  of  Whist,  The,"  by  Wil- 
liam Pole.  New  York  and  London,  1895. 

"Foster's  Complete  Hoyle,"  by  R.  F. 
Foster.  New  York,  1897. 

"  Genie  du  Whiste,"  by  Gen.  Baron  de 
Vautr6.  Brussels,  1843.  The  fourth  edi- 
tion appeared  in  Paris,  1847;  fifth  edition, 
Paris,  1848. 

"Gist  of  Whist,  The,"  by  Charles  E. 
Coffin.  New  York,  1893;  fourth  edition, 
New  York,  1894;  fifth  edition,  New  York, 
1896. 

"Handbook  of  Whist,  A,"  by  "Cap- 
tain Crawley"  (George  F.  Pardon).  Lon- 
don, 1863. 

"  Handbook  of  Whist,"  by  "  Major  Ten- 
ace"  (George  W.  Bailey).  New  York, 
1886;  second  edition,  1888. 

"Handbook  of  Whist,"  by  "Trumps" 
(W.  B.  Dick).  New  York,  1884. 

"Hands  at  Whist,  The,"  by  "Aqua- 
rius" (L.  d'A.  Jackson).  London,  1883; 
New  York,  1884. 

"Hints  to  Whist-Players,  A  Few,"  by 
Percival  Haslam.  Privately  printed  in 
London,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eight- 
eenth century. 

"Home  Whist,"  by  "Five  of  Clubs" 
(Richard  A.  Proctor).  London,  1885.  Sec- 
ond edition,  London,  1889;  New  York, 
1889. 

"  Howell's  Whist  Openings,"  by  Edwin 
C.  Howell.  Boston,  1806. 

"How  to  Play  Whist,"  by  "Five  of 
Clubs"  (Richard  A.  Proctor).  London, 
1885;  New  York,  1885;  London,  1889. 

"Hoyle  Abridged;  or,  Short  Rules  for 
Short  Memories  at  Whist,"  by  "Bob 
Short"  (Anne  Lsetitia  Aikin).  Bath, 


BOOKS  ON  WHIST 


BOOKS  ON  WHIST 


1703.  Many  editions.  Over  7000  copies 
sold  during  the  first  year. 

"Laws  and  Practice  of  Whist,"  by 
"Caelebs"  (E.  A.  Carlyon).  London,  1851; 
second  edition,  1856;  New  York,  1859. 

"Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist,  The," 
by  "Cavendish  "  (Henry  Jones).  London, 
1862;  New  York,  1864;  twenty-two  editions 
up  to  1897. 

"Laws  and  Regulations  of  Short 
Whist,"  by  "A.  Trump,  Jr."(William  Pem- 
broke Fetridge).  London  and  Paris, 
1882;  New  York,  iSSS. 

"  Laws  of  Short  Whist,"  edited  by  John 
Loraine  Baldwin;  with  a  Treatise  on  the 
Game,  by  James  Clay.  London,  1864; 
New  York,  1866.  Several  editions.  Dutch 
translation,  Gravenhage,  1878. 

"  Maxims  for  Playing  the  Game  of 
Whist."  by  William  Payne.  London,  1773. 
(The  first  edition  was  published  anony- 
mously, about  1770.) 

"Modern  Scientific  Whist,"  by  C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton.  New  York,  1895;  second  edi- 
tion, 1896. 

"Modern  Whist,"  by  Clement  Davies. 
London  and  New  York,  1886. 

"  Modern  Whist  with  Portland  Rules, 
and  Decisions  Thereunder,"  by  (A.  J.) 
Mclntosh.  Utica,  N.  Y.,  second  edition, 
1888. 

"  Philosophy  of  Whist.The,"  by  William 
Pole.  London,  1883;  New  York,  1884. 
Fifth  edition,  London,  1889. 

"Practical  Guide  to  Whist,  A,"  by 
Fisher  Ames.  New  York,  1891.  (Sixth 
edition,  1894.) 

"Rationelle  Whist,  Das,"  by  Ritter 
(Knight)  Ludwig  von  Cceckelbergle- 
Diitzele.  Vienna,  1843. 

"  Short-Suit  Whist,"  by  Val.  W.  Starnes. 
New  York,  1896. 

"  Short  Treatise  on  the  Game  of  Whist, 
A,"  by  Edmcmd  Hoyle.  London,  1742. 
(Sixteen  editions  were  published  in  Eng- 
land during  his  lifetime);  Gotha  (German 
edition),  1768;  Vienna  (French),  1776; 
Paris,  1781;  Amsterdam  (Dutch),  1810. 

"  Short  Whist,  Its  Progress,  Rise,  and 
Laws,"  by  "  Major  A."  (Charles  B.  Coles). 
London,  1834;  sixteenth  edition,  1864; 
eighteenth  edition,  with  Pole's  Essay  on 
the  "Theory  of  the  Modern  Scientific 
Game,"  1865. 

"  Short  Whist;  to  which  is  Added  Long 
Whist  by  'Admiral '  (Tames  Burney) ."  by 
F.  P.  Watson.  London,  fourth  edition, 
1846.  (Burner's  essay  was  originally 
published  in  1821,  a  second  edition  appear- 
ing in  1823.) 

"Theory  and  Practice  of  Whist,"  by 
"  Captain  Crawley "  (George  Frederick 
Pardon).  London,  1865;  tenth  edition,  1876. 

"Theory  of  the  Modern  Scientific 
Game,  The,"  by  William  Pole.  London 
(anonymously),  1864;  London,  1870,  with 
author's  name;  New  York,  1872.  (Seven- 
teen editions  up  to  1897.) 


"Traite  du  Whiste,"  by  G.  le  Breton 
Deschapelles.    Second  Partie,  La  Legis- 


"  Traite  du  Whiste  I'ing6nu,  ou  Whiste 
aTrois,"  by  G.  le  Breton  Deschapelles. 
Paris,  1842. 

"  Universal  Whist,"  by  G.  W.  P.  (George 
W.  Pettes).  Boston,  1887.  (Four  edi- 
tions.) 

"What  to  Lead,"  by  "Cam"  (Waller 
A.  Lewis).  London,  1865. 

"Whist  Developments,  American 
Leads,  and  the  Plain  Suit  Echo,"  by 
"Cavendish"  (Henry  Jones).  London, 
1885.  (In  later  editions  the  latter  part  of 
the  title  was  changed  to  "  Unblocking 
Game.") 

"Whist  for  All  Players,"  by  "Captain 
Crawley"  (George  F.  Pardon).  London, 
1873. 

"  Whist  for  Beginners,"  by  C.  T.  Buck- 
land.  London,  1882:  London,  1883;  New 
York,  1884. 

"  Whist:  How  to  Play  and  How  to  Win," 
by  Thomas  Brittain.  Manchester,  Eng- 
land, 1882. 

"Whist  in  Diagrams,"  by  G.  W.  P.  (G. 
W.  Pettes).  Boston,  1891. 

"Whist,  Its  History  and  Practice,"  by 
"An  Amateur,"  with  illustrations  by 
Meadows.  London,  new  edition,  1844. 

"  Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions,"  by 
A.  W.  Drayson.  New  York,  1896. 

"Whist  Manual,  A,"  by  R.  F.  Foster. 
New  York,  1890:  three  editions  up  to  1897. 

"Whist  of  To-day,"  by  Milton  C.  Work. 
Philadelphia,  four  editions,  1896. 

"  Whist,  or  Bumblepuppy  ?  "  by  "  Pern- 
bridge"  (J.  P.  Hewby).  London,  1880; 
Boston,  1883;  London,  1895. 

"  Whist-Player,  The,"  by  "Lieutenant- 
Colonel  B."  (H.  C.  Bunbury).  London, 
1856;  second  edition,  1858. 

"  Whist-Player's  Guide,  The,"  by  H.  F. 
Morgan.  London,  1881. 

"Whist  Sketches,"  by  C.  S.  Boutcher. 
Easton,  Pa.,  1892. 

"  Whist  Strategy,"  by  R.  F.  Foster  (pub- 
lished in  the  same  volume  with  his  "  Du- 
plicate Whist  ").  New  York,  1894. 

"  Whist  Table,  The,  A  Treasury  of 
Notes  on  the  Royal  Game,"  edited  by 
"Portland."  New  York,  1894. 

"  Whist  Tactics,"  by  R.  F.  Foster.  New 
York  and  London,  1895. 

"  Whist  Up  to  Date,"  by  C.  S.  S.  (Charles 
Stuart  Street).  New  York,  1896. 

"Whist:  Which  Card  to  Lead,"  by 
"  Cam  "  (Waller  A.  Lewis).  London,  two 
editions,  1865;  third  edition,  1866;  fourth 
edition,  1867. 

"Whist,  With  and  Without  Percep- 
tion," by  "Cavendish"  (Henry  Jones). 
London,  1889. 

"Winning  Whist,"  by  Emery  Board- 
man.  New  York,  1896. 


"BOSTON" 


59  BOSTON  DE  FONTAINBLEAU 


In  order  to  obtain  even  mediocrity  at 
whist  it  is  necessary  to  read  some  of  the 
books  that  have  been  written  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  it  is  better  to  read  them  all.— A. 
IV.£>rayson[L+A+]  "The  Art  of  Prac- 
tical Whist." 

"  Boston."— One  of  the  earliest 
and  most  popular  offshoots  of  whist, 
specially  adapted  for  betting  pur- 
poses. It  is  supposed  to  have  orig- 
inated in  Boston.  Rules  for  its  play 
were  published  in  Paris  as  early  as 
1810.  ' '  Boston ' '  is  played  by  four 
persons  with  a  full  pack  of  fifty-two 
cards.  The  dealer  gives  four  cards 
to  each  player,  then  four  more,  and 
then  five.  No  trump  is  turned,  but 
a  second  or  still  pack  is  cut,  and  the 
top  card  turned  up  for  the  trump. 
The  suit  to  which  it  belongs  is  first 
preference  (after  the  manner  of 
"  cayenne  "),  and  the  other  suit  of 
the  same  color  is  second  preference. 
The  two  remaining  colors  are  plain 
suits  for  that  deal.  "Boston" 
closely  resembles  "  solo  whist "  (a 
very  successful  offshoot)  in  the  mat- 
ter of  bidding,  and  one  player  play- 
ing single-handed  against  the  other 
three.  Each  player,  in  turn,  an- 
nounces the  number  of  tricks  which 
he  is  willing  to  undertake  to  win, 
if  allowed  to  name  the  trump  suit; 
or  to  lose  a  certain  number,  the 
play  to  proceed  without  trumps. 
The  bids  range  from  five  tricks, 
which  is  now  called  "boston" 
(although  formerly  "boston"  was 
the  grand  slam),  to  the  winning 
of  thirteen  tricks  (the  "grand 
slam  " ) .  To  lose  twelve  tricks,  with 
the  privilege  of  first  discarding  a 
card  which  is  not  to  be  exposed,  is 
called  the  "little  misere;"  to  lose 
every  trick,  the  "grand  misere." 
The  "little  spread "  is  the  same  as 
the  "little  misere,"  with  this  addi- 
tional feature:  the  single  player's 
hand  is  exposed  on  the  table.  To 
lose  every  trick  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances is  called  the  "grand 
spread."  The  successful  bidder 


tries  to  win  or  lose  a  certain  num- 
ber of  tricks,  and  the  other  three 
players  combine  in  their  efforts  to 
prevent  him  from  so  doing.  If  he 
is  successful,  his  adversaries  are 
obliged  to  pay  him  a  certain  num- 
ber of  counters  or  chips,  according 
to  a  fixed  schedule.  If  he  fails,  he 
is  obliged  to  pay  each  adversary, 
also  in  accordance  with  a  fixed 
schedule.  There  is  also  a  pool, 
made  up  at  the  beginning  of  the 
game,  by  each  player  depositing  a 
counter  or  chip  in  a  small  tray  or 
basket.  This  pool  goes  to  the  suc- 
cessful player,  provided  he  made  a 
bid  of  seven  or  better.  If  he  loses, 
however,  he  is  obliged  to  double 
the  pool — i.e.,  put  into  it  an  equal 
number  of  counters.  The  game  is 
finished  by  the  play  of  twelve 
hands. 

The  stakes  at  "boston"  depend  upon 
the  value  of  the  counters.  One  cent  for 
a  white  counter  is  considered  a  pretty 
stiff  game;  because  it  is  quite  possible  for 
a  single  player  to  win  or  lose  a  thousand 
•white  counters  on  one  hand,  and  the  pay- 
ments very  seldom  fall  short  of  fifty. — R. 
F,  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

In  "  boston  "  and  "  boston  de  Fontain- 
bleau,"  in  addition  to  making  the  trump 
suit,  instead  of  turning  it  up,  further  de- 
partures are  introduced  by  naming  the 
number  of  tricks  to  be  played  for,  allow- 
ing the  player  to  take  all  or  none  without 
any  trump  suit,  and  by  "spreading"  cer- 
tain hands,  without  allowing  the  adver- 
saries to  call  the  exposed  cards.— R.  F. 
Foster  [5.  O.]. 

"Boston  de  Fontainbleau." — 

This  is  "  boston  "  with  slight  varia- 
tions. Instead  of  doubling  the  pool, 
the  unsuccessful  player  puts  into  it 
an  amount  equal  to  that  which  he 
loses  to  each  of  the  other  players. 
The  bids  rank  in  a  slightly  different 
order,  and  there  is  an  additional  bid 
called  the  "  piccolissimo. "  This 
means  to  win  one  trick  exactly, 
after  discarding  an  unknown  card, 
there  being  no  trump  suit.  The 
order  of  the  suits  is  always:  dia- 
monds, hearts,  clubs,  and  spades. 


BOYCE,  MATTHIAS 


60 


1  BRIDGE 


Honors  are  counted  in  the  game 
abroad,  but  not  very  often  in 
America.  Unlike  in  "boston,"  a 
player,  having  once  passed,  cannot 
bid  again;  and  before  playing,  the 
bidder  who  is  successful  may  call 
for  a  partner,  although  this  is  not 
often  done. 


Boyce,    Matthias. — See, 
gul." 


'Mo- 


«•  Bridge."— An  offshoot  or  va- 
riety of  whist,  played  after  the 
manner  of  dummy,  with  certain 
additions  which  greatly  facilitate 
betting.  Like  "  boston  "  and  "  solo 
whist,"  it  lends  itself  readily  to 
gambling  purposes,  and  is  largely 
used  at  the  clubs  by  those  who  play 
for  money.  It  is  said  to  have  orig- 
inated in  Athens,  and  to  have 
spread  thence  to  Russia  and  France, 
and  from  one  of  these  countries  to 
England,  where  in  1897  it  had  be- 
come a  craze  which  was  viewed 
with  grave  apprehension  by  the 
lovers  of  true  whist.  In  a  letter 
received  from  Walter  M.  Deane,  of 
Bath,  under  date  of  September  6, 
1897,  occurred  this  doleful  observa- 
tion: "  I  regret  to  say  that  whist  is 
greatly  on  the  wane  in  England, 
owing  to  the  prevalence  of  a  gam- 
bling spirit  that  has  favored  the  in- 
troduction of  the  game  of  '  bridge.' 
It  is  with  difficulty  now  that  at  some 
clubs  a  whist  table  can  be  formed." 
"Cavendish"  deplored  the  same 
state  of  affairs,  and  had  not  been  to 
the  Portland  Club  for  over  a  year 
because  "bridge"  was  in  full  pos- 
session. "It  is  disgusting,"  he 
wrote,  "to  think  that  the  temple 
of  whist  has  been  thus  desecrated. " 

All  this  seems  to  be  but  the  natu- 
ral outgrowth  of  the  English  mode 
of  playing  whist  for  stakes.al though 
Charles  Mossop,  in  a  letter  dated 
September  13,  1897,  expresses  it  as 
his  opinion  that  "  Cavendish  "  and 


the  American  leads  "had  something 
to  do  with  it,"  his  idea  being  that 
Englishmen  were  driven  from  whist 
by  these  innovations.  It  would  ap- 
pear rather  curious,  though,  in  that 
case,  that  they  should  fly  to  another 
innovation,  such  as  "bridge"  un- 
doubtedly is.  It  seems  more  nat- 
ural to  trace  the  craze  terminating 
in  "bridge"  to  the  same  causes 
which  were  at  work  when,  in  1810 
or  thereabouts,  English  players  cut 
the  game  of  whist  in  two  at  the 
behest  of  the  gamblers  (see,  "Short 
Whist  "),  in  order  to  make  money 
circulate  faster  at  play.  Now,  it 
seems,  they  are  ready  (let  us  hope, 
only  temporarily)  to  throw  over 
whist  altogether  in  favor  of  a  gam- 
bling game  pure  and  simple.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  "bridge"  has 
found  its  way  also  to  America,  and 
that  many  of  our  whist-players 
have  yielded  to  its  temptations. 
They  will  undoubtedly  live  to  re- 
gret it,  and  more  especially  its  in- 
troduction into  whist  clubs,  where 
it  is  as  much  out  of  place  as  poker, 
or  other  games  of  chance;  especially 
as  the  by-laws  of  nearly  every  club 
prohibit  play  for  money,  and  the 
American  Whist  League  is  on 
record  as  opposed  to  such  play. 

The  laws  of  "  bridge"  conform  in 
general  to  the  laws  of  dummy 
whist,  with  certain  exceptions  ne- 
cessitated by  the  difference  in  the 
two  games. 

The  rubber,  best  of  three  games, 
is  played,  and  the  trump  is  declared 
by  the  dealer,  or  may  be  passed  by 
him,  at  his  option,  to  his  partner, 
in  which  case  the  latter  must  de- 
clare it. 

A  game  consists  of  thirty  points, 
scored  by  tricks,  the  same  as  in 
whist.  The  value  of  the  trick 
points  varies  with  the  trump  de- 
clared, being  two  in  spades,  four  in 
clubs,  six  in  diamonds,  and  eight 
in  hearts.  When  "no  trump"  is 


BRIDGE 


6l 


BRIDGE" 


declared,  the  value  of  each  trick 
point  is  twelve. 

When  trump  is  declared  the 
honors  are  ace,  king,  queen,  jack, 
and  ten  of  the  trump  suit;  other- 
wise, the  four  aces.  Three  honors 
count  the  same  as  two  tricks  in  the 
suit  declared  for  the  side  holding 
them;  four  honors  count  the  same 
as  four  tricks,  and  five  honors  the 
same  as  five  tricks.  When  held  in 
one  hand,  four  honors  count  the 
same  as  eight  tricks;  four  in  one 
hand,  with  one  in  partner's  hand, 
equal  nine  tricks,  and  five  in  one 
hand  equal  ten  tricks.  When  ' '  no 
trump"  is  declared,  three  aces  held 
by  one  side  count  thirty;  four  aces, 
forty;  and  four  aces  held  in  one 
hand,  one  hundred. 

The  slam  adds  forty  points  to 
the  honor  count,  and  the  little 
slam,  twenty  points. 

Chicane,  one  hand  containing  no 
trumps,  is  equal  in  value  to  simple 
honors.  If  the  partner  of  a  player 
having  chicane  scores  honors,  he 
adds  the  value  of  three  honors  to 
his  score.  If  the  adversaries  score 
honors,  an  equal  value  must  be  de- 
ducted from  their  score. 

When  a  rubber  is  concluded  the 
total  scores  for  tricks  and  honors 
(including  chicane  and  slam)  made 
by  each  side,  are  added  up,  and 
one  hundred  points  are  added  to 
the  score  of  the  winners  of  the 
rubber.  The  difference  between 
the  two  scores,  when  thus  com- 
pleted, is  the  number  of  points  won 
or  lost  by  the  winners  of  the 
rubber. 

As  in  dummy,  there  is  no  mis- 
deal. 

The  dealer  has  the  first  privilege 
of  declaring  a  trump,  or  "no 
trump;"  in  the  latter  case,  the  hand 
must  be  played  without  a  trump 
suit.  If  he  does  not  desire  to  exer- 
cise his  privilege,  he  must  say, 
"  Make  it,  partner,"  and  the  latter 


is  bound  to  declare  a  trump.  Now 
we  come  to  the  most  objection- 
able feature  of  the  game.  The 
dealer  or  his  partner  having  made 
a  declaration,  the  opponents  have 
the  privilege  of  going  "  over"  or 
"  doubling"  the  value  of  the  tricks, 
if  they  do  not  think  the  other  side 
can  make  the  odd  trick.  The  latter 
may  "redouble,"  and  then  the 
others  again  have  the  say;  and  thus 
the  thing  may  go  on,  like  the 
"raise"  in  draw-poker,  until  one 
side  or  the  other  backs  down.  Here 
is  where  "bridge"  reaches  the  level 
of  poker.  The  raising  of  the  value 
of  the  trick  points  does  not,  how- 
ever, affect  the  value  of  the  honors, 
slam,  or  chicane. 

The  dealer's  partner  holds  the 
dummy  hand,  and  as  soon  as  all 
the  preliminaries  are  over  and  the 
first  card  is  led,  the  dummy  hand 
is  placed  upon  the  table  face  up- 
wards, and  the  cards  are  played  by 
the  dealer  unassisted  by  his  partner. 

A  significant  section  appears  in 
the  "etiquette  of  bridge,"  as  fol- 
lows: "While  there  is  nothing  in 
the  code  to  prevent  '  going  over' 
ad  infinitum,  such  a  practice  may 
be  attended  with  undesirable  re- 
sults: such  as  carrying  the  cost  of 
the  game  far  beyond  its  original 
design.  Therefore,  it  is  suggested 
that  one  hundred  points  be  the  limit 
for  any  one  trick." 

Dummy  "bridge"  is  played  by 
three  persons,  usually  in  single 
games  instead  of  rubbers,  the  win- 
ner of  the  game  adding  fifty  points 
to  his  score.  The  original  dummy  re- 
mains such  during  the  entire  game, 
or  rubber,  if  the  rubber  is  played. 
Dummy  is  held  by  the  player  who 
draws  the  lowest  card,  and  dummy 
always  has  the  first  deal.  The 
dealer  makes  the  trump  from  the 
hand  for  which  he  deals.  The 
dealer's  left-hand  adversary  is  the 
only  player  who  has  the  privilege 


BRIGGS,  J.  H. 


62 


BROOKLYN  TROPHY 


of  "going  over."     Otherwise  the 
play  is  the  same  as  in  "bridge." 

In  many  clubs  "bridge"  has  taken 
the  place  of  whist,  but  I  do  not  think 
"  bridge "  has  come  to  stay.  In  my 
opinion,  the  two  games  will  not  bear  any 
comparison. — A.  IV.  Drayson  [L  +  A+], 
Letter,  October  30,  i8gj. 

The  game  is  played,  after  the  lead  of 
the  first  card,  almost  exactly  as  if  it  were 
dummy  whist.  The  differences  between 
the  two  games  lie  mainly  in  the  declara- 
tion of  trumps  and  the  increasing  values 
by  going  over,  the  differing  values  of 
suits,  methods  of  scoring,  and  rubber 
count.— C.  R.  Keiley  [S.  0.J  "The  Laws  of 
Bridge,"  1897. 

In  "bridge,"  the  stake  is  a  unit,  so  much 
a  point.  The  number  of  points  won  or 
lost  on  the  rubber  may  be  only  two  or 
three,  or  they  may  run  into  the  hundreds. 
The  average  will  vary,  according  to  the 
style  of  play:  some  persons  habitually  bid- 
ding up  hands  to  much  beyond  their  value. 
In  settling  at  the  end  of  the  rubber,  it  is 
usual  for  each  losing  player  to  pay  his 
right-hand  adversary.— #.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

"Bridge"  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
aids  to  whist  that  has  ever  been  exploited, 
entirely  aside  from  the  betting  features  of 
the  game,  which  are  more  or  less  reprehen- 
sible, depending  on  the  point  of  view- 
Anyone  who  plays  the  game  cannot  fail 
to  be  impressed  by  the  vista  of  possibili- 
ties it  opens  up  in  the  way  of  tenace  and 
finesse  illustrations.  An  exposed-hand 
game  may  not  be  whist,  but  one  must 
learn  to  crawl  before  he  can  run,  and 
"bridge"  gives  an  opportunity  for  ac- 
quiring this  primary  knowledge.  Again, 
it  will  teach  the  beginner  as  no  other 
game  that  I  know,  the  advantage  or  dis- 
advantage of  extremely  aggressive  play. 
— C.  R.  Keiley  [S.  O.},  Letter,  Oct.  n,  1807. 

Brfggs,  J.  H.— A  leading  whist- 
player  and  whist  analyst  of  the 
West.  Mr.  Briggs  was  born  July  5, 
1863,  at  Auburn,  Maine,  and  after 
graduating  at  Yale,  in  1885,  imme- 
diately went  to  Minnesota,  where 
he  taught  for  a  time,  and  then  en- 
gaged in  the  life  insurance  busi- 
ness. In  1897,  after  a  university 
course  in  assaying  and  mineralogy, 
he  went  to  Oregon  and  engaged  in 
prospecting  for  gold.  He  has  al- 
ways enjoyed  sports  and  outdoor 
exercise.  For  three  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Yale  athletic 
team  (captain  in  his  senior  year), 


and  in  1895  he  made  the  State 
record  of  207  as  a  sharpshooter 
in  Minnesota's  champion  militia 
rifle  team.  He  has  for  many  years 
been  a  devoted  student  of  whist, 
and  an  expert  in  play  and  analysis. 
With  his  brother,  O.  H.  Briggs 
(also  a  good  player),  he  was  a  dele- 
gate from  the  Minneapolis  Chess, 
Checkers,  and  Whist  Club  to  the 
first  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  1891.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  second  congress, 
and  chairman  of  the  tournament 
committee,  which  position  he  also 
held  at  the  fifth  congress.  At  the 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth  congresses 
he  was  captain  of  the  Minne- 
apolis team  which  won  the  Ham- 
ilton Trophy  in  1893,  the  Chal- 
lenge Trophy  in  1894,  and  which 
was  beaten  in  the  final  match  for 
the  Hamilton  Trophy  in  1895.  At 
the  sixth  congress  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  St.  Paul  team,  Minne- 
apolis having  no  team  that  year. 
Mr.  Briggs  was  elected  a  director 
of  the  League  at  the  second  con- 
gress, and  re-elected  at  the  fourth 
congress.  ( See, ' '  Whist  Anal  ysts. ' ' ) 

Bring  In. — To  successfully  man- 
age the  cards  so  as  to  take  all  the 
tricks  in  a  suit,  after  the  adverse 
trumps  are  exhausted.  To  over- 
come all  difficulties  and  bring  in 
the  long  suit  of  a  hand  is  one  of  the 
chief  objects  of  the  modern  scien- 
tific game. 

Unless  you  have  good  cards  of  re-entry, 
or  good  prospect  of  holding  long  trumps, 
do  not  try  to  bring  in  a  suit  of  which  you 
have  not  perfect  command. — R.  A.  Proc- 
tor \L.  O.]. 

When  your  suit  is  once  established,  if 
the  adversaries'  trumps  are  out,  and  you 
can  get  the  lead,  it  is  obvious  you  may 
make  a  trick  with  every  card  of  it  you 
hold,  and  this  is  called  bringing  it  in. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Theory  of 
Whist." 

Brooklyn  Trophy. — A  trophy 
presented  by  the  whist-players  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  to  the  American 


BRUSH  "  TRAMP  TRAYS  "   63   BRUSH  "  TRAMP  TRAYS  " 


Whist  League  in  1896.  It  is  in  the 
form  of  a  handsome  shield,  made 
of  highly  polished  hardwood,  and 
suitably  inscribed.  The  trophy  is 
contested  for  by  teams  of  not  less 
than  sixteen  players,  representing 
auxiliary  associations,  at  each  an- 
nual congress,  under  rules  pre- 
scribed from  time  to  time  by  the 
executive  committee.  It  is  held  by 
the  association  winning  it  at  the 
annual  congress  until  the  first  day 
of  the  following  October.  It  is  held 
subject  to  challenge  from  October  I 
until  the  end  of  the  following  May, 
and  from  the  last  of  May  until  the 
next  congress,  it  is  held  by  the  win- 
ner of  the  last  match  played  for  it 
prior  to  June  i.  The  trophy  remains 
the  property  of  the  League. 

The  Brooklyn  Trophy  was  played 
for  the  first  time  in  1896,  at  Man- 
hattan Beach,  by  the  New  Jersey 
and  New  England  Whist  Associa- 
tions, and  was  won  by  the  latter  by 
nine  tricks.  The  New  England 
Association  afterwards  again  suc- 
cessfully defended  it  against  a 
challenge  from  the  New  Jersey 
Association. 

At  the  seventh  congress,  at  Put- 
in-Bay, 1897,  the  trophy  was  played 
for  by  three  organizations — the 
New  York,  the  New  England,  and 
the  Atlantic  Whist  Associations. 
Each  association  presented  twenty 
players,  and  the  arrangement  was 
such  that  each  league  played  a 
match  ag-ainst  each  of  the  two 
others.  The  result  was  a  victory 
for  the  New  York  State  Associa- 
tion, which  defeated  New  England 
by  nine  tricks,  and  the  Atlantic 
Association  by  one,  winning  both 
matches  and  the  trophy.  The  At- 
lantics  beat  New  England  by  thir- 
teen tricks. 

Brush  "Tramp Trays. "—Early 

in  the  year  1896,  it  occurred  to  W. 
B.  Brush,  of  Austin,  Texas,  to  send 


out  a  number  of  duplicate  whist 
trays,  with  hands  to  be  played  by 
whist-players  in  various  cities 
throughout  the  United  States.  The 
deals  were  prepared  by  the  editor  of 
Whist,  having  occurred  in  actual 
play,  and  being  especially  desirable 
for  the  opportunities  which  they 
contained  for  loss  or  gain.  Mr. 
Brush  had  a  large  tin  box  made  to 
contain  the  trays  and  accessories, 
and  after  a  sufficient  number  of 
volunteers  had  been  obtained  to 
play  them,  and  a  route  laid  out, 
they  were  started  on  their  way 
February  26,  1896,  going  from 
place  to  place  by  express.  The 
route,  with  some  variations  (return 
journeys  to  States  already  visited), 
was  as  follows:  From  Texas  to 
New  Mexico,  California,  Utah, 
Washington,  Montana,  Dakota, 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Kan- 
sas, Tennessee,  Missouri,  Illinois, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Pennsyl- 
vania, South  Carolina,  District  of 
Columbia,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Massa- 
chusetts, Maine.  Nearly  one  hun- 
dred sets  of  players  agreed  to  play 
the  hands,  subject  to  rules  which 
contained  the  following  provisions: 
The  party  receiving  the  trays  im- 
mediately notified  the  next  one  on 
the  list,  by  means  of  a  postal  card 
found  in  the  box,  and  also  notified 
Mr.  Brush,  to  whom  copies  of  all 
scores  made  were  forwarded  as  soon 
as  possible  after  the  play.  The 
players  in  one  city  prepaid  express 
charges  to  the  next,  attaching  a 
shipping  tag  provided  in  the  box. 
All  players  were  on  honor  not  to 
examine  the  previous  scores  before 
playing  the  hands,  and  no  player 
was  to  examine  the  hands  in  the 
trays,  or  allow  anyone  to  do  so, 
prior  to  playing  the  same,  in  order 
that  all  players  might  have  abso- 
lute confidence  that  all  scores  were 
honestly  made.  In  case  the  cards 


BUELL,  MRS.  SARAH  C.  H.     64 


BUMBLEPUPPIST 


in  any  of  the  trays  should  get 
mixed,  an  envelope  marked 
"  Paine's  Whist  Hands  "  was  pro- 
vided, containing  information  by 
which  they  could  be  rearranged. 
By  June,  1896,  the  trays  had  arrived 
at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  on  July 
14,  1897,  they  were  at  Ashtabula, 
O.,  which  was  number  fifty-one  on 
the  list.  Mr.  Brush  wrote  us  about 
that  time,  stating  that  although  the 
progress  made  had  been  very  slow, 
he  was  in  hopes  that  the  trays 
would  move  faster  in  the  East  than 
they  did  in  the  West.  He  said: 
"  These  '  tramps '  will  have  covered 
over  twenty  thousand  miles  when 
they  get  to  their  journey's  end." 
On  September  3,  1897,  they  were  at 
Fredonia,  N.  Y. 

Buell,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  H. — An  ex- 
cellent teacher  of  whist,  and  a 
player  of  more  than  local  reputa- 
tation,  residing  at  Providence,  R. 
I.  Mrs.  Buell  has  been  familiar 
with  card  games  all  her  life,  and  in 
years  past,  when  considered  a  hope- 
less invalid,  was  wont  to  bury  her- 
self in  her  whist-books  and  forget 
her  aches  and  pains.  Thus  she  be- 
came thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  theory  and  science  of  the  game, 
and  this  was  very  noticeable  in  her 
play.  Friends  urged  her  to  take 
up  the  teaching  of  the  game  pro- 
fessionally, and  in  the  spring  of 
1896  she  formed  her  first  classes  in 
Providence.  Since  then  she  has 
taught  in  other  places  as  well. 
Vogue  of  July,  1897,  said:  "Mrs. 
Buell  has  had  the  advantage  of 
living  amid  whist  surroundings, 
the  effects  of  which  are  readily 
seen  in  her  game.  Mr.  Walter  H. 
Barney,  president  of  the  American 
Whist  I/eague,  is  among  those 
who  appreciate  the  fact  that  Mrs. 
Buell  is  a  partner  at  whist  to  be 
desired,  and  an  adversary  to  be 
feared." 


"Bumbledog." — A  humorous 
variation  of  the  word  "bumble- 
puppy"  (q.  v.),  intended  to  con- 
vey the  idea  of  a  bad  player  at  whist 
who  has  grown  gray  in  the  prac- 
tice of  bumblepuppy;  one  of  an 
irreclaimable  and  hopeless  class  of 
whist-butchers. 

"Whist"  and  "bumblepuppy"  have 
long  been  clearly  defined  and  adopted  as 
classics;  but  there  also  exists,  in  whist- 
playing  circles,  a  manifestation  of  eccen- 
tricity in  principle  and  method  which 
compels  classification  as  "  bumbledog." 
This  variety  of  whist  is  confined  to  the 
games  played  by  elderly  gentlemen  of 
stubborn  disposition — those  courtly  old- 
time  cavaliers  who  fancy  they  learned 
whist  in  the  early  part  of  their  century, 
and  who  still  persist  in  counting  "  two  by 
card"  as  if  there  were  now  anything  else 
by  which  to  count.  These  droll  elderly 
gentlemen  always  talk  over  the  table, 
and  bumble  worse  than  the  worst  young 
bumblers.  "  That's  my  king" — "  That's 
the  best  put" — "Now  I  want  the  lead" — 
"Why  didn't  you  return  my  heart?" — are 
a  few  of  their  pet  phrases.  They  play  to 
take  tricks — these  obstinate  old  bumble- 
dogs  do — and  to  force  a  partner,  lead 
from  a  sneak,  and  play  entirely  with 
reference  to  their  own  hands,  are  but  a 
few  of  their  exasperating  offenses.  In 
their  minds,  age  and  custom  seem  to 
hallow  their  nefarious  practices;  and  a 
younger  whist-player,  or  even  an  aroused 
'•bumblepuppy"  who  ventures  timid  re- 
monstrance, is  met  with  the  jocose  retort: 
"Teach  me  whist?  Why,  bless  your  life, 
I  played  whist  before  you  were  born." 
On  account  of  respectable  connections, 
these  wicked  bumbledogs  are  cherished 
in  society;  and  so  go  quaintly  on  their 
way,  always  demanding  younger  part- 
ners at  table,  always  rejecting  scornfully 
any  suggestion  or  advice,  and  invariably 
disrupting  the  harmonious  flow  of  a  good 
game.  Dear  old  bumbledogs  !  we  love 
your  gray  hairs  and  shaky  knees;  we 
respect  your  clean  life-records  and  spot- 
less linen;  we  dote  on  your  old-time  gal- 
lantry and  thread-bare  jests;  but  oh— here 
we  dare  to  say  it— we  detest  your  style  of 
•whist-playing,  and  when  cards  are  out 
we  shall  dodge  you  whenever  we  can. — 
C.  £.,  Whist,  March,  1895. 

Bumblepuppist. — A  person  who 
imagines  himself  a  whist-player, 
but  is  only  a  player  of  bumble- 
puppy  ;  a  bad  player. 

The  bumblepuppist,  like  A  r  t  e  m  u  s 
Ward's  bear,  "can  be  taught  many  inter- 


BUMBLEPUPPY 


BUMBLEPUPPY 


esting  things,  but  is  unreliable;"  he  only 
admires  his  own  eccentricities,  and  if  a 
person  of  respectable  antecedents  gets  up 
a  little  pyrotechnic  display  of  false  cards 
for  his  own  private  delectation,  the  bum- 
blepuppist  utterly  misses  the  point  of  the 
joke,  he  fails  even  to  see  that  it  is  clever; 
li  such  a  comparison  may  be  drawn  with- 
out offense,  he  doesn't  consider  what  is 
sauce  for  the  goose  is  sauce  for  the  gan- 
der.— "  Pembridge  "  [£+£>.]. 

Bu  m  ble pu  ppy. — Playing  at  whist 
in  ignorance  or  defiance  of  the 
rules,  or  both.  This  ludicrous  de- 
scription of  bad  whist-play  is  a 
provincial  English  term,  and  was 
originally  used  to  describe  the  an- 
cient game  of  nine-holes,  of  which 
Drayton  sings: 

Th'  unhappy  wags  which  let  their  cattle 

stray, 
At  nine-holes  on  the  heath  while  they 

together  play. 

Nine-holes  was  a  game  in  which 
nine  holes  were  made  in  the  ground 
in  the  angles  and  sides  of  a  square, 
for  the  purpose  of  bowling  a  ball 
into  them  according  to  certain  rules. 
The  square  naturally  suggested  the 
whist  table,  and  in  that  manner  the 
popular  designation  of  nine-holes 
came  to  be  applied  to  the  blunder- 
ing attempts  at  whist  made  by  the 
tyro  or  the  wilfully  ignorant  and 
perverse.  The  word  is  used  in  this 
sense  in  a  note  in  Strutt's  "Sports 
and  Pastimes"  (1801),  volume  3, 
chapter  7,  page  242.  In  the  London 
Saturday  Review  of  October  25, 
1884,  we  find  "bumblepuppy,  or 
domestic  whist,  at  shilling  points  " 
spoken  of.  And  in  Longman* s 
Magazine,  volume  6,  page  597 
(1885),  there  is  mention  of  "  a  com- 
mon form  of  home  whist  called  by 
'Pembridge'  bumblepuppy."  It 
was  "Pembridge"  (J.  P.  Hewby) 
who  was  really  responsible  for  the 
general  acceptance  of  the  term  by 
the  whist  world.  In  his  delightful- 
ly humorous  lectures  on  whist  en- 
titled "Whist,  or  Bumblepuppy?" 


he  discourses  as  follows:  "  'Bumble- 
puppy  was  played  in  low  public 
houses.'  '  Here  and  there  were 
bumblepuppy  grounds  in  which 
players  rolled  iron  balls  into  holes 
marked  with  numbers." — Chroni- 
cles of  Newgate.  PYom  which  I 
infer  that  in  the  good  old  times  this 
game  first  drove  its  votaries  to 
drinking,  and  then  landed  them  in 
a  felon's  cell."  And  he  might  have 
added  that  heavy  consequences  have 
also  been  known  to  fall  upon  the 
unfortunate  partners  of  bumble- 
puppists  who  went  unsuspectingly 
with  them  to  the  whist  table.  In 
fact,  it  is  claimed  by  some  that 
bumblepuppy  is  responsible  for  not 
a  little  insanity.  ' '  Pembridge, ' '  evi- 
dently forgetful  of  this,  spreads 
broadcast  the  following  rules  for 
the  practice  of  bumblepuppy: 

1.  Lead    a    singleton    whenever 
you  have  one. 

2.  With  two  small  trumps  and  no 
winning  card,  lead  a  trump. 

3.  Ruff  a  suit  of  which  your  part- 
ner clearly  holds  best,  if  you  are 
weak  in  trumps. 

4.  Never  ruff  anything  if  you  are 
strong. 

5.  Never  return  your    partner's 
trump,  if  you  can  possibly  avoid  it, 
unless  he  manifestly  led  it  to  bring 
in  a  suit  of  which  you  led  a  single- 
ton. 

6.  Deceive  him  whenever  you  get 
a  chance. 

7.  Open  a  new  suit  every  time 
you  have  the  lead. 

8.  Never  pay  any  attention   to 
your  partner's  first  discard,  unless 
it  is  a  forced  discard.     Lead  your 
own  suit. 

9.  Never  force  him  under  any 
circumstances  unless   you  hold  at 
least  five  trumps  with  two  honors; 
even  if  you  lose  the  rubber  by  it, 
play  "  the  game  !" 

10.  Devote   all   your    remaining 
energies  to  looking  for  a  signal  in 


BUMBLEPUPPY 


66 


BUNN,  GEORGE  I* 


the  last  trick.  If  unable  to  discover 
which  was  your  partner's  card — 
after  keeping  the  table  waiting  for 
two  minutes— inquire  what  trumps 
are,  and  lead  him  one  on  suspicion. 

"I  really  do  not  know  what  to  lead." 
The  lady  or  gentleman  who  habitually 
indulges  in  this  apostrophe  had  better  say 
at  once,  "I  really  do  not  know  how  to 


play."—  A.  Hayward  (O.). 

A  player  of  this  bumbl  r 
who  has  been  lucky  in  getting  a  number 


slayer  of  this  bumblepuppy  game, 
las  been  lucky  in  getting  a  number 
of  good  hands,  does  indeed  arrogate  to 
himself  the  character  of  a  good  player. — 
R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.],  Longman's  Maga- 
zine, February,  1885. 

Their  game  is  a  miscellaneous  scramble 
for  tricks  with  master  cards,  and  their 
ideal  a  ruff.  After  the  smoke  of  battle  of 
the  aces  and  kings  has  cleared,  their 
minor  cards  are  either  helpless  or  but 
factors  of  chance.  Doubtless  this  affords 
them  amusement,  and  they  fancy  they 
are  playing  whist. — C.  S.  Boulcher  [L. 
A.},  "Whist  Sketches,"  1892. 

In  this,  as  in  other  whist  points,  he 
must  reason,  and  if  he  cannot  reason,  he 
cannot  play  whist.  That  there  are  a 
large  number  of  players  who  think 
they  play  whist,  and  do  not  reason,  it  is 
too  true  ;  but  we  say  that  such  play  may 
be  bumblepuppy,  or  some  other  game— it 
certainly  is  not  whist. — Charles  Mossop, 
[L  +  O.],  Westminster  Papers. 

In  the  library  or  drawing-room  a  table 
is  made,  and  A  says,  as  he  looks  over  his 
thirteen  cards,  "  I  declare  I  don't  know 
what  to  play!"  B  responds,  "  You  would 
if  you  had  my  hand;  it's  awful!"  And  C 
says,  "  Well,  play  something;  I  can  follow 
suit  to  anything/"  And  D  groans.  "  Yes, 
give  us  something;  I  want  to  get  through 
with  this  hand!"  Not  one  of  the  party 
happens  to  hold  three  aces,  three  kings, 
three  queens,  and  four  trumps — and  is  not 
satisfied.  They  do  not  think  that  among 
them  are  distributed  all  the  cards  there 
are,  and  that  it  is  by  the  best  use  of  such 
as  each  may  chance  to  hold,  the  great 
game  is  played.— (7.  IV.  Ptttes  [L.  A.  P.]. 

It  is  often  said  that  every  one  in  Eng- 
land loves  whist.  It  would  be  truer  to  say 
that  every  one  loves  a  game  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  whist.  Rut  ninety-nine  out 
of  a  hundred  of  those  who  suppose  they 
play  whist  hardly  know  what  the  game 
is.  The  game  at  which  they  really  play 
has  been  called  by  the  ingenious  "  Pern- 
bridge"  bumblepuppy.  It  is  a  sort  of 
blunder-blindfold  game,  which  must  be 
interesting,  I  suppose,  since  so  many  play 
it.  Nay,  let  us  be  honest.  Even  we  who 
know  what  whist  is  (which  is  by  no 
means  claiming  to  play  finely)  have  most 
of  us  had  a  period  of  bumblepuppy. — R. 


A.  Proctor  [L.  O.], Longman's  Magazine. 
February,  1885. 

Specimen  of  bumblepuppy  in  excelsis: 
Score,  love  all.  Trumps,  diamond  nine. 
Z  is  a  bumblepuppist  with  the  highest 
opinion  of  himself: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 

<?  5 

<3>  6 

<3  2 

V  4 

2 

0  2 

O  5 

0  4 

0  K! 

3 
4 

*  3 
*  7 

*  K 
•  J 

•  A 

•  4!! 
«  Q 

*  2 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

0  8 
0  3 

4  3 
*4 
*  6 
*  7 

010 

*10 
O  6 
0  A 

4  9!!! 
0  Q!!H 

0  7 
0  J 
<?  8 
*  8 
tf  Q 

O  9!!!!! 
*  2 
*  9 
*  J 

*  8 

•  6 

*  5 

1  1 
12 

CMO 

V  7 

<?  A 

V  3 

*  5 

V  9 
*  K 

4  A 

13 

V  J 

*Q 

*io 

V  K 

This  is  the  worst  hand  ever  played, 
without  exception;  it  is  a  microcosm, 
complete  in  itself,  and  contains  examples 
of  stupidity,  selfishness,  duplicity,  defi- 
ance of  all  recognized  principles,  and 
every  conceivable  villainy. 

Tnck  2.— The  misplaced  ingenuity  in 
deceiving  Y  as  to  the  position  of  the 
qtieen  is  worth  notice. 

Trick  3.— The  lead  of  the  only  weak 
suit,  in  preference  to  the  strong  suit  of 
clubs,  playing  up  to  declared  weakness  in 
hearts,  or  returning  the  trump,  is  very 
neat. 

Trick  5.— The  force  here  of  the  trump 
leader,  inducing  him  to  believe  that  Z  at 
any  rate  holds  the  remaining  spades,  an 
illusion  carefully  fostered  by  B,  is  espec- 
ially good. 

Trick  7.— The  return  of  the  trump  at 
this  point,  with  the  best  trump  (probably) 
and  three  long  spades  (certainly  )declared 
against  him  in  one  hand,  is  a  real  gem. — 
"Pembridge"  [L  +0.J,  "Whist,  or  Bumble- 
puppy  f  " 

Bumper. — Winning  two  games 
running  before  the  adversaries  have 
scored.  (An  English  term. ) 

Bunn,  George  L.— George  L. 
Bunn,  whist  analyst,  and  editor  of 
the  questions  and  answers  depart- 


BUNN,  GEORGE  L.  67    BURNEY,  ADMIRAL  JAMES 


ment  of  Whist,  was  born  at  Sparta, 
Wis.,June  25,  1865.  Moved  with 
his  parents  to  Madison,  Wis.,  in 
1879;  was  graduated  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wisconsin,  June  24,  1885. 
He  became  interested  in  the  game 
about  the  year  1880,  through  the 
fact  that  both  his  parents  were 
whist-players,  and  he  was  often 
called  upon  to  take  a  hand  in  their 
games.  Before  leaving  college  he 
was  accounted  a  fairly  good  player, 
and  with  a  thorough  study  of  Pole, 
Drayson,  "Cavendish,"  and  "G. 
W.  P.,"  he  rapidly  improved.  In 
June,  1888,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar,  and  in  September  of  the  same 
year  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  where 
he  has  resided  ever  since,  being  at 
this  writing  district  judge  of  that 
city.  He  joined  the  St.  Paul  Whist 
Club  soon  after  his  arrival,  and  also 
became  a  member  of  the  Minneap- 
olis Whist  Club,  and  of  the  Caven- 
dish Whist  Club  of  St.  Paul.  He 
made  his  first  appearance  at  the 
third  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  Chicago,  as  a 
member  of  the  Minneapolis  team 
which  won  the  Hamilton  Trophy. 
He  was  unable  to  attend  the  fourth 
congress,  but  played  at  the  fifth,  in 
Minneapolis,  in  1895,  with  the  St. 
Paul  team,  which  was  defeated  by 
the  Hamiltons;  and  likewise  in 
1896,  at  Manhattan  Beach.  He 
played  on  the  Minneapolis  team  in 
the  fall  of  1894-5  in  its  challenge 
matches  for  the  A.  W.  L.  Challege 
Trophy,  the  team  winning  every 
match  played.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  St.  Paul  team  that  won  this 
trophy  at  St.  Louis  in  January, 
1896,  and  played  with  that  team  in 
the  subsequent  matches  during  the 
year,  winning  every  match. 

Judge  Bunn  was  elected  a  director 
of  the  American  Whist  League  in 
1895.  He  edited  a  whist  column 
for  the  St.  Paul  Globe  for  one  year, 
beginning  January  I,  1896,  but 


abandoned  it  upon  his  appointment 
as  a  judge  of  the  district  court 
He  has  always  been  a  consistent 
advocate  of  the  long-suit  game, 
although  willing  to  give  new  ideas 
a  fair  trial.  His  labors  as  a  whist 
analyst  consist  largely  of  published 
analyses  of  deals  played  in  trophy 
matches,  noteworthy  deals  played 
by  himself  and  associates,  and  deals 
submitted  by  correspondents.  He 
has  also  written  many  original  arti- 
cles, both  elementary  and  on  ad- 
vanced points  in  play. 

There  are  few  better  whist-players  in 
this  country  to-day  than  the  captain  of 
the  St.  Paul  team,  George  L.  Bunn.  His 
analyses  of  the  recent  A.  W.  L.  hands  are 
the  best  we  have,  and  the  published  rec- 
ords of  his  individual  play  show  that 
very  few  tricks  escape  him  in  a  match. 
But  Mr.  Bunn  is  not  a  short-suiter.  On 
the  contrary,  he  is  bitterly  opposed  to  the 
short-suit  game.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},New 
York  Sun,  March  32,  1896. 

We  congratulate  ourselves,  and  our 
readers,  upon  having  arranged  with  Mr. 
George  L.  Bunn,  the  well-known  whist 
expert,  to  take  charge  of  our  "  Whist 
Catechism  "  department.  Asa  player  he 
ranks  with  the  finest  in  the  country,  and 
his  powers  of  masterly  analysis  have 
earned  him  a  well-deserved  and  well- 
established  reputation.  No  department 
of  this  journal  more  fully  combines  the 
features  of  present  interest  and  perma- 
nent value  than  the  "  Whist  Catechism," 
and  it  could  not  possibly  be  in  more  capa- 
ble care.  Mr.  Bunn's  acknowledged 
ability  is  now  at  the  service  of  our  read- 
ers, through  these  columns,  and  they 
could  not  have  a  sounder  authority  to 
which  to  refer  as  adviser,  or  as  referee  in 
disputed  points  of  play.—  Whist  [L.  A.], 
June,  1897. 

Barney,    Admiral    James.  —  A 

very  skillful  player  of  whist,  and  a 
friend  of  Charles  Lamb.  He  pub- 
lished, in  1821,  "An  Essay,  by  Way 
of  Lecture,  on  the  Game  of  Whist," 
in  which  he  criticised  the  opinions 
of  Mathews.  His  death  occurred 
suddenly  in  November  of  the  same 
year,  and  in-  1823  a  second  edition 
of  his  book  was  published,with  the 
title  changed  to  "  A  Treatise  on  the 
Game  of  Whist."  In  1842  the  title 


BYE,  DRAWING  THE          68     "  CALCULATION  PUZZLE  " 


was  again  changed  by  Francis 
Paget  Watson,  who  incorporated 
the  essay  in  his  volume  on  ''  Short 
Whist,"  calling  Burney's  work, 
"Long  Whist,  With  Instructions 
for  Young  Players." 

Bye,  Drawing  The. — In  dupli- 
cate whist  matches  it  sometimes 
happens  that  three  sets  of  adversa- 
ries can  meet  only  two  at  a  time,  in 
which  case  one  set  must  sit  out 
during  the  first  round.  This  is 
decided  by  lot,  and  those  who  re- 
main out  are  said  to  draw  the  bye. 

Bystander. — One  who  witnesses 
a  game  of  whist  without  being  ac- 
tively engaged;  a  spectator. 

In  all  cases  of  dispute,  the  bystanders 
shall  act  as  umpires. — Deschapelles  [O.], 
"Laws,"  Section  133. 

No  bystander  has  a  right,  either  (i)  to 
walk  round  the  table  at  which  the  game 
is  playing;  or  (2)  even  to  place  himself  so 
as  to  be  able  to  look  over  two  hands. — 
Deschapelles  [O.],  "Laws,"  Section  /j#. 

Bystanders  should  make  no  remarks, 
neither  should  they  by  word  or  gesture 
give  any  intimation  of  the  state  of  the 
game  until  concluded  and  scored,  nor 
should  they  walk  round  the  table  to  look 
at  the  dffferent  hands. — Etiquette  of 
Whist  (English  Code). 

Bystanders  should  not,  In  any  manner, 
call  attention  to  or  give  any  intimation 
concerning  the  play  or  the  state  of  the 
game,  during  the  play  of  a  hand.  They 
should  not  look  over  the  hand  of  a  player 
without  his  permission;  nor  should  they 
walk  around  the  table  to  look  at  the  dif- 
ferent hands. — Etiquette  of  Whist  (Ameri- 
can Code). 

If  a  bystander  make  any  remark  which 
calls  the  attention  of  a  player  or  players. 
to  an  oversight  affecting  the  score,  he  is 
liable  to  be  called  on,  by  the  players  only, 
to  pay  the  stakes  and  bets  on  that  game 
or  rubber.  A  bystander,  by  agreement 
among  the  players,  may  decide  any  ques- 
tion.— English  Whist  Code,  Sections  88  and 
89.  (See,  also,  quotations  under  "  Dis- 
putes About  Penalties.") 

"Casleb»." — A  pseudonym  of 
Edward  Augustus  Carlyon,  a  Corn- 
ishman,  who  was  born  near  St. 
Anstell  in  1823;  called  to  the  bar  at 
Lincoln's  Inn,  London,  1850;  and 


subsequently  removed  to  New  Zea- 
land, where  he  died,  at  Napier, 
December^  1874.  His  "Laws and 
Practice  of  Whist,"  first  published 
in  1851,  contains  his  famous  as- 
sumed name,  which  was  spelled 
"Ccelebs,"  but  in  subsequent  edi- 
tions "Caelebs"  was  adhered  to. 
This  has  occasioned  some  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  which  form  is  cor- 
rect His  book  is  the  first  essay  on 
the  game  which  contains  a  refer- 
ence to  the  trump  signal,  or  "blue 
peter,"  as  it  was  then  called.  The 
second  edition,  published  in  1856, 
contained  the  laws  which  had  been 
"specially  revised,  in  conformity 
with  the  rules  of  the  Portland 
Club."  "Caelebs's  "  chief  peculiar- 
ity in  the  leads  is  that  he  recom- 
mends always  the  lead  of  the 
highest  or  lowest  of  a  suit,  never  an 
intermediate  card.  He  also  advises 
avoiding  leads  from  suits  contain- 
ing tenace,  and  stopping  the  lead 
from  those  that  develop  into  tenace 
suits.  He  is  celebrated  for  his 
maxim:  "Strong  cards  take  care 
of  themselves;  scheme,  therefore,  to 
protect  the  weak. "  An  edition  of 
his  book  was  published  in  New 
York  in  1859. 

Calcu  atlon. — One  of  the  fun- 
damental principles  of  play  incul- 
cated by  Hoyle,  Mathews,  and  their 
successors.  Calculation,  observa- 
tion, and  position,  or  tenace,  were 
the  three  points  specially  to  be  ob- 
served by  the  player  who  wished  to 
be  successful.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  this  holds  good  to-day. 

Calculation  teaches  you  to  plan  your 
game,  and  lead  originally  to  advantage. 
—  Thomas  Mathews  [/,.  O.}. 

"Calculation    Puzzle,  Sir."— 

An  enthusiastic  but  easily  muddled 
and  generally  unfortunate  disciple 
of  Hoyle,  satirized  in  "The  Hu- 
mours of  Whist "  (q,  v.). 


CALL,  THE 


69       CAMPBELL-WALKER,  A. 


Sir  Calculation  Puzzle,  a  passionate  ad- 
mirer of  whist,  and  one  of  that  numerous 
body  of  men  who  imagine  themselves 
good  players,  yet  always  lose. —  W.  P. 
Courtney  [L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

Call.  The. — In  long  whist,  when 
at  the  score  of  eight,  and  having 
two  honors  in  his  hand,  one  partner 
inquired  of  the  other,  "Can  you 
one?" — that  is,  "Have  you  an 
honor?"  If  so,  the  game  was  ended, 
as  three  honors  counted  two  points 
for  the  side  holding  them.  It  was 
the  custom  to  thus  call  as  soon  as 
the  hands  were  taken  up,  in  order 
that  partner,  if  he  did  not  hold  an 
honor,  might  lead  trumps  at  the 
first  opportunity.  (See,  "Trump 
Signal.") 

In  Whist>  vol.  3,  p.  156,  "Cavendish" 
mentions  a  curious  custom,  in  the  old 
long  whist,  of  a  certain  intentional  irreg- 
ularity in  "calling  honors,"  which  was 
understood  to  be  a  request  for  the  part- 
ner to  lead  trumps,  as  mentioned  by 
Hoyle,  Mathews,  and  a  writer  in  1821, 
Admiral  Burney.  The  latter  says:  "This 
I  apprehend  to  be  an  intrusion  on  the 
plainness  and  integrity  of  whist,  but  hav- 
ing been  allowed  and  generally  practiced, 
it  now  stands,  and  is  to  be  received  as  part 
of  the  game."  The  contrivance  can  hardly 
be  received  as  anticipating  the  modern 
signal  for  trumps,  though  it  may  be  fairly 
quoted  as  a  precedent  for  the  common 
acceptance  of  the  latter,  when  "allowed 
and  generally  practiced." — William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Call  for  Trumps. — See,  "Trump 
Signal." 

Calling  a  Card. — Namingacard 
which  has  been  improperly  played 
or  exposed,  and  requiring  the  player 
to  place  it,  face  up,  on  the  table,  so 
that  it  may  be  played  whenever  an 
opponent  wishes.  Such  a  card  is 
known  as  a  called  card.  (See, 
"  Cards  Liable  to  be  Called.") 

Calling  Attention. — Partners  are 
only  allowed  to  hold  communica- 
tion with  each  other  by  means  of 
the  legitimate  play  of  their  respec- 
tive hands;  i.  e.,  they  may  make 


use  only  of  the  language  of  the 
cards.  An  exception  to  this  occurs 
in  the  English  game,  where  it  is 
allowable  to  ask  a  partner  whether 
he  has  not  a  card  of  the  suit  which 
he  has  renounced,  thereby  calling 
his  attention  to  the  fact,  and  saving 
a  possible  revoke.  Another  excep- 
tion occurs  in  duplicate  whist,  as 
played  in  America,  where,  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  new  law  adopted 
in  1897,  a  player  is  now  permitted 
to  ask  the  adversaries  if  they  have 
any  of  the  suit  renounced;  but  the 
question  establishes  the  revoke  if 
it  is  his  partner  who  has  renounced 
in  error. 

If  any  one,  prior  to  his  partner  play- 
ing-, calls  attention  in  any  manner  to  the 
tnck  or  to  the  score,  the  adversary  last 
to  play  to  the  trick  may  require  the  of- 
fender's partner  to  play  his  highest  or 
lowest  of  the  suit  led  or,  if  he  has  none, 
to  trump  or  not  to  trump  the  trick. — Laws 
of  Whist  (American  Code),  Section 35. 

Calling  Honors.  —  In  the  Eng- 
lish game,  honors  must  be  called 
or  claimed  before  the  trump  card 
of  the  following  deal  is  turned,  or 
they  cannot  be  scored.  In  the 
American  game,  honors  are  not 
called  nor  scored. 

"  Ca  m . "  — A  pseudonym  used  by 
Waller  Augustus  Lewis,  an  English 
whist-player  of  note,  author  of 
"Whist:  Which  Card  to  Lead." 
This  work,  first  published  in  Lon- 
don in  1865,  at  once  became  popu- 
lar; a  second  edition  being  issued 
the  same  same  year,  a  third  in  1866, 
and  a  fourth  in  the  year  following. 
The  author  was  a  physician  by  pro- 
fession, being  chief  medical  officer 
of  the  London  post-office.  He  died 
at  Whitby,  September  8,  1882. 

Campbell  -  Walker,      Arthur.— 

Author  of  "  The  Correct  Card,  and 
How  to  Play  at  Whist,"  which  was 
published  in  1876,  and  by  1880  had 
reached  a  sale  of  9000  copies,  its 


CANADIAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    70    CANADIAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


fame  being  world-wide.  Drayson, 
in  the  preface  to  his  "  Art  of  Prac- 
tical Whist,"  mentions  it  as  one  of 
the  valuable  works  on  whist  then 
in  existence.  Captain  Campbell- 
Walker  served  in  the  Seventy-ninth 
Cameron  Highlanders,  and  later  as 
captain  of  the  Queen's  body-guard. 
He  died  at  29  Palmeira  square, 
Brighton,  April  2,  1887. 

Canadian  Whist   League.— The 

first  Canadian  whist  tournament 
was  held  at  the  rooms  of  the  Vic- 
toria Club,  Toronto,  Out,  April  3, 
1896,  and  at  this  tournament  steps 
were  taken  for  the  organization  of 
a  whist  league.  By  the  rules  of  the 
tournament,  a  club  might  enter  one 
or  more  teams,  and  teams  might  be 
made  up  of  members  of  different 
clubs,  or  of  individuals  represent- 
ing no  club,  providing  they  called 
themselves  by  some  distinctive 
name.  Twenty-two  teams  of  four 
players  each  were  brought  together, 
as  follows: 

Teams. 

Victoria  Club,  Toronto  (A,  B,  and  C)  .  3 
Conservative  Club,  Toronto  (A,  B,  and 

C) 3 

Comus  Club,  Toronto  (A  and  B)  .  .   .  . 
Canoe  Club,  Toronto  (A  and  B)    .... 

West  End  Club,  Toronto 

Wanderers'  Club,  Toronto 

Toronto  Athletic  Club,  Toronto    .... 

Athenaeum  Club,  Toronto 

Thirty  Club,  Toronto 

"  Cavendish  "  Club,  Toronto 

Royal  Canadian  Yacht  Club,  Toronto  . 

Orangeville  Whist  Club 

Woodstock  Whist  Club 

Collingwood  Whist  Club 

Hamilton  Whist  Club 

Midland  District  Combination 

The  contesting  clubs  were  divided 
into  three  sections  of  eight  clubs 
each,  but  as  two  clubs  made  default, 
two  of  the  sections  were  short  one 
team  each.  The  score  was  kept  by 
matches  of  twelve  hands  each  at 
duplicate  whist,  and  tricks  decided 
whenever  a  tie  was  made  by  two  or 
more  clubs.  A  match  won  counted 


one  point,  and  a  tie  half  a  point. 
Each  team  in  a  section  played  one 
match  with  every  other  team  in  the 
section.  The  result  of  the  prelimi- 
nary section  matches  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

Points. 

Midland  District 5^ 

Victoria  (A) 5% 

Victoria  (C) 5 

Canoe  (B) 5 

Canoe  (A) 4% 

Athenaeum 4% 

Victoria  ( B) 4^ 

Conservatives  (B) 4 

Woodstock 4 

West  End 3^ 

Comus  (A) 3j5 

Comus  (B) 3 

Hamilton 3 

Toronto  Athletic a# 

Collingwood 2 

Royal  Canadian  Yacht  Club 2 

Conservatives  (A) ....    2 

Orangeville 2 

"  Cavendish  " i 

Conservatives  (C) i 

Wanderers i 

By  the  rules,  the  leading  team  in 
each  of  the  three  sections  and  the 
team  with  the  fourth-best  record  in 
the  tournament  were  entitled  to 
play  in  the  semi-finals.  These  were 
as  follows: 

Points. 

Section  i.  Victoria  (C) 5 

"       2.  Midland 5% 

"       3.  Victoria  (B) 4% 

Fourth-best,  Victoria  (A) 5% 

The  semi-finals  and  finals  were 
played  off  on  the  second  day,  the 
matches  being  twenty-four  hands 
each.  The  players  in  the  above 
four  teams  were  as  follows: 

Victoria  (C),  Toronto —Walter  Read, 
Samuel  May,  V.  C.  Brown,  S.  B.  Woods. 

Midland  District. — Dr.  R.  A.  Leonard 
and  W.  C.  Herrinnton,  Napanee,  and  E. 
J.  W.  Burton  and  A.Winslow,  Port  Hope. 

Victoria  (B).  Toronto.  —  Victor  Arm- 
strong, G.  C.  Biggar,  A.  H.  Baines,  H.  P. 
Gault. 

Victoria  (A),  Toronto.— A.  H.  Collins, 
K.  Cameron,  H.  J.  Coleman,  H.  E. 
Choppin. 

In  the  semi-finals  Midland  Dis- 
trict beat  Victoria  (C)  by  one  trick, 
and  Victoria  (B)  beat  Victoria  (A) 


CANADIAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    71    CANADIAN  WHIST  LEAGUE 


by  fourteen  tricks.  This  left  the 
Midland  District  team  and  Victoria 
(B)  for  the  finals,  which  were  won 
by  the  latter  by  three  tricks,  after  a 
hard  and  prolonged  struggle. 

The  committee  managing  the 
tournament  were:  Walter  Read, 
chairman;  Fred  Stronger,  J.  M. 
Verral,  W.  Draper,  H.  E.  Ridley, 
Victor  Armstrong,  Fred  Woodland, 
J.  M.  Macdonald,  A.  H.  Collins, 
T.  H.  Sinclair,  and  J.  J.  Higgins 
(all  members  of  various  Toronto 
clubs),  and  W.  A.  Hunter  was  sec- 
retary, to  whose  exertions  the  suc- 
cess of  the  tournament  was  mainly 
owing.  Seth  S.  Smith,  of  Port 
Hope,  and  J.  M.  McAndrew,  of 
Toronto,  were  the  umpires.  Hand- 
some gold  souvenirs  were  presented 
to  the  winners,  and  souvenirs  in 
silver  to  the  second  team. 

After  the  tournament  a  meeting 
was  held  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  permanent  organization,  to  be 
known  as  the  Canadian  Whist 
League.  A  committee  of  seven  was 
appointed  to  draft  a  constitution 
and  by-laws,  and  the  following  offi- 
cers were  elected:  Honorary  presi- 
dent, Sir  Thomas  Gait,  Toronto; 
president,  Walter  Read,  Toronto; 
first  vice-president,  Henry  Robert- 
son, Collingwood;  second  vice-presi- 
dent, Seth  S.  Smith,  Port  Hope; 
third  vice-president,  A.  S.  Ball, 
Woodstock;  secretary  and  treasurer, 
W.  A.  Hunter,  235  Yonge  street, 
Toronto. 

Of  the  winning  team  at  the  tour- 
nament, Messrs.  Biggar  and  Gault 
are  lawyers,  the  former  a  Toronto 
University  man,  and  the  latter  a 
graduate  from  Scotland.  Mr.  Arm- 
strong is  a  banker  and  foot-ball 
authority,  and  Mr.  Baines  is  re- 
ported to  be  an  excellent  bowler 
and  curler. 

Whist  of  September,  1896,  in 
commenting  upon  the  tournament 
and  the  state  of  whist  in  Canada, 


says:  ' 'The  Canadian  Whist  League, 
which  is  now  fully  organized,  is  ex- 
pected to  do  good  work  for  the 
game  in  Canada.  It  is  already 
arranging  for  the  season's  work, 
and  proposes  holding  a  congress  in 
1897.  The  league  being  now  com- 
missioned to  represent  whist- 
players  in  Canada,  it  is  hoped  that 
some  international  contests  will  be 
arranged.  We  have  international 
yachting,  rowing,  golf,  curling, 
cycling,  and  cricket.  Why  should 
we  not  have  international  whist, 
and  what  enthusiast  will  present 
an  international  trophy  to  be  bat- 
tled for  by  the  rival  chiefs  of  the 
American  and  Canadian  whist- 
tables? 

"Canadian  whist-players  have 
not  had  much  opportunity  of  com- 
petitive play  so  far,  but  the  intro- 
duction of  the  American  system  of 
duplicate  whist  has  been  taken  up 
by  many  of  the  whist-players,  who 
see  that  it  is  the  only  fair  way  of 
testing  the  strength  of  rival  systems 
and  players.  Up  to  the  past  two  or 
three  years  the  only  whist  played 
in  Toronto,  which  is  probably  the 
centre  of  Canadian  whist,  was  on 
the  English  system  of  scoring  the 
double,  treble,  and  rub,with  honors, 
and  the  American  system  of  scor- 
ing was  looked  on  as  an  innovation 
of  very  doubtful  advantage.  How- 
ever, the  idea  has  gained  ground 
lately,  and  we  now  find  so  conser- 
vative a  club  as  the  Toronto  Club 
adopting  the  American  seven-point- 
without-honors  system.  When  the 
Toronto  Club  takes  the  lead,  it  be- 
ing the  oldest  club  where  whist  is 
played  in  Ontario,  if  not  in  Canada, 
the  other  clubs  will  doubtless  follow 
suit,  and  the  American  system  of 
scoring  will,  no  doubt,  be  very  ex- 
tensively adopted.  The  system  of 
duplicate  whist,  except  in  match 
games,  is,  however,  a  matter 
which  will  probably  not  be  so  gen- 


CANADIAN  WHIST  LEAGUE    72       CAPITAL  BICYCLE  CLUB 


erally  adopted — in  Toronto,  at  least 
In  the  clubs  there,  as  in  many 
English  clubs,  whist  is  played  as  a 
social  amusement,  with  the  added 
interest  of  a  small  bet,  in  the  shape 
of  the  amount  agreed  to  be  played 
for  by  the  point,  and  Canadians, 
who  do  not  care  for  the  exhilara- 
tion of  the  great  American  game  of 
poker,  get  a  lot  of  amusement  out 
of  a  small  game  of  whist.  For 
these,  and  as  a  club  amusement, 
duplicate  whist  has  not  so  great  a 
charm;  and  while  it  will  no  doubt 
flourish  in  tournaments,  and  pos- 
sibly at  whist-parties,  it  will  hardly 
obtain  with  the  men  who  like  a 
quiet  '  rubber '  before  and  after 
dinner  at  their  club." 

The  conservatism  of  Canadian 
players  at  the  time  of  the  formation 
of  the  league  is  also  indicated  by  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  writ- 
ten on  March  12,  1896, by  W.  C.  Fur- 
ness,  secretary  of  the  London  (Ont. ) 
Whist  Club,  an  organization  which 
was  not  represented  at  the  first 
tournament:  "We  play  the  Eng- 
lish club  game  here — five  points, 
full  honors.  We  would  be  willing 
to  play  duplicate  whist  one  night 
and  our  own  game  the  next.  We 
have  not  yet  arrived  at  the  dupli- 
cate stage;  if  it  were  introduced  I 
think  some  of  our  members  would 
be  willing  to  continue  it." 

The  second  annual  congress  of 
the  league  was  held  at  the  Victoria 
Club.  Toronto,  April  16,  17,  1897. 
The  attendance  was  very  satisfac- 
tory, although  the  number  of  teams 
entered  for  competition  was  not  so 
large  as  the  year  previous.  Twelve 
teams  entered,  and  the  Victoria  B 
team  proved  the  victor  in  the  final 
matches,  thus  becoming  for  the 
second  time  champions  of  Canada. 
The  Athenaeum  A  team,  which 
was  a  close  competitor,  played  the 
short-suit  Howell  game. 

It  was    decided    to   establish  a 


challenge  trophy,  and  the  league 
also  decided  to  establish  district  as- 
sociations for  the  promotion  of 
whist  in  Canada.  The  following 
officers  were  elected  for  the  ensu- 
ing year: 

Honorary  president,  Hon.  Sir  Thomas 
Gait;  president,  Walter  Read;  first  vice- 
president,  Henry  Robertson,  Q.  C.,  Col- 
lingwood;  second  vice-president,  W.  S. 
Herrington,  Napanee;  third  vice-presi- 
dent, W.  L.  Walsh, Orangeville;  secretary- 
treasurer,  W.  A.  Hunter;  committee,  W. 
R.  Draper,  James  S.  Wallace,  J.  I,.  Cox 
(Toronto).  J.  H.  Hutcheson  (Brockville), 
j.  B.  Knowlson  (Lindsay),  D'Aicy  Martin 
(Hamilton). 

An  invitation  from  the  American 
Whist  League  to  attend  the  annual 
congress  at  Put-in-Bay  was  read 
amid  warm  applause,  and  referred 
to  the  executive  committee.  Greet- 
ings were  also  received  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  and  Northern  Pacific 
Whist  Associations. 

Capital   Bicycle  Club  Team. — 

R.  F.  Foster  dedicates  his  "  Dupli- 
cate Whist"  (1894)  as  follows: 
"  This  book  is  respectfully  dedi- 
cated to  the  members  of  the  Capital 
Bicycle  Club  team, — H.  N.  Low,  J. 
P.  Wooten,  C.  M.  Barrick,  T.  P. 
Borden,  J.  McK.  Borden,  W.  T. 
Binghatn,  and  L.  G.  Eakins, — who 
have  always  paid  me  the  compli- 
ment of  following  my  teachings, 
adopting  the  methods  of  play  re- 
commended in  these  pages,  and 
who  won  the  championship  of  the 
United  States  at  the  1892  congress 
with  the  magnificent  score  of  six- 
teen more  tricks  and  two  more 
games  than  any  other  club,  the 
largest  score  against  any  individual 
opponent,  and  the  greatest  gain  on 
any  hand  during  the  congress.  The 
same  team  won  the  championship 
for  pairs  at  the  1893  congress." 

The  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  in  commenting 
on  the  play  at  the  seventh  congress 


CARD 


73  CARDS,  ARRANGEMENT  OP 


of  the  American  Whist  League, 
made  a  statement  claiming  that  the 
Howell  team  "are  the  only  short- 
suiters  in  any  of  the  major  contests. 
The  Capital  Bicycle  Club  team  of 
last  year  has  disappeared  com- 
pletely, with  all  other  aggregations 
of  a  like  nature." 

Card. — One  of  the  fifty-two  pieces 
of  ornamented  pasteboard  compris- 
ing a  deck,  and  used  in  playing 
whist  and  other  games;  one  of 
the  thirteen  pieces  of  such  paste- 
board composing  the  hand  of  each 
player  at  whist. 

A  card  or  cards  torn  Or  marked  must  be 
either  replaced  by  agreement,  or  new 
cards  called  at  the  expense  of  the  table. 
—Laws  of  Whist  (English  Code),  Section 
90. 

Any  player  (on  paying  for  them)  be- 
fore, but  not  after,  the  pack  be  cut  for  the 
deal,  may  call  for  fresh  cards.  He  must 
call  for  two  new  packs,  of  which  the 
dealer  takes  his  choice. — Laws  of  Whist 
(English.  Code),  Section  8j. 

Card  of  Uniformity. — A  name 
sometimes  applied  to  the  fourth- 
best  card. 

Card  Sense. — A  quality  distin- 
guishing a  good  player  which  is  not 
ascribable  to  rules  or  books.  It  is 
a  sort  of  instinctive  or  intuitive 
ability  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the 
right  time,  to  draw  correct  infer- 
ences, and  to  make  successful  plays. 

I  deem  that  those  different  methods 
about  which  there  is  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion among  the  best  players,  are  of  small 
account  compared  with'that  peculiar  and 
individual  skill  which  for  want  of  any 
other  name  we  call  card  sense.— R.  F.  Fos- 
ter [S.  O.],  "Duplicate  Whist  and  Whist 
Strategy." 

Cards. — In  the  English  game,  the 
phrase  "by  cards"  is  largely  em- 
ployed, points  being  counted  by 
honors  as  well  as  by  cards.  In  the 
American  game,  all  points  counting 
towards  game  are  made  by  cards, 
beginning  with  all  tricks  over  six. 


(See,  also,    "  Card,"    and 
Cards.") 


Fresh 


Cards,      Arrangement     of. — 

Hoyle  professed  to  have  a  system 
of  arranging  the  cards  in  a  player's 
hand  whereby  the  memory  might 
be  materially  assisted.  Many  dif- 
ferent arrangements  have  been  sug- 
gested from  time  to  time,  some  with 
the  above  object  in  view,  and  others 
for  the  purpose  of  convenience  and 
ease  in  playing  the  hand.  The  best 
players  sort  their  cards  into  suits, 
red  and  black  alternately,  and  place 
the  cards  in  each  suit  according  to 
their  rank.  There  are  players  who 
always  place  the  trump  suit  in  one 
position,  in  order  to  assist  the  mem- 
ory. In  doing  this  they  must  be 
careful  lest  an  unscrupulous  adver- 
sary be  enabled  to  locate  and  count 
the  number  of  trumps,  especially 
if  a  slight  division  or  gap  should 
inadvertently  be  allowed  to  appear 
between  the  suits.  There  is  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  among  the  lead- 
ing authorities  as  to  this  matter. 
James  Clay  [I,.  O-f  ]  advises  against 
getting  into  any  particular  habit 
of  sorting  the  cards,  "such  as  al- 
ways putting  your  trumps  in  the 
same  place, "  as  players  of  no  great 
delicacy  might  easily  gain  informa- 
tion concerning  them,  "  and  even 
the  most  loyal  may  find  difficulty  in 
not  noticing  them."  C.  Mossop 
[L+ O.  ] ,  in  the  Westminster  Papers, 
is  of  a  similar  opinion,  saying: 
"  Any  one  watching  the  sorting  of 
the  cards  will  soon  ascertain  the 
number  of  trumps  such  a  sorter 
has."  Arthur  Campbell-Walker 
[Iv.  0.]  is  also  opposed  to  the  prac- 
tice, and  so  is  Miss  Kate  Whee- 
lock  [L.  A.]. 

On  the  other  hand,  Hoyle,  Math- 
ews,  Drayson,  Foster,  G.  W.  Pettes, 
and  other  authorities  distinctly  re- 
commend it.  Hoyle  [O.]  says: 
"  Place  of  every  suit  in  your  hand 


CARDS,  ARRANGEMENT  OF  74  CARDS,  ARRANGEMENT  OF 


the  worst  to  the  left  hand,  and  the 
best  (in  order)  to  the  right,  and 
the  trumps  in  the  like  order,  al- 
ways to  the  left  of  all  the  other 
suits."  Mathews  [L.  O.],  while 
differing  in  regard  to  the  general 
arrangement,  agrees  with  Hoyle  in 
regard  to  the  trump  suit.  He  says: 
"  Place  the  trumps  in  the  back  part 
of  your  hand,  your  partner's  lead 
next,  and  your  own  outside."  R. 
F.  Foster  [S.  O.]  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  placing  of  the  trumps  in 
a  constant  position,  such  as  to  the 
left  or  right  of  all  the  other  suits, 
is  of  assistance  to  the  memory, 
"which  should  not  be  burdened 
with  anything  of  which  it  can  be 
relieved"  ("Whist  Tactics").  G. 
W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.]  says:  "Place 
the  trumps  always  in  the  same  rela- 
tive position;"  and  Gen.  Drayson 
[L+A+]  makes  the  following  de- 
fense of  the  practice  in  his  "Art  of 
Practical  Whist:"  "  If  your  oppo- 
nent watches  you  sort  your  cards 
for  this  purpose,  you  must  be  very 
dull  if  you  don't  perceive  it,  and 
if  you  do  find  he  does  so,  you  can 
very  soon  mislead  him  by  going 
through  the  motions  of  holding 
many  trumps,  when  you  have  only 
a  few,  or  vice  versa.  It  is  a  terri- 
ble error  to  mistake  the  trump  suit, 
and  if  trumps  are  always  sorted 
into  one  position  such  an  error  is 
not  likely."  We  agree  with  Gen. 
Drayson,  and  have  never  found  any 
trouble  resulting  from  always  keep- 
ing the  trump  suit  in  a  given  posi- 
tion. A  whist-player  who  would 
try  to  take  advantage  of  this  would 
also  try  to  overlook  your  hand  if 
opportunity  offered,  or  commit  any 
other  whist  enormity.  If  found 
out,  his  proper  punishment  would 
be  to  have  all  fair-minded  players 
refuse  to  sit  at  table  with  him. 

I  may  suggest  that  you  will  gain  speed 
by  sorting  two  suits  at  a  time — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter [S.  O.}. 


Sort  your  cards  carefully,  both  accord- 
ing to  suit  and  rank,  and  count  the  num- 
ber of  each  suit.  This  will  greatly  assist 
the  memory.—  William  Pole  [L.  A  +]. 

Sort  your  cards  quickly  and  systemati- 
cally, arranging  the  suits  alternately  red 
and  black,  and  the  cards  of  each  suit  in 
the  order  of  their  relative  value. — A. 
W.  Drayson  [L+A  fl,  "Art  of  Practical 
Whist." 

Arrange  the  several  cards  in  each  suit 
in  numerical  order  from  lowest  to  high- 
est, that  the  proper  card  to  play  may  be 
readily  found,  and  the  chance  of  making 
errors  reduced  to  a  minimum. — C.  E. 
Coffin  [L.  A.],  "Gist  of  Whist." 

As  soon  as  the  cards  are  dealt  out  *  *  * 
we  arrange  them  according  to  their  suit, 
or,  at  least,  sort  them  in  the  manner  that 
we  are  accustomed  to;  the  essential  point 
being  to  impress  them  well  on  the  mem- 
ory. We  have  seen  players  who  hold 
their  cards  in  their  hands  just  as  they 
have  taken  them  up  from  the  table,  and, 
if  this  mode  lead  them  not  into  error,  we 
consider  it  the  best.—£)eschapelles  [O.]. 

Whist-players  sort  their  cards  into  suits, 
and  in  doing  so  make  a  gap  or  division 
in  the  appearance  of  the  fan  between 
each  suit,  as  if  one  of  the  staves  were 
broken.  By  the  appearance  of  the  back 
of  the  hand,  no  one  ought  to  know  the 
divisions  of  the  suits— t.  e.,  they  should 
not  know  how  the  hand  is  divided  into 
three  threes  and  a  four-suit.  This,  with 
very  little  care,  all  players  can  avoid. — 
Westminster  Papers  [L  +  O.]. 

Upon  picking  up  your  hand,  always 
count  your  cards.  This  has  a  double  ad- 
vantage, as  it  not  only  makes  you  sure 
that  the  proper  number  of  cards  have 
been  dealt  to  you,  but  also  helps  you  in 
impressing  upon  your  mind  the  length 
and  strength  of  your  four  suits,  and  aids 
you  in  mapping  out  the  general  plan  of 
campaign  that  you  propose  to  adopt  in 
the  management  of  the  hand.  While 
doing  this  you  can  also  be  arranging  your 
hand  for  play.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A .  //.], 
"  Whist  of  To-day." 

The  method  of  arrangement  recom- 
mended is  to  place  the  smallest  card  of  a 
red  plain  suit  on  one  end,  and  the  small- 
est card  of  a  black  plain  suit  on  the  other. 
In  each  case  arrange  in  order  from  the 
smallest  card  of  the  suit  to  the  highest. 
Then  in  each  case  take  the  suit  of  the  dif- 
ferent color  and  arrange  from  the  small- 
est to  the  highest  of  that.  You  will  thus 
have  one  suit  on  each  end  of  your  hand 
and  two  in  the  middle,  one  of  the  latter 
being  the  trump,  and  will  have  low  cards 
at  each  end  of  the  hand.  By  this  method 
of  arrangement  the  danger  of  informa- 
tion being  obtained  by  an  adversary  in 
regard  to  the  contents  of  your  hand  by 


CARDS,  CALLED 


75 


CARD  OF  RE-ENTRY 


the  place  from  which  you  pull  your  cards 
is  reduced  to  a  minimum. — Milton  C. 
Work  [L.  A.  H.\  "  Whist  of  To-day." 

Cards    Liable  to    be  Called.— 

Exposed  cards,  or  cards  improperly 
played,  are  liable  to  be  called  by 
the  adversaries,  according  to  the 
laws  of  whist.  The  player  liable 
to  this  penalty  is  required  to  place 
the  card  or  cards  face  up  on  the 
table,  so  that  the  same  may  be 
called  or  asked  for  when  the  adver- 
saries desire  them  played. 

By  the  English  code,  the  card  led  in  er- 
ror may  be  called,  or  a  suit  can  be  called 
by  either  adversary  when  it  is  the  turn 
of  the  offending  player,  or  his  partner, 
next  to  lead.  By  the  American  code,  law 
24:  "  If  any  player  leads  out  of  turn,  a 
suit  may  be  called  from  him  or  his  part- 
ner the  first  time  it  is  the  turn  of  either 
of  them  to  lead.  The  penalty  can  be  en- 
forced only  by  the  adversary  on  the  right 
of  the  player  from  whom  a  suit  can  be 
lawfully  called."  Thus,  by  the  English 
code  two  penalties  may  be  enforced,  viz., 
calling  the  card  or  calling  a  lead,  and 
either  adversary  may  elect  to  enact  this 
penalty.  By  the  American  code,  a  lead 
only  can  be  called,  and  only  one  adver- 
sary can  enact  the  penalty.  This  is  cer- 
tainly a  reduction  of  the  punishment  for 
careless  play. — A.  W.  Dray  son  [L+A+], 
"Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 

As  regards  "cards  liable  to  be  called," 
the  American  laws  differ  from  the  Eng- 
lish. By  the  English  code,  you  may  lower 
the  whole  of  your  hand  so  that  your  part- 
ner may  see  nearly  every  card  in  it,  but 
there  is  no  penalty  for  doing  so.  *  *  *  By 
the  American  code,  an  attempt  is  made  to 
remedy  this  defect.  (Law  20,  Sections  3 
and  4.)  Who  is  to  be  the  judge  as  to 
whether  the  cards  were  sufficiently  low- 
ered to  enable  partner  to  see  them  ?  *  *  * 
Again,  by  the  English  code,  if  two  cards 
are  played  together  or  led  together,  either 
may  be  called,  and  the  card  not  called  is 
an  exposed  card.  By  the  American  code, 
"  every  card  thrown  with  the  one  led  or 
plaved  to  the  current  trick "  is  an  ex- 
posed card.  "The  player  must  indicate 
the  one  led  or  played."  Suppose  I  hold 
ace,  queen  of  a  suit,  and  am  last  player; 
third  hand  plays  king;  I  throw  ace  and 
queen  on  the  table  at  the  same  time.  I 
indicate  that  I  play  the  ace,  and  then  lead 
the  queen.  By  the  American  code  I 
scarcely  suffer  for  this  carelessness;  by 
the  English  code,  my  queen  can  be  called 
on  the  king.  I  do  not  think  this  Ameri- 
can law  is  good,  as  it  gives  so  many 


chances  for  a  careless  player  to  escape 
from  any  penalty.— A.  W.  Dra \yson  [L  + 
A+],  *  Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Deci- 
sions" 

The  following  cards  are  liable  to  be 
called  by  either  adversary: 

Every  card  faced  upon  the  table  other- 
wise than  in  the  regular  course  of  play, 
but  not  including  a  card  led  out  of  turn. 

Every  card  thrown  with  the  one  led  or 
played  to  the  current  trick.  The  player 
must  indicate  the  one  led  or  played. 

Every  card  so  held  by  a  player  that  his 
partner  sees  any  portion  of  its  face. 

All  the  cards  in  a  hand  lowered  or 
shown  by  a  player  so  that  his  partner  sees 
more  than  one  card  of  it. 

Every  card  named  by  the  player  hold- 
ing it. 

All  cards  liable  to  be  called  must  be 
placed  and  left  face  upward  on  the  table. 
A  player  must  lead  or  play  them  when 
they  are  called,  provided  he  can  do  so 
without  revoking.  The  call  may  be  re- 
peated at  each  trick  until  the  card  is 
Klayed  A  player  cannot  be  prevented 
•om  leading  or  playing  a  card  liable  to 
be  called;  if  he  can  get  rid  of  it  in  the 
course  of  play,  no  penalty  remains. 

If  a  player  leads  a  card  better  than  any 
his  adversaries  hold  of  the  suit,  and  then 
leads  one  or  more  other  cards  without 
waiting  for  his  partner  to  play,  the  latter 
may  be  called  upon  by  either  adversary 
to  take  the  first  trick,  and  the  other  cards 
thus  improperly  plaved  are  liable  to  be 
called;  it  makes  no  difference  whether  he 
plays  them  one  after  the  other,  or  throws 
them  all  on  the  table  together,  after  the 
first  card  is  played  the  others  are  liable 
to  be  called. 

A  player  having  a  card  liable  to  be 
called  must  not  play  another  until  the 
adversaries  have  stated  whether  or  not 
they  wish  to  call  the  card  liable  to  the 
penalty.  If  he  plays  another  card  with- 
out awaiting  the  decision  of  the  adversa- 
ries, such  other  card  also  is  liable  to  be 
called. — Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code), 
Sections  20-23.  See,  also,  Section  35. 

Card  of  Re-Entry. —Any  win- 
ning card  held  in  his  hand  by  which 
a  player  may  again  obtain  the  lead. 

Where  a  player  has  five  or  more  trumps, 
he  may  safely  regard  all  above  four  as 
cards  of  re-entry,  but  he  must  be  careful 
not  to  reduce  their  number  by  trumping 
in  before  the  adverse  trumps  are  ex- 
hausted.—/?. F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist 
Strategy." 

Cards  of  re-entry  are  at  times  very  val- 
uable, and  great  care  should  be  taken  in 
some  situations  not  to  part  with  them, 
even  to  the  extent  of  passing  a  trick  or 
two.  But  they  are  valueless — as  re-entry 


CARLETON,  J.  W. 


76 


"CAVENDISH" 


— when  you  have  nothing  to  brine  in. — 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Modem  Sci- 
entific Whist." 

Carleton,  J.  W.— The  manual  of 
whist  in  Bonn's  well-known  Eng- 
lish "Handbook  of  Games,"  was 
compiled  by  Captain  J.  W.  Carle- 
ton,  of  the  Second  Dragoon  Guards, 
who  divided  it  into  four  sections: 
"  Whist  a  la  Mathews,"  "  Whist  a 
la  Hoyle,"  "Whist  a  la  Descha- 
pelles, ' '  and  "  Whist  a  la  Carleton. ' ' 


Carlyon, 

'Caelebs." 


Edward       A. —  See, 


"Catch  -  the  -  Ten."  —  See, 
"Scotch  Whist." 

• '  Ca ve  n  d  is  h . "  — A  pseudonym 
under  which  Henry  Jones,  M.  R. 
C.  S.,  of  London,  Eng.,  is  known 
wherever  the  language  of  whist  is 
spoken.  The  name  was  taken  by 
him  from  a  club  to  which  he  be- 
longed at  the  time  he  first  took  up 
his  pen  in  behalf  of  the  modern 
game.  "Cavendish,"  universally 
recognized  as  the  leading  whist 
authority  of  to-day,  was  born  in 
London,  Nov.  2,  1831.  At  the  age 
of  nine  he  was  sent  to  King's  Col- 
lege School,  where,  he  assures  us, 
he  was  more  attentive  to  his  duties 
in  the  play-ground  than  in  the 
class-room.  He  subsequently  at- 
tended a  private  school  at  Brighton, 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was 
entered  as  a  student  at  St.  Barthol- 
omew's Hospital,  London,  where 
he  did  good  work,  being  for  a  year 
dresser  to  the  distinguished  sur- 
geon, Sir  William  Lawrence,  Bart. 
After  passing  his  examinations,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  immedi- 
ately began  his  professional  career. 
He  remained  in  active  practice  as  a 
surgeon  in  London  until  the  year 
1872,  when,  finding  it  impossible  to 
do  full  justice  to  both  his  medical 
and  literary  engagements,  he  de- 
cided to  give  up  the  former. 


4  'Cavendish"  was  thirty-two  years 
of  age  when  he  published  his  first 
book  on  whist.  The  publication 
was  brought  about  by  Dr.  William 
Pole,  who  had  written  an  article  on 
"  Games  at  Cards  for  the  Coming 
Winter,"  which  appeared  in  Mac- 
tnil/an's  Magazine  for  December, 
1861.  Dr.  Pole  had  recently  be- 
come greatly  interested  in  whist, 
and  read  several  books  on  the  game, 
but  found  that  though  they  gave 
many  useful  hints,  they  did  not 
furnish  any  intelligible  system  of 
instruction.  This  thought  induced 
him  to  append  the  following  foot- 
note to  his  article  in  the  magazine: 
"  It  would  be  a  great  boon  if  some 
good  authority  would  publish  a  set 
of  model  games  at  whist,  with  ex- 
planatory remarks,  such  as  are 
found  so  useful  in  chess,  for  exam- 
ple. "  A  few  days  after  the  appear- 
ance of  the  article,  he  received  a 
letter,  signed  "H.  Jones,  Jr.,"  in 
which  the  writer  said:  "In  refer- 
ence to  your  article  in  Macmillan 
of  this  month,  I  beg  to  inform  you 
that  I  have  for  some  time  past 
adopted  the  course  suggested  by 
you  in  note  (p.  130),  viz.,  to  note 
positions  and  games  at  whist,  simi- 
larly to  chess  problems  and  games. 
It  has  been  my  practice,  when 
meeting  with  unusual  or  difficult 
hands,  to  play  them  over  by  my- 
self afterwards,  and  to  write  them 
down.  I  take  the  liberty  of  en- 
closing you  a  specimen  of  my 
method.  Like  you,  I  had  an  idea 
that  the  publication  of  a  set  of  good 
model  games  would  be  useful,  but 
hesitated  to  publish.  If  you  feel 
sufficient  interest  in  my  games  to 
see  my  collection,  and  will  favor 
the  porter  at  the  '  Cavendish  '  Club 
with  your  name  and  address,  I  will 
communicate  with  you  again." 

Dr.  Pole  answered  the  letter  on 
Dec.  4,  encouraging  the  idea,  and 
this  led  to  further  correspondence 


"CAVENDISH" 


77 


1  CAVENDISH 


and  to  numerous  interviews  and 
discussions;  and  the  upshot  of  it  all 
was  that  about  the  middle  of  1862, 
there  appeared  a  work  bearing  the 
following  title:  "  The  Principles 
of  Whist  Stated  and  Explained, 
and  Its  Practice  Illustrated  on  an 
Original  System,  by  Means  of 
Hands  Played  Completely  Through. 
By  '  Cavendish.'  London:  Bancks 
Brothers,  20  Piccadilly." 

Always  fond  of  games  and  pas- 
times, the  young  man  had  begun  to 
study  whist  seriously  about  the 
year  1854  or  1855.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  what  subsequently  became 
known  to  fame  as  the  "  Little 
Whist  School"  (g.  v.),  a  coterie 
of  students  who,  like  himself,  were 
devoted  to  the  game  and  anxious 
to  improve  their  play.  They  held 
regular  meetings,  jotted  down  in- 
teresting hands,  and  discussed  im- 
portant points,  being  greatly  as- 
sisted by  the  advice  and  decisions 
of  James  Clay,  M.  P.,  to  whom  they 
had  access  at  the  Portland  Club. 
The  young  medical  student  from 
St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital  was  a 
leading  spirit  in  these  gatherings, 
and  the  results  of  his  experience, 
and  the  knowledge  gained  by  him, 
were  embodied  in  the  now  famous 
volume.  In  publishing  the  book 
he  did  not  wish  to  use  his  own 
name,  and  so,  without  giving  the 
matter  much  thought,  he  appended 
the  name  of  the  club  in  Langham 
Place  (now  long  extinct),  with 
which  he  was  then  connected.  Dr. 
Pole  wrote  a  review  of  the  new 
work  in  the  Field  of  May  10,  1862, 
following  it  up  also  with  a  more 
extended  and  general  one  in  Mac- 
millan's  for  January,  1863,  all  of 
which  helped  to  bring  it  to  the 
notice  of  whist-players.  It  has 
since  gone  through  more  editions 
than  any  other  book  on  whist,  ex- 
cepting that  of  Hoyle,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  it  will  in  time  even 


exceed  the  latter.  In  1897  the 
twenty-second  edition  was  on  the 
market,  and  upwards  of  seventy 
thousand  copies  had  been  sold  up 
to  date. 

Shortly  after  the  publication  of 
his  book  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Portland  Club,  which  has  been 
for  over  a  century  the  acknowl- 
edged centre  of  European  whist, 
where  for  years  he  played  fre- 
quently. In  1864  he  became  edi- 
tor of  the  card  and  pastime  depart- 
ment of  the  Field,  and  two  years 
later  he  took  charge  of  a  similar 
department  in  the  London  Queen. 
Both  of  these  positions  he  has  held 
these  many  years,  and  he  has  also 
contributed  numerous  articles  on 
games  and  kindred  subjects  to  the 
leading  magazines,  as  well  as  to 
various  works  of  reference.  And 
thus  it  came  about  that  in  1872,  in 
order  to  meet  the  many  demands 
made  upon  his  time  by  literary  en- 
gagements, he  found  it  necessary  to 
give  up  the  practice  of  surgery. 
His  history,  since  the  first  appear- 
ance of  his  "  Laws  and  Principles  of 
Whist "  (as  it  was  re-named  in  later 
editions),  is  the  history  of  the  mod- 
ern improved  scientific  game.  His 
labors  in  largely  originating  and 
perfecting  (in  conjunction  with  N. 
B.  Trist)  the  system  of  play  named 
by  him  the  "American  leads,"  is 
told  elsewhere.  (See,  "American 
Leads,  History  of.")  Although  his 
theories  and  improvements  in  whist 
have  encountered  the  violent  oppo- 
sition of  Foster,  "Mogul,"  "Pern- 
bridge,"  Mossop,  and  other  advo- 
cates of  the  old-style  game,  he  has 
always  enjoyed  great  popularity  at 
home,  and  greater  popularity  still 
in  America,  where  he  was  lionized 
in  1893,  when  he  made  a  five 
months'  tour  through  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  Upon  that  oc- 
casion he  attended  the  third  annual 
congress  of  the  American  Whist 


1  CAVENDISH  " 


"CAVENDISH 


League,  which  had  elected  him  an 
honorary  member  at  its  organiza- 
tion in  1891.  He  came  again  in 
1896,  and  was  a  conspicuous  figure 
at  the  sixth  congress  of  the  League, 
at  Manhattan  Beach,  Brooklyn. 
Among  the  many  pleasant  things 
said  of  him  at  this  time,  in  the 
American  press,  the  following  was 
particularly  noteworthy,  appearing 
as  it  did  in  the  New  York  Sun, 
the  whist  department  of  which  is 
edited  by  R.  F.  Foster: 

"  The  central  figure  of  attraction 
will,  of  course,  be  Henry  Jones,  or, 
as  some  persons  insist  on  addressing 
him,  '  Mr.  Cavendish,'  who  has 
come  all  the  way  from  London  just 
to  take  part  in  the  whist  congress. 
'  Cavendish"  is  unquestionably  the 
father  of  modern  whist,  and  has 
watched  over  the  interests  of  the 
game  with  paternal  care  for  more 
than  thirty  years.  His  remark- 
able abilities  as  a  writer  and  anal- 
yst have  set  him  so  far  above 
all  others,  that  his  name  is  synony- 
mous with  whist  all  over  the  world, 
and  the  works  of  antecedent  writers 
are  regarded  simply  as  curiosities 
in  whist  literature." 

Besides  many  articles  in  English 
and  American  periodicals  (see, 
"  Articles  on  Whist  in  Periodi- 
cals " ),  "  Cavendish ' '  has  also  pub- 
lished the  following  works:  "  Card 
Essays,  Clay's  Decisions,  and  Card- 
Table  Talk,"  1880;  "Whist  Devel- 
opments, American  Leads,  and  the 
Plain-Suit  Echo,"  dedicated  to  N. 
B.  Trist,  1885  (the  latter  part  of  the 
title  was  changed  from  "  Plain -Suit 
Echo"  to  "Unblocking  Game"  in 
subsequent  editions) ;  "Whist,  With 
and  Without  Perception,"  1889; 
"American  Leads  Simplified," 
1891;  and  "Musical  Whist  With 
Living  Cards,"  1892.  It  is  in  each 
succeeding  issue  of  his  "  Laws  and 
Principles  of  Whist,"  however, 
that  his  latest  and  best  thoughts 


and  endorsements  of  other  ideas 
and  improvements  are  crystalized 
and  given  to  the  world. 

"  Cavendish's "  position  as  a 
player  is  generally  acknowledged 
to  be  that  of  the  first  rank,  and 
among  English  players  especially 
he  must  be  given  a  place  at  the  very 
top.  In  years  gone  by  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  keeping  a  record  of  his 
play,  and  this  shows  that  from  Jan- 
uary, 1860,  to  December,  1878,  he 
won  15,648  rubbers  and  lost  15,020, 
or,  counting  points,  which  tell  far 
more,  he  won  in  all  85,486  and  lost 
81,055,  a  balance  of  4431  points  in 
his  favor.  Proctor,  in  commenting 
upon  this,  says  it  is  impossible  that 
so  large  a  balance  should  have  been 
due  to  mere  chance — ' '  the  differ- 
ence must  have  been  due  to  play. ' ' 
"Cavendish's"  game,  during  his 
first  American  tour,  in  1893,  was 
closely  observed  by  the  leading 
whist-players  of  this  country,  and 
their  impressions  and  opinions  were 
freely  expressed  and  published. 
Several  of  these  will  be  found 
among  the  quotations  which  follow. 

The  investigations  of  "Cavendish," 
•which  have  been  pursued  by  him  during 
many  years  with  a  patience  and  thor- 
oughness without  rival  in  the  history  of 
•whist,  entitle  him  to  the  warmest  thanks 
from  every  admirer  of  the  game.  His 
name  will  long  live  in  the  history  of  Eng- 
lish amusements,  and  will  never  be  men- 
tioned without  the  warmest  expression 
of  approbation.—  IV.  P.  Courtnev[L+O.], 
"English  Whist." 

The  question  is  often  put  to  me,  "  Why 
did  you  choose  the  nom  de  plume  of  '  Cav- 
endish' ?  "  I  can  honestly  say  that  on 
first  rushing  into  print  I  had  no  idea  any 
particular  value  attached  to  the  copyright 
of  a  small  book,  or  to  an  author's  nom  de 
plume.  So  I  gave  the  matter  of  a  pseudo- 
nym but  little  thought,  and  stuck  down 
on  the  title-page  the  name  of  a  club  where 
I  used  to  play  small  whist.— "Cavendish  " 
[L,  A.],  "Card-Table  Talk." 

We  trust  we  have  said  enough  to  shoyr 
that  in  running  down  "  Cavendish  "  it  is 
not  easy  to  do  so  without  at  the  same  time 
running  down  Mathews.  If  their  ideas 
are  not  identical,  it  is  rather  difficult  to 


"CAVENDISH" 


79 


CAVENDISH 


find  where  the  one  begins  and  the  other 
ends.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  anything 
about  the  modern  theories.  *  *  *  They 
might  or  might  not  be  approved  by  Math- 
ews,  but  in  the  bulk  the  two  systems 
agree. —  Westminster  Papers  [L+O.\. 

His  many  years'  experience  at  the  table, 
combined  with  his  power  of  instantly 
analyzing  positions  and  conditions, 
makes  him  a  master  of  every  point  of  the 
game,  and  he  looks  upon  slavish  adher- 
ence to  book  as  mere  machine  whist. 
"  Open  your  hand  correctly  in  accordance 
with  the  system  which  experience  has 
shown  to  be  the  best  in  the  lotig  run,  and 
then  play  as  observation  and  perception 
will  show  to  be  best,"  seems  to  be  his 
chief  maxim. — Brooklyn  Eagle,  1893. 

A  rather  amusing  pen-and-ink  contest 
has  arisen  this  week  on  the  subject  of 
whist.  The  questions  seem  to  be  whether 
before  the  date  of  "Cavendish  "  the  game 
of  whist  had  ever  been  treated  on  a  sys- 
tematic basis,  and  whether  the  gentlemen 
whose  discussions  were  published  by 
"Ca_vendish  "  are  entitled  to  the  credit  of 
having  exerted  any  marked  influence  on 
the  whist  of  the  present  day.  We  are  in- 
clined to  the  view  that  the  first  question 
should  be  answered  in  the  negative,  and 
the  second  in  the  affirmative.  Had  the 
knot  of  young  men  referred  to  never  met 
there  would  have  been  no  "  Cavendish," 
and  perhaps  no  Clay,  no  Pole,  no  article 
on  whist  players  in  Fraser  nor  the  Quar- 
terly, no  card  department  in  the  Field — 
in  short,  no  modern  scientific  whist  pub- 
lished to  the  world. —  The  Field,  London, 
February^,  1871. 

In  my  endeavor  to  trace  out  the  evolu- 
tion pi  whist  I  have  found  one  name 
prominently  before  me  in  every  stage — 
that  of  "Cavendish."  It  is  he  who,  by 
his  industrious  investigations,  has  en- 
lightened us  as  to  the  fashioning  of  its 
embryonic  elements  in  the  distant  and 
obscure  past,  while  it  had  only  a  vague 
existence.  It  is  he  who  has  pointed  out 
how  it  flashed  upon  society  at  its  birth, 
and  for  a  long  period  dazzled  the  intellect 
and  fashion  of  Europe.  It  was  he  who, 
in  its  maturity,  took  the  chief  part  in  de- 
fining and  proclaiming  its  great  powers. 
And  it  is  he  who,  largely  by  his  own 
efforts,  has  invested  its  old  age  with  new 
attractions,  and  spread  them  over  a  new 
world.  "Cavendish  "  dedicated  his  work 
to  the  most  eminent  whist  personage 
then  living;  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me 
too  presumptions  in  doing  the  same.— 
Dedication  of  "The  Evolution  of  Whist," 
by  William  Pole  [L.  A  +]. 

He  plays  with  a  concentration  impossi- 
ble to  most  men, but  his  interest  is  by  no 
means  confined  to  his  own  band  or  the 
details  of  the  game,  which  absorb  the 
average  player.  His  eyes  are  everywhere, 
though  this  is  not  apparent  unless  the 


observer  watches  him  closely— as  closely, 
indeed,  as  "  Cavendish  "  watches  his  op- 
ponents. •  *  *  But  his  face  is  immo- 
bile. It  is  as  grave  as  though  his  life 
depended  upon  the  game.  Another  thing, 
his  play  is  unhesitatingly  rapid.  In  the 
lead  he  seemingly  tables  the  right  card 
intuitively.  In  second, third, or  fourth  hand 
his  card  is  laid  almost  simultaneously 
with  those  he  follows.  He  plays  as  though 
he  had  fully  decided  iu  just  what  succes- 
sion he  should  throw  his  cards,  without 
regard  to  what  the  others  might  put  upon 
the  board.  It  would  seem  that  much  of 
his  skill  depends  upon  this— that  with  the 
rapidity  born  of  long  practice  he  decides 
upon  his  p_lan  of  action  in  the  various 
contingencies  likely  to  arise,  and  while 
his  opponents  are  more  slowly  reasoning 
out  one  course  of  play  he  is  lying  in  wait 
for  them  at  almost  every  point.  *  *  * 
The  careful  observer  of  "  Cavendish's  " 
play  cannot  fail  of  being  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  three  important  factors  of  his 
skill  are,  trained  alertness,  wonderful 
memory,  and  the  faculty  of  '•  sizing  up  " 
the  capabilities  of  his  opponents.  His 
alertness  and  powers  of  memory  are  put 
very  much  in  evidence  by  his  at  times 
seemingly  erratic,  but  really  scientific, 
change  of  lead;  and  his  ability  to  estimate 
his  opponents  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
those  playing  against  him  rarely  fare  so 
well  in  the  succeeding  as  in  the  first 
game.—  Brooklyn  Standard- Union,  1893. 

The  first  edition  of  "Cavendish's" 
work  ["  The  Principlesof  Whist  "]  was  a 
modest  volume  of  eighty  pages,  and  only 
250  copies  were  printed.  Of  the  eight- 
eenth impression,  in  1889,  no  less  than 
5000  copies  were  struck  off.  *  *  *  His  ob- 
ject was  to  give  the  reasons  upon  which 
the  principles  of  sound  whist  were  based, 
and  to  bring  them  home  to  the  student  by 
illustrative  examples.  Its  sale  has  been 
little  short  of  that  accorded  to  the  tract 
of  Hoyle.  The  fifth  edition,  called,  as  all 
its  successors  have  been,  by  the  fuller  title 
of  "The  Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist," 
was  ushered  into  the  world  in  the  follow- 
ing; year  (1863),  and  the  additional  matter 
which  it  included  comprised  a  code  of 
laws,  while  the  text  was  carefully  re- 
vised, and  the  chapter  on  trumps  was  re- 
cast. When  the  eighth  edition  appeared, 
in  1868,  the  text  had  again  been  revised, 
and  many  of  the  author's  conclusions  had 
been  recast  in  a  different  form,  while 
some  cases  and  decisions  approved  by 
"  J.  C."  had  been  added.  The  ninth  edi- 
tion (1868)  was,  with  especial  appropri- 
ateness, dedicated  to  Mr.  Clay.  Six  years 
later  the  tenth  edition  came  into  life,  and 
was  adorned  by  a  frontispiece  (since  fa- 
miliar in  successive  reissues  to  all  whist- 
players)  of  several  players  and  onlookers 
around  a  card-table.  It  was  taken  from 
Cotton's  "Compleat  Gamester,"  and  in 


"  CAVENDISH,"  ANECDOTE    80 


'CAYENNE" 


the  original  compilation  was  used  as  an 
illustration  to  "  Ruffand  Honours."  This 
edition  formed  another  landmark  in  the 
history  of  "  Cavendish,"  for  it  contained 
many  additions,  such  as  a  brief  historical 
sketch  of  the  game,  a  fuller  statement  of 
the  discard,  a  number  of  fresh  hands,  and 
appendices  on  the  leads  from  more  than 
four  cards,  and  on  trumps.  A  few  edi- 
tions came  out  in  subsequent  years  with- 
out the  addition  of  any  fresh  matter,  but 
with  the  sixteenth  impression,  of  1886, 
there  was  incorporated  an  appendix 
which  explained  the  American  leads,  and 
a  second  chapter  on  the  plain-suit  echo. 
Its  successor,  which  was  dated  in  1888, 
was  unaltered,  but  to  the  eighteenth  issue 
(1880)  was  added  a  third  appendix  of 
leads  from  ace-king  and  king-queen  suits. 
A  considerable  change  was  effected  in  the 
twentieth  impression,  for  in  it  the  original 
lead  of  the  fourth  best  was  included  as  a 
substantive  part  of  the  game,  and  the 
third  appendix  was  abolished,  as  its  re- 
commendations were  incorporated  with 
the  analysis  of  leads. — W.  P.  Courtney 
[L+O.],  ^English  Whist." 

•'Cavendish/'  Anecdote  by.— 

Among  the  many  good  things  in 
his  "Card-Table  Talk"  "Caven- 
dish" tells  the  following  anecdote 
concerning  the  first  appearance  of 
his  book  at  home,  and  the  reception 
accorded  it  by  his  father,  to  whom 
the  authorship  was  unknown: 

"When  my  book  on  whist  was 
first  published  the  authorship  was 
kept  a  profound  secret.  I  sent  a 
copy,  'with  the  author's  compli- 
ments, '  to  my  father,  and  great  was 
the  amusement  of  my  brother  (who 
knew  all  about  it)  and  myself  at 
the  'governor's'  guesses  as  to 
where  it  could  have  come  from. 

"  One  evening,  when  about  to 
play  a  family  rubber  for  love,  we 
proposed  to  the  '  governor '  to  play 
one  of  the  hands  in  the  book,  '  to 
see  if  the  fellow  knew  anything 
about  it.'  He  consented.  We 
started  one  of  the  hands  (Hand 
No.  36,  p.  246,  twelfth  edition), 
giving  my  father  Y's  hand,  others 
of  our  circle  taking  the  other 
hands,  and  my  brother  sitting  out, 
book  in  hand,  to  see  whether  we 
followed  the  '  book '  play. 


"  The '  governor'  played  the  hand 
all  right  till  he  came  to  the  coup 
at  trick  nine,  when  he  went  on 
with  his  established  diamonds. 

"  Frater  (interrupting) — 'The 
book  says  that  is  wrong.' 

"  Pater— '  Well,  what  does  the 
book  say  ? ' 

"Prater — 'The  book  says  you 
should  lead  a  trump. ' 

"  Pater — '  But  there  are  no  more 
trumps  in  ! '  (Hesitates,  and  see- 
ing that  he  has  two  trumps,  and 
that  leading  one  of  them  will  not 
do  any  harm,  leads  it,  and  then 
turns  round  and  triumphantly 
says:)  '  Now,  what  does  the  book 
say?' 

"  Prater  (very  quietly) — '  The 
book  says  you  should  lead  another 
trump.' 

"This  was  too  much.  L,ead  a 
thirteenth  trump  when  you  can 
give  your  partner  a  discard  !  Oh  ! 
no  !  So  the  '  governor '  would  not, 
and  did  not,  lead  the  trump,  and  he 
scored  four. 

"  We  then  persuaded  him  to  play 
the  hand  again,  and  to  lead  the 
thirteenth  trump.  To  his  surprise, 
he  scored  five. 

"  He  then  admitted  that  it  was 
'very  good,'  but  could  not  think 
who  in  the  world  had  sent  him  that 
book." 

"Cayenne." — One  of  the  nine- 
teen or  more  so-called  varieties  of 
whist.  It  is  played  by  four  persons, 
and  consists  of  ten  points,  each 
trick  above  six  counting  towards 
game.  Honors  are  counted  by 
those  holding  a  majority,  as  follows: 
One  for  each  honor  held  in  excess 
of  their  opponents',  and  one  for 
honors  in  general.  When  the 
hand  has  been  played,  the  points 
made  by  cards  and  by  honors  are 
multiplied  by  the  value  of  the 
trump  suit,  and  this  is  determined 
by  the  suit  which  is  turned  up,  and 


CAYENNE 


8 1         CELEBRATED  PEOPLE 


which  is  called  "cayenne."  "Cay- 
enne "  does  not  necessarily  become 
trumps,  as  the  dealer  and  his 
partner  have  the  option  of  naming 
another  suit,  if  better  suited  to  their 
hands.  The  "cayenne"  gives  to 
its  suit  the  first  rank  for  that  game, 
and  the  suit  next  in  color  the  sec- 
ond rank.  The  opposite  colors 
rank  third  and  fourth,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  counting.  If  the  "cayenne  " 
or  turn-up  should  be  clubs,  for  in- 
stance, spades  would  be  the  second 
color,  hearts  the  third,  and  dia- 
monds the  fourth.  If  clubs  should 
be  accepted  as  the  trumps,  the 
points  made  by  cards  and  honors 
would  be  multiplied  by  four;  if,  in- 
stead of  this,  spades  should  be  de- 
cided upon  as  trumps,  the  points 
would  be  multiplied  by  three; 
hearts  as  trumps,  would  cause  the 
points  to  be  multiplied  by  two;  and 
diamonds,  by  only  one.  The  dealer 
also  has  the  privilege  of  announc- 
ing a  "grand,"  which  is  playing 
without  any  trump  suit,  in  which 
case  honors  are  not  counted  either, 
but  every  trick  taken  in  excess  of  a 
book  is  multiplied  by  eight.  Still 
another  privilege  accorded  the 
dealer  is  the  "nullo."  When  he 
announces  this,  he  and  his  partner 
invert  the  usual  order  of  play,  and 
propose  to  take  as  few  tricks  as 
possible.  Every  trick  taken  in  ex- 
cess of  the  book  counts  for  the  ad- 
versaries, and  is  multiplied  by  eight. 
Honors  are  not  counted.  If  the 
dealer  makes  his  choice,  his  part- 
ner is  bound  by  it;  but  if  the  dealer 
has  not  a  hand  justifying  him  in 
deciding,  he  may  leave  the  choice 
of  play  to  his  partner.  The  latter 
must  decide.  The  cards  are  usu- 
ally dealt,  not  one  at  a  time  as  in 
whist,  but  four,  four,  and  five.  No 
trump  is  turned  from  the  pack 
which  is  used  in  the  distribution, 
but  the  "cayenne  "  is  turned  from 
a  still  pack.  The  game  is  ten 


points,  honors  counting,  as  well  as 
slams.  Of  these,  the  little  slam  of 
twelve  tricks  counts  four,  aad  the 
slam  proper,  consisting  of  all  the 
thirteen  tricks,  counts  six.  The 
rubber  is  won  by  the  side  first 
winning  four  games  of  ten  points 
each,  and  any  excess  of  points  made 
over  ten  in  one  game  counts  on  the 
next.  Extra  points  are  scored  by 
the  winners  of  a  game  as  follows: 
Four  points,  if  they  make  a  quad- 
ruple (*.  e.,  if  their  adversaries 
have  not  scored);  three,  if  they 
make  a  triple,  the  adversaries  not 
having  taken  four  tricks;  two,  if 
they  score  a  double,  the  adversaries 
having  taken  less  than  seven  tricks; 
and  one,  or  a  single,  if  the  adver- 
saries have  scored  eight  or  nine. 

"Cayenne"  and  "bridge"  introduce 
the  first  changes  of  importance.  In  "  cay- 
enne," the  dealer  and  his  partner  have 
the  privilege  of  changing  the  trump  from, 
the  suit  turned  up.—/?.  F,  Foster  [S.  O.], 
"Complete  Hoyle." 

Celebrated  People  Who  Played 
Whist. — Many  of  the  world's  most 
celebrated  men  and  women  have 
been  fond  of  whist,  and  some  at- 
tained to  great  proficiency  in  the 
game.  The  most  profound  jurists, 
the  most  subtle  diplomatists,  the 

greatest  soldiers,  the  most  eminent 
ivines,  and  the  foremost  scholars 
and  thinkers  of  the  age,  have  been 
among  its  votaries.  Royalty  itself 
has  frequently  acknowledged  its 
fascinating  sway.  In  England,  the 
land  of  its  birth,  whist  was  formally 
received  at  court  in  1754,  and  has 
since  that  time  been  much  enjoyed 
by  those  upon  and  around  the 
throne,  with  perhaps  one  singular 
exception.  Whist  -  players  were 
among  the  chief  aversions  of  that 
prosaic  monarch,  George  III.  No 
wonder  he  lost  the  American  colo- 
nies! His  predecessor,  the  second 
George,  we  are  told,  disliked  poets 


CELEBRATED  PEOPLE    82    CELEBRATED  PEOPLE 


and  painters,  "but  at  whist  he 
never  tired."  In  personal  courage 
this  monarch  resembled  Napoleon. 
The  present  occupant  of  the  British 
throne  has  been  familiar  with  whist 
from  her  youth  up;  and  her  son, 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  is  also  fond  of 
the  game.  He  was  a  patron  of  the 
late  James  Clay,  M.  P.,  who  dedi- 
cated to  him,  by  permission,  his 
celebrated  treatise  on  "Short 
Whist."  Edward  Everett  once 
told  an  amusing  story,  how  he  and 
the  Neapolitan  ambassador,  after 
having  been  presented  to  Queen 
Victoria,  were  informed  by  Lord 
Melbourne  that  they  would  be  ex- 
pected to  join  in  a  game  of  whist 
with  the  Duchess  of  Kent.  Mel- 
bourne intimated  that  he  played  but 
a  very  poor  game  himself.  The  Nea- 
politan ambassador  remarked  that, 
being  a  bad  player,  he  hoped  that 
forbearance  would  be  exercised 
toward  him  by  the  American  envoy, 
should  they  chance  to  be  partners. 
Everett  was  forced  to  acknowledge 
that  he  knew  very  little  of  the 
game  himself.  "Here,"  said  he, 
in  relating  the  story,  "were  three 
dignified  persons,  clad  in  gorgeous 
attire,  solemnly  going  to  play  a 
game  they  imperfectly  understood, 
and  for  which  none  of  them  cared 
a  straw."  Upon  reaching  the 
duchess's  apartments  they  were 
formally  presented,  and,  upon  her 
invitation,  they  all  sat  down  to 
play.  To  their  surprise,  as  soon  as 
the  cards  were  dealt,  a  lady-in- 
waiting  placed  herself  at  the  back 
of  the  duchess,  the  latter  remark- 
ing, "Your  excellencies  will  excuse 
me  if  I  rely  upon  the  advice  of  my 
friend,  for  I  am  really  a  poor 
player."  The  incident,  while  lu- 
dicrous in  itself,  showed  how  strong 
a  hold  the  game  had  gained  since 
Hoyle  first  gave  it  publicity  in  1742, 
being  now  considered  almost  a  part 
of  court  etiquette,  and  essayed  even 


by  those  who  had  no  natural  taste 
or  ability  for  it. 

Whist  was  played  in  France  by 
Louis  XV.;  and  under  the  first  em- 
pire it  was  a  favorite  game  with 
Josephine,  and  also  with  her  suc- 
cessor, Marie  Louise.  It  is  recorded 
that  Napoleon  was  in  the  habit  of 
playing  whist  at  Wurtemberg,  but 
not  for  money.  He  did  not  play 
attentively,  being  possibly  occupied 
with  other  schemes.  One  evening, 
when  the  queen  dowager  was  play- 
ing against  him,  with  her  husband 
and  his  daughter  (the  Queen  of 
Westphalia,  wife  of  Jerome),  the 
king  stopped  Napoleon,  who  was 
taking  up  a  trick  that  did  not  be- 
long to  him,  saying,  "  Sire,  on  ne 
joue  j>as  id  en  conqukrant."  In 
his  exile,  we  are  told,  the  emperor 
spent  nearly  every  evening  at  whist 
or  vingt-et-un,  and  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed he  had  more  leisure  to  attend 
strictly  to  the  game.  Charles  X. 
was  another  unfortunate  French 
monarch  who  loved  his  rubber  of 
whist.  He  was  playing  hard  to 
save  the  game,  at  St.  Cloud,  on 
July  29,  1830,  when  the  tricolor 
waving  over  the  Tuileries  an- 
nounced that  he  had  lost  his 
throne.  Still  another  example  is 
furnished  by  Napoleon  III.,  or 
"Napoleon  the  Little,"  as  Victor 
Hugo  loved  to  call  him.  His  whist 
training  was  obtained  in  England, 
where  he  played  frequently  at  Lord 
Eglinton's.  Throughout  life  he 
was  devoted  to  the  game.  In  the 
beginning  of  his  career  he  played 
a  bold  game,  but  later  on  the  char- 
acteristics which  marked  his  course 
in  the  political  world  were  also 
revealed  in  his  play.  He  never 
seemed  to  know  his  own  mind,  and 
the  scheme  of  the  game  with  which 
he  started  out  he  frequently  aban- 
doned. Of  all  the  royal  or  princely 
whist-players  of  France,  the  most 
distinguished  was,  perhaps,  Prince 


CELEBRATED  PEOPLE 


CELEBRATED  PEOPLE 


Talleyrand.  He  was  considered 
one  of  the  first  players  of  his  day, 
and  in  his  old  age  whist  was  part 
of  his  pleasant  daily  occupation. 
"What!"  said  he,  addressing  a 
young  man  who  had  confessed  that 
he  knew  nothing  of  the  game, 
"  you  do  not  play  whist?  What  a 
sad  old  age  you  are  preparing  for 
yourself. "  It  is  related  of  him  that 
often  when  in  England,  on  affairs 
of  state,  in  his  younger  days,  he 
would  leave  the  whist  table  at  three 
in  the  morning,  and  then  go  home 
to  dictate  dispatches  to  a  secretary 
for  an  hour  or  two. 

Like  Talleyrand,  the  polite  but 
generally  distrusted  Chesterfield 
was  a  life-long  whist-player,  who 
in  advanced  life  was  accustomed 
every  evening  to  play  his  rubber. 
Lord  Beaconsfield  loved  the  game, 
and  frequently  played  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  also  with 
James  Clay,  who  was  his  friend 
and  traveling  companion,  and  the 
finest  player  in  all  England  in  his 
day.  Speaking  of  prime  ministers, 
the  Count  Cavour,  of  Italy,  was  a 
whist-player  whose  zeal  for  the 
game  was  unquenchable.  He 
founded  the  Socie"te*  du  Whist  at 
Turin,  and  was  a  dashing  and  ven- 
turesome player.  Prince  Metter- 
nich,  for  nearly  half  a  century 
prime  minister  of  Austria,  was 
another  example.  It  is  related  that 
he  owed  to  a  single  game  the  great- 
est sorrow  of  his  life.  One  even- 
ing, while  he  was  engrossed  in  his 
favorite  play,  an  express  arrived 
with  dispatches  from  Galicia.  He 
placed  the  papers  on  the  mantel- 
piece, and  the  play  continued  until 
far  into  the  morning.  When  the 
party  broke  up,  he  was  horrified  to 
learn  that  upon  his  immediate 
reply  depended  the  fate  of  two 
thousand  innocent  persons.  "Had 
Metternich  loved  whist  less  pas- 
sionately," said  the  chronicler  of 


the  event,  "  history  had  never  re- 
corded the  infamous  Galician  mas- 
sacre." 

Marlborough,  Wellington,  Blu- 
cher,  Von  Moltke,  were  all  skilled 
in  whist  as  well  as  war.  Of  Napoleon 
we  have  already  spoken.  Marlbor- 
ough played  the  game  a  great  deal 
in  his  old  age,  and  he  recognized 
its  merits  long  before  it  had  become 
fashionable.  Blucher  lost  heavily 
at  whist  in  Paris,  after  the  victori- 
ous entry  of  the  allies,  especially 
when  playing  against  the  great 
player,  Deschapelles,  who  rejoiced 
in  thus  being  able  to  revenge  him- 
self upon  the  enemy  of  his  country. 
Von  Moltke,  the  greatest  strategist 
of  recent  times,  played  his  usual 
rubber  the  night  before  his  death. 
On  this  occasion  he  had  remarkable 
luck,  and  his  partner,  who  usually 
held  poor  hands,  was  equally  for- 
tunate. The  old  field-marshal  was 
in  high  spirits.  "Nun  haben  wir 
sie !  "  (Now  we  have  them!)  he 
exclaimed  with  a  smile,  as  he 
played  his  last  hand.  Without  any 
assistance  from  his  partner,  he  won 
the  rubber  with  a  slam,  taking  all 
thirteen  tricks.  It  was  a  remark- 
able performance,  even  though  it 
was  afterward  asserted  that  the 
game  was  "cayenne,"  a  species  of 
whist  in  which  the  dealer  and  his 
partner  have  the  privilege  of  chang- 
ing the  trump  from  the  suit  turned 
up,  if  they  so  elect. 

And  speaking  of  Von  Moltke,  we 
are  reminded  of  the  following:  It 
is  said  that  late  on  the  night  of 
February  26,  1871,  after  the  peace 
negotiations  between  Germany  and 
France  were  concluded  at  Ver- 
sailles, the  four  men  who  had  been 
foremost  in  overturning  one  empire 
and  founding  another  —  namely, 
King  William,  his  son,  the  crown- 
prince  of  Prussia,  the  all-powerful 
Bismarck,  and  the  veteran  field- 
marshal — found  themselves  worn 


CELEBRATED  PEOPLE    84    CELEBRATED  PEOPLE 


out  with  the  anxiety  of  the  day, 
and  the  magnitude  of  the  event 
just  concluded.  Not  one  could 
sleep,  and  the  king  proposed  a 
game  of  whist.  The  suggestion 
was  hailed  with  delight,  and  duly 
acted  upon.  After  the  last  rubber 
was  concluded,  Bismarck  voiced 
the  sentiments  of  each  one  when 
he  remarked:  ' '  Now  we  shall  be 
ready  for  whatever  may  turn  up  to- 
morrow." 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  audience 
to  which  the  game  appeals,  unless 
it  be  that  of  intelligence.  In  music, 
Rubinstein,  in  art,  Dante  Gabriel 
Rossetti,  were  numbered  among 
the  lovers  of  whist.  Among  men 
of  science,  Sir  Charles  Lyell  took 
a  lively  interest  in  the  game.  Adam 
Smith  sometimes  tore  himself  away 
from  his  political  economy  to  take 
a  hand  at  it.  Proctor,  the  astrono- 
mer, was  not  only  a  good  player, 
but  a  writer  and  authority  on  the 
game.  The  great  English  physi- 
cian, Sir  Astley  Cooper,  when  out 
of  London  on  business  or  pleas- 
ure, always  played  whist  even- 
ings. George  Peabody,  the  famous 
philanthropist,  was  fond  of  whist, 
and  as  rigorous  a  player  as  the  cel- 
ebrated Sarah  Battle,  immortalized 
by  Charles  Lamb.  Among  the  legal 
profession,  good  players  have  been 
so  numerous  that  we  can  hardly 
particularize,  although  the  palm 
must  be  awarded  to  Sergeant  Ballan- 
tine,  of  England,  who  once  played 
for  six-and-thirty  hours  at  a  stretch. 
Some  of  the  most  noted  English 
churchmen,  too,  were  fond  of  whist. 
Among  others  we  may  mention 
Paley,  Toplady,  Bishop  Green, 
Home,  Bishop  Bathurst,  Dean  Mil- 
man,  Dr.  Parr,  the  saintly  Keble, 
Dr.  Priestly,  Dr.  Alexander  Car- 
lyle,  Dr.  Robertson,  Dr.  Blair,  and 
Bishop  Colenso.  Of  Buller,  a  fa- 
mous bishop  of  Exeter,  it  was  said 
that  whist  had  a  softening  influence 


on  his  disposition.  Many  cele- 
brated churchmen  in  other  coun- 
tries also  loved  whist.  An  American 
traveler  in  Rome,  in  1836,  saw 
seven  cardinals,  clad  in  the  habili- 
ments of  their  order,  playing  at 
different  tables;  and  Charles  Lever 
was  of  the  opinion  that  Cardinal 
Antonelli  might  sit  down  at  the 
Portland  or  at  the  Turf  (England's 
leading  whist  clubs)  and  compete 
on  equal  terms  with  such  an  adver- 
sary as  Payne.  Nor  are  the  clergy 
in  America,  as  a  rule,  unfriendly  to 
whist.  Bishop  Phillips  Brooks  was 
fond  of  a  quiet  rubber;  and  Dr. 
David  Swing  played  his  last  game, 
eleven  days  before  his  death,  with 
Henry  K.  Dillard,  the  blind  player, 
as  partner. 

James  Payn,  the  novelist,  himself 
a  good  hand  at  whist,  says:  "  Men 
of  letters  are  rarely  good  card- 
players — Lord  Lytton  and  Lever  are 
almost  the  only  exceptions  I  can 
call  to  mind — but  some  of  them 
have  been  fond  of  whist,  and  enli- 
vened it  by  their  sallies."  If  but 
few  of  them  were  first-class  players, 
it  is  certain  that  plenty  of  them 
tried  to  be.  Even  before  Hoyle 
was  heard  of,  Dean  Swift  records  in 
his  memoirs  that  in  November, 
1709,  he  won  two  shillings  and  four 
pence  at  ombre  and  whist  from 
Messrs.  Raymond  and  Morgan ;  and 
in  his  journal  to  "Stella,"  under 
date  of  March  2,  1712,  he  speaks  of 
a  visit  to  Lady  Clarges's  house, 
where  he  "found  four  of  them  at 
whist. ' '  John  and  Henry  Fielding, 
Churchill,  and  Oliver  Goldsmith 
were  among  those  who  used  to  play 
at  a  gossiping,  shilling  rubber  club, 
at  the  Bedford  Arms,  in  Covent 
Garden.  Of  Hume,  the  historian, 
it  is  said  that  "till  his  dying  day 
whist  continued  still  his  favorite 
play."  Gibbon,  another  great  his- 
torian, said:  "  I  play  three  rubbers 
with  pleasure."  Lord  Byron  played 


CELEBRATED  PEOPLE   85   CELEBRATED  PEOPLE 


whist  at  a  popular  club  in  Pic- 
cadilly, and  he  it  was  who  made  the 
famous  comparison,  "Troy  owes  to 
Homer  what  whist  owes  to  Hoyle." 
Leigh  Hunt,  Lamb,  Hazlitt,  and 
many  others  played  whist  regularly. 
Charles  Reade  was  a  clever  player, 
and  it  caused  him  great  chagrin 
when  he  was  beaten  by  "  Psycho," 
the  wonderful  automaton.  Anthony 
Trollope  inherited  his  mother's 
fondness  for  the  game,  as  well  as 
her  aptitude  for  novel-writing. 

And  speaking  of  Mrs.  Trollope, 
it  may  be  said  that  whist  was  her 
chief  delight,  and  the  great  feature 
of  her  weekly  reunions  at  Flor- 
ence, to  which  city  she  had  retired 
after  years  of  literary  labor.  Mrs. 
Jameson,  another  well-known  lit- 
erary woman,  came  to  one  of  these 
receptions;  but  great  was  Mrs.  Trol- 
lope's  regret  upon  learning  that  her 
guest  did  not  know  one  card  from 
another.  One  of  the  earliest  refer- 
ences to  whist  among  women  is 
contained  in  a  letter  from  Lady 
Mary  Wortley  Montagu  to  the 
Countess  of  Bute,  in  May,  1749. 
"On  my  return  (from  Constanti- 
nople)," she  writes,  "I  found  them 
all  at  commerce,  which  gave  place 
to  quadrille,  and  that  to  whist." 
Two  very  clever  women,  Fanny 
Kemble  and  Mrs.  Proctor,  were  de- 
voted to  the  game,  although  not  as 
successful  players  as  some  others 
of  their  sex.  Harriet  Martineau 
learned  whist  from  James  Payn, 
and  enjoyed  the  game  exceedingly. 
The  celebrated  Mrs.  Grote  was 
another  woman  whose  fondness  for 
whist  was  characteristic.  Of  Mad- 
ame de  Stael  it  is  related  that  she 
played  the  game  with  eagerness  and 
tenacity. 

In  America  whist  has  been  held 
in  high  esteem  from  the  earliest 
times.  As  early  as  1767  Benjamin 
Franklin  became  acquainted  with 
the  game  in  Paris,  and  he  noted  the 


fact  in  his  diary  that  "quadrille  is 
out  of  fashion,  and  English  whist 
all  the  mode."  Among  American 
statesmen  who  were  devoted  whist- 
players  we  may  mention  Henry 
Clay.  One  night  while  engaged  at 
a  rubber  the  cry  of  fire  was  raised. 
Upon  ascertaining  that  the  flames 
had  not  yet  reached  the  adjoining 
apartments,  although  they  were 
near  at  hand,  he  remarked  to  his 
friends,  "Never  mind;  we  have  time 
for  another  hand."  At  least,  so 
goes  the  story.  Washington  Irving 
played  whist  regularly,  and  in  his 
declining  years  could  not  sleep 
nights  unless  he  first  played  a  few 
games.  He  died  on  November  28, 
1859,  an<l  on  the  day  previous  he 
wrote  to  a  friend:  "  I  shall  have  to 
get  a  dispensation  from  Dr.  Cooper 
to  allow  me  to  play  whist  on  Sun- 
day evenings."  Edgar  Allan  Poe 
admired  whist,  and  rhapsodized 
upon  it  in  his  story  of  "The  Mur- 
ders in  the  Rue  Morgue. "  Nathaniel 
Hawthorne's  enthusiasm  for  it  be- 
gan in  his  college  days,  but  the 
only  stakes  he  would  play  for  were 
the  honor  of  victory.  His  son 
Julian  tells  us  his  father  "  was  a 
very  good  hand  at  whist. "  Charles 
Sumner  also  liked  a  rubber.  James 
Russell  Lowell  had  a  steady  admi- 
ration for  the  game,  which  he  often 
played  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Carter, 
secretary  to  Prescott,  the  historian, 
at  Cambridge.  John  Bartlett,  of 
"Familiar  Quotations"  fame,  and 
John  Holmes,  brother  of  the  genial 
"Autocrat,"  were  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  coterie,  which  played 
together  regularly  for  years.  Upon 
his  return  from  England,  in  1874, 
Lowell  wrote:  "  Last  night  was  our 
first  whist  club  since  my  return.  I 
looked  in  the  record,  found  it  was 
John's  deal,  and  we  began  as  if 
there  had  been  no  gap." 

With  one  more  whist  incident — 
and  this  an  international  one — we 


CHALLENGE  TROPHY    86    CHALLENGE  TROPHY 


must  close  the  present  article.  Gen- 
eral Grant,  "the  silent  man,"  was 
perhaps  particularly  adapted  to  the 
silent  game.  At  any  rate,  he  loved 
it  for  its  own  sake,  and  played  it 
well.  During  his  famous  tour 
around  the  world,  in  1877,  he  was 
the  guest  of  the  Reform  Club,  in 
London,  and  on  June  18  some  fifty 
members  of  the  club  tendered  him 
a  memorable  dinner.  Contrary  to 
his  usual  custom,  the  guest  of  the 
evening  would  not  smoke,  and  after 
the  banquet  a  rubber  of  whist  was 
proposed.  This  pleased  him,  and 
he  sat  down  at  a  table  with  Lord 
Granville,  son  of  the  ambassador  to 
Paris;  the  late  foreign  secretary, 
W.  E.  Forster,  and  Colonel  Strode. 
The  latter  played  once  against  the 
general,  and  once  as  his  partner. 
Both  games  were  won  by  the  distin- 
guished visitor  to  English  shores, 
who  thus  carried  off  the  honors  of 
the  rubber.  (See,  also,  "Famous 
Whist-Players.") 

Whist  has  been  the  preferred  pastime 
of  the  greatest  men  of  modern  days.  The 
most  profound  philosophers,  the  greatest 
warriors,  those  who  have  attained  the 
highest  rank  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  bar, 
have  made  of  whist  a  favorite  game. — 
"A.  Trumf>,  Jr."  [L.  O.]. 

In  a  whist  coterie  at  one  of  these  [TX>n- 
don  clubs]  may  be  noticed  cabinet 
ministers,  ambassadors,  peers,  senators, 
statesmen,  fudges,  magistrates,  college 
professors,  literary  and  scientific  celebri- 
ties, and  others  of  public  reputation,  who 
engage  in  the  game  with  an  earnestness 
that  shows  it  is_  not  an  idle  pastime,  but 
a  mental  exercise  in  which  they  find  real 
attraction.—  William  Pole[L.  A+],  "Phil- 
osophy of  Whist." 

Challenge  Trophy. — The  Amer- 
ican Whist  League  Challenge  Tro- 
phy originated  at  the  third  congress 
of  the  League  (Chicago,  1893)1  at 
•which  time  the  desirability  of 
having  a  trophy  that  could  be 
played  for  between  congresses,  and 
thereby  stimulate  interclub  play, 
was  discussed.  The  exact  status  of 


the  Hamilton  Trophy  (the  cham- 
pionship trophy  of  the  League  for 
teams  of  four  representing  League 
clubs)  had  not  yet  been  defined, 
and  was  not  until  the  sixth  con- 
gress. A  committee  to  procure  a 
challenge  trophy  was  in  the  mean- 
time appointed,  and  the  trophy  was 
first  played  for  at  the  fourth  con- 
gress. The  rules  (as  amended  July 
7,  1897)  provide  that  the  trophy 
shall  be  held  by  the  club  winning 
it  at  an  annual  congress  until  the 
end  of  the  following  September;  it 
shall  be  held  subject  to  challenge 
from  October  i  until  the  end  of 
the  following  May;  and  shall  be 
held  from  the  end  of  May  until  the 
opening  of  the  next  congress  by 
the  winner  of  the  last  match  played 
prior  to  the  first  of  June  Every 
League  club  has  the  right  to  chal- 
lenge, but  the  holder  cannot  be  re- 
quired to  play  more  frequently  than 
once  a  week  without  its  consent. 
The  trophy  becomes  the  permanent 
property  of  the  club  which  either 
(a)  wins  it  at  three  annual  tourna- 
ments, or  (£).  in  twenty  matches 
actually  played.  It  is  also  provided 
that  a  contest  for  the  trophy  shall 
take  place  (during  the  season  it  is 
subject  to  challenge)  at  the  mid- 
winter meeting  of  the  executive 
committee.  For  this  purpose  it  is 
surrendered  to  the  committee  one 
week  after  the  last  match  in  Janu- 
ary. For  such  contest  the  com- 
mittee is  to  designate  two  clubs  of 
the  section  other  than  that  of  the 
last  holder.  The  clubs  so  desig- 
nated shall  be  the  two  that  made 
the  highest  scores  of  their  section 
at  the  last  preceding  congress,  and 
for  this  purpose  the  territory  of  the 
League  is  divided  into  two  sections, 
the  East  and  the  West.  The  East 
comprises  all  territory  east  of  the 
east  lines  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Ten- 
nessee, and  Alabama;  the  West,  the 
balance  of  the  United  States.  The 


CHALLENGE  TROPHY    87    CHALLENGE  TROPHY 


winners  of  the  trophy  at  the  mid- 
win  termeetingholdit,  asbefore,  sub- 
ject to  challenge  from  any  League 
club  in  any  part  of  the  country. 

The  matches  for  the  trophy  are 
played  under  the  system  generally 
known  as  the  "two  table"  or 
" team  of  four"  game.  Matches 
consist  of  forty-eight  deals,  and  are 
divided  into  two  halves,  the  first 


half  to  be  played  in  the  afternoon 
and  the  last  half  to  be  played  in 
the  evening  of  the  day  designated. 
The  players  change  positions  at 
every  four  deals  according  to  the 
following  schedule,  in  which  the 
numbers  i,  2,  3,  and  4  represent  the 
players  of  the  challenging  club, 
and  the  numbers  5,  6,  7,  and  8  the 
players  of  the  home  club: 


FIRST  HALF. 


FIRST  TABLE. 

SECOND  TABLE. 

North.  South.       East.  West. 

Deals. 

North.  South.       East.  West. 

and  2  against  5  and  6 

i  — 

4 

7  and  8  against  3  and  4 

and  2  against  7  and  8 

5 

8 

5  and  6  against  3  and  4 

and  3  against  7  and  5 

9  — 

12 

8  and  6  against  2  and  4 

and  3  against  6  and  8 

13  — 

16 

7  and  5  against  2  and  4 

and  4  against  5  and  8 

17  — 

20 

7  and  6  against  2  and  3 

and  4  against  6  and  7 

21  — 

24 

5  and  8  against  2  and  3 

SECOND  HALF. 


FIRST  TABLE. 

SECOND  TABLE. 

North.  South.       East.  West 
and  2  against  6  and  5 
and  2  against  8  and  7 
and  3  against  5  and  7 
and  3  against  8  and  6 
and  4  against  8  and  5 
and  4  against  7  and  6 

Deals. 
25  —  28 
29  —  32 
33  —  36 
37  —  40 
41—44 

45  —  48 

North.  South.       East.  West. 
8  and  7  against  3  and  4 
6  and  5  against  3  and  4 
6  and  8  against  2  and  4 
5  and  7  against  2  and  4 
6  and  7  against  2  and  3 
8  and  5  against  2  and  3 

Fifty-six  challenge  matches,  not 
including  play-off  of  ties,  and  three 
tournaments  were  played  for  the 
trophy  from  the  beginning  down 
to  Saturday,  April  24,  1897,  when 
the  celebrated  team  from  the 
Hamilton  Club,  of  Philadelphia — 
Messrs.  Milton  C.  Work,  Gustavus 
Remak,  Jr.,  E.  A.  Ballard,  and  F. 
P.  Mogridge — took  permanent  pos- 
session of  it,  under  the  rules,  by 
scoring  their  twentieth  victory. 
The  following  table  shows  the  de- 
tails of  this  remarkable  contest,  be- 
ginning with  the  first  occasion  upon 
which  the  trophy  was  competed 
for: 


1894  CONGRESS,  WON  BY  MINNEAPOLIS. 

1894. 

November  10 — Minneapolis  vs.  Chicago, 
29-10. 

December  22—  Minneapolis  vs.  Still- 
water,  30-17. 

December  29 — Minneapolis  vs.  Fergus 
Falls,  32-5. 

1895- 

January  n— Minneapolis  vs.  St.  Paul, 
24-13- 

Under  the  rules,  the  Minneapolis  club 
surrendered  the  trophy  to  the  executive 
committee,  who  selected  the  teams  from 
the  East  and  West  to  play  for  the  trophy 
at  the  midwinter  meeting. 

January  20 — Hamilton  vs.  Chicago, 
30-16. 

February  S— Hamilton  vs.  Knicker- 
bocker, 29-16. 


CHALLENGE  TROPHY   88    CHALLENGE  TROPHY 


February    23 — Hamilton   vs.    Newton, 

3<>-i3 

March  g — Hamilton  vs.  Brooklyn,  27-19. 

March     16— Hamilton    vs.     Baltimore, 
37-16. 
{March  23 — Park  vs.  Hamilton,  24-23. 

March  30 — Park  vs.  Philadelphia,25-22. 

April  6 — Albany  vs.  Park,  28-22. 

April  13 — Continental  vs.  Albany,  26-20. 

April  20 — (Continental  vs.   Hamilton), 

30-20. 

April    27— Hamilton    vs.   Continental, 

21-18. 

1895  CONGRESS,  WON  BY  NASHVILLB. 
October    19 — Hamilton    vs.    Nashville, 

22-13. 

November  9 — Hamilton  vs.  Park,  27-11. 

November  33 — Baltimore  vs.  Hamilton, 
22-18. 

December  7 — Philadelphia  vs.  Balti- 
more, 20-13. 

December  14— Continental  vs.  Philadel- 
phia, 21-13. 

December  21 — Albany  vs.  Continental, 
24-17. 

December  29 — Albany  vs.  Brooklyn, 
34-30. 

1896. 

January  4— Capital  Bicycle  Club  vs. 
Albany,  29-22. 

January  18 — Capital  Bicycle  Club  vs. 
Hamilton,  27-21. 

January  25— Baltimore  vs.  Capital  Bi- 
cycle Club,  21-17. 

Trophy  surrendered  for  the  mid-winter 
meeting. 

January  28— St.  Paul  vs.  American,  35- 
11. 

February  22 — St.  Paul  vs.  Chicago,  31-19. 

March  i— St.  Paul  vs.  Fergus  Falls,  41- 

13. 

April  it — St.  Paul  vs.  Chicago,  21-13. 
April  27— St.  Paul  vs.  Duluth,  37-11. 

1896  CONGRESS,  WON  BY  NEW  YORK. 
October  10— New  York  vs.  Philadelphia, 

29-21. 

October  24— Narragansett  vs.  New  York, 
26-17. 

October  31— Narragansett  vs.  Brooklyn, 

31-23- 

November  7— Hamilton  vs.  Narragan- 
sett. 28-9. 

November  14— Hamilton  vs.  Boston  Du- 
plicate, 26-16. 

November  21  —  Hamilton  vs.  Amrita 
(Poughkeepsie),  38-9. 

November  28— Hamilton  vs.  Baltimore, 
26-21. 

December  5— Hamilton  vs.  Capital  Bi- 
cycle Club,  25-14. 

December  12— Hamilton  vs.  Wilming- 
ton, 25-20. 

December  19 — American  vs.  Hamilton, 
29—24. 

December  36— American  vs. Park  (Plain- 
field),  18-17. 


1897. 

January  2 — American  vs.  Staten  Island, 
35-20- 

January  9 — American  vs.  Newton,  27-15. 

January  16 — Albany  vs.  American,  20-16. 

January  23— Albany  vs.  Albany  C.  & 
W.,  33-18. 

January  30  —  Albany  vs.  Columbia, 
(Washington,  D.  C.),  21-15. 

February  6— Albany  vs.  New  Jersey, 
32-16. 

February  13— Albany  vs.  New  York,  24- 
'9- 

Trophy  surrendered  for  the  mid-winter 
meeting. 

February  20— Albany  vs.  St.  Paul,  24-12. 

March  6— Albany  vs.  Boston  Duplicate, 
17-16. 

March  13 — Albany  vs.  Narragansett,  23- 
16. 

March  20 — Hamilton  vs.  Albany,  35-17. 

March  27— (Hamilton  W.Baltimore),  22- 
22. 

April  i— Hamilton  vs.  Baltimore,  18-9. 

April  3 — Hamilton  vs.  Walbrook,  32-15. 

April  10 — Hamilton  vs.  Park,  34-6. 

April  17 — Hamilton  vs.  American,  22-17. 

April  24— Hamilton  vs.  New  Jersey,  27- 
13- 

The  following  is  a  summary  of 
the  winners  in  the  various  contests 
for  the  trophy : 

Number  of 

Name  of  Club.  matches  won. 

Hamilton  Club,  of  Philadelphia  ...  30 
The  Albany  Club,  Albany,  N.  Y.  .  .  .  11 
Minneapolis  Chess,  Checkers,  and 

Whist  Club 5 

St.  Paul  Chess  and  Whist  Club  ....  5 
American  Whist  Club,  Newton,  Mass.  4 

Park  Club,  Plainfield,  N.  J 3 

Continental  Club,  New  York 2 

Baltimore  Whist  Club 2 

Capital     Bicycle     Club,   Washington, 

D.  C 2 

The  Whist  Club,  of  New  York  ....  2 
The  Narragansett  Whist  Club,  of 

Providence a 

The  Philadelphia  Whist  Club i 

The  Nashville  Whist  Club i 

Total 59 

The  trophy  having  been  perma- 
nently won,  a  new  one  was  pur- 
chased, and  played  for  the  first 
time  at  the  seventh  congress  of 
the  League,  at  Put-in-Bay.  It  is 
made  of  sterling  silver,  lined  with 
gold,  with  three  supporting  arms, 
and  stands  on  a  broad  base.  On 
the  outside,  within  a  shield,  the 


TROPHY 


CHALLENGE  TROPHY 


1897- 

January  a— American  vs.  Staten  Island 
It- xi. 

nry  o— American  vs.  Newton,  27-15. 
Juiiuary  16-  Albany  vs.  American,  20-16. 
J****«T  *3 — AlbMjr  vs.  Albany  C.  & 

*T  30  —  Albany     vs.     Columbia, 
WWhingtou.  D.  C.),  31-15. 

•ary  6— Albany   vs.    New   Jersey, 

fMnary  13— -Albany  vs.  New  York,  24- 
'.y  surrendered,  for  the  mid-winter 

—  A!!;a::y  •  .    St.  Paul,  24-12. 
'- -.•\lbany  i"    bosiou  Duplicate, 

'   n— Albany  ta.  Narragausett,  23- 


I  Ham 


y,  35-17. 

iv,  tu-iore),  aa 


Leaders  of  the  "Cavendish"  School 

24-3O.  ^  '    •     livUM      _>>-17. 

'  A  ' 

in  America. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of 
the  winners  in  '  .tests 

for  the  J 


Jauiuiry  id-Capital    Bicycle   Clut>   w 
Hamilton,  27-21. 
January  25—  Baltimore  vs.  Capital   Bi 


Charles  E.  Coffin. 


Palta,  41-      gt 


aul  Chrvs  &ti,i  •vV'ii.-.t  Club   . 

Cassius  M.  Palnei  -. 


•  -M».  . 


. 
36-21. 

I>ecenibcr  5—  ft;  !«.]!••  v?   ».i    Capitnl   Bi- 
cycle Club,  75-14. 

I>ecemtx?r  12—  H«mi  ui-;    »     Wilniing- 
t  n>,  25-20 

December  19—  American     i    H&miltoti, 
39-*<- 

December  a6—  Amenc-sii  .     '•-  ;  t  ;  Plain- 
field), 


the' 


59 

Mi  penna- 
iu:  was  pur- 
for  the  first 

COT^irTf^S     of 

-Ray.  It  is 
r,  lined  with 
11"^ ' r| fa  anus, 


CHAMPIONS 


89    CHANGE  THE  SUIT  SIGNAL 


words,  "The  American  Whist 
League  Trophy  Challenge  Cup, 
1897,"  are  enameled.  Its  first 
possession  was  contested  for  by 
fourteen  clubs,  Toledo  finally  win- 
ning it  over  Albany,  by  sixteen 
tricks.  (See,  "American  Whist 
League. ") 

Champions. — The  winners  in  a 
contest  at  whist,  arranged  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  the  respective 
merits  of  individuals,  teams,  or 
clubs.  The  Hamilton  Trophy  is 
the  championship  trophy  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  and  the 
four  players  winning  it  at  each  an- 
nual congress  are  entitled  to  the 
designation  of  champions  of  the 
League  for  the  ensuing  year. 

Championship  Trophy. — See, 
"Hamilton  Trophy." 

Chances  at  Whist. — Hoyle  was 
the  first  to  make  elaborate  calcula- 
tions of  probabilities  in  whist.  This 
feature  of  his  teaching  was  satirized 
in  "The  Humours  of  Whist."  He 
afterwards  wrote  a  separate  book  on 
the  subject,  entitled,  "An  Essay 
Towards  Making  the  Doctrines  of 
Chances  Easy  to  Those  Who  Un- 
derstand Vulgar  Arithmetic. ' '  Ma- 
thews  also  mentioned  the  calcula- 
tion of  probabilities  as  useful  in 
guiding  early  leads,  but  did  not 
follow  out  the  subject  in  detail. 
This  part  of  the  science  of  whist 
afterwards  became  neglected,  until 
revived  many  years  later  by  Dr. 
Pole  and  others  in  the  philosophi- 
cal game. 

A.  hand  at  whist  will  last  only  a  few 
minutes;  we  may  have  a  hundred  of  them 
in  an  evening;  and  yet,  throughout  a 
player's  whole  life,  no  two  similar  ones 
will  ever  occur. —  William  Pole  [L.  A+]. 

The  whist  player's  maxim,  that  "the 
cards  never  forgive,"  is  based  upon  expe- 
rience of  the  fact  that  when  you  have  got 
the  game  in  your  hands,  and  throw  it 


away,  the  peculiar  combination  under 
which  success  was  possible  is  not  likely 
to~occur  again. —  The  Whist  Table. 

There  are  no  less  than  635,013,559,600 
ways  in  which  a  hand  can  be  made.  That 
all  the  cards  in  the  hand  may  be  trumps 
(the  dealer's,  of  course,  must  be  taken), 
the  chance  is  but  one  in  158,753,389,900 
(one-fourth  of  the  number  just  men- 
tioned). A  few  years  ago  (see,  "  Whist 
Whittlings "  in  "How  to  Play  Whist," 
pp.  190,  191),  two  cases  of  the  kind  were 
recorded,  and  many  seemed  to  suppose 
that  there  must  be  something  wrong  in 
the  mathematical  computation  of  the 
chance.  For,  they  said,  in  158,753,389,900 
cases  only  one  would  give  this  particular 
hand,  and  yet  two  cases  occurred  within 
a  few  years  of  each  other,  within  which 
time  so  many  hands  could  not  possibly 
have  been  dealt.  Now,  there  was  here  at 
starting  the  fallacy  that,  because  but  one 
case  in  so  many  is  favorable,  so  many 
trials  must  be  made  to  give  an  even 
chance  of  the  event  occurring.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  a  much  smaller  number  of 
trials  is  necessary  to  give  an  even  chance. 
Take  a  simple  case — the  tossing  of  a  coin. 
Here  there  are  two  possible  results,  but 
it  does  not  take  two  trials  to  give  an  even 
chance  of  tossing  head — one  trial  suffices 
for  that;  and  the  chance  of  tossing  head 
once  at  least  in  two  trials  instead  of  being 
one-half  is  three-fourths;  the  odds  are  not 
even,  but  three  to  one  in  favor  of  tossing 
a  head.  In  like  manner,  if  158,753,389,900 
hands  were  dealt,  the  odds  are  not  even, 
but  largely  in  favor  of  a  hand  of  thirteen 
trumps  being  among  them.  Moreover,  if 
the  odds  were  shown  to  be  ten,  or  even. 
twenty,to  one  against  the  event  occurring 
in  a  much  smaller  number  of  trials,  yet 
there  is  nothing  very  surprising  in  an 
event  occurring  when  the  odds  against  it 
are  ten  or  twenty  to  one.  But  large 
though  the  numberjust  mentioned  may 
seem,  the  number  of  whist-players  is  also 
large.  It  would  not  be  much  out  of  the 
way  to  suppose  that  among  all  the  whist- 
playing  nations  of  the  earth  a  million 
whist  parties  play  per  diem,  and  to  each 
we  may  fairly  assign  twenty  deals.  On 
this  assumption  it  would  require  only 
7950  days,  or  not  much  more  than  twenty 
years,  to  give  159,000,000,000  trials,  or 
much  more  than  an  even  chance  of  the 
remarkable  hand  in  question.— .#.  A. 
Proctor  [L.  O.}. 


Change  the  Suit  Signal. — The 

idea  embodied  in  the  trump  signal 
is  to  ask  or  call  for  the  lead  of 
trumps,  which  seems  to  have  had 
its  inception  in  the  generally  ac- 
cepted irregularity  in  long  whist 


CHANGE  THE  SUIT  SIGNAL   90 


CHANGING  SUITS 


whereby  a  player,  in  calling  for 
honors,  also,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, called  for  trumps.  General 
Drayson,  in  an  appendix  to  the 
third  edition  of  his  "Art  of  Prac- 
tical Whist,"  argued  that  a  better 
way  of  defining  the  meaning  of  the 
modern  signal  was  that,  when  a 
person  played  an  unnecessarily 
high  card  followed  by  a  lower  one, 
he  wished  his  partner,  on  obtain- 
ing the  lead,  to  "  change  his  suit  to 
trumps."  This  might  by  some  be 
considered  a  distinction  without  a 
difference,  but  it  is  merely  the  pre- 
liminary to  a  development,  or  im- 
provement, which  the  author  now 
proposed,  and  which,  he  claimed, 
would  enable  those  adopting  it  to 
convey  information  that  would,  on 
many  occasions,  be  worth  two,  or 
even  three,  tricks.  He  says: 

"At  the  early  stage  of  "the  play 
of  a  hand,  I  suggest  that  playing  an 
unnecessarily  high  card  means 
'change  your  suit  to  trumpsS 
When,  however,  the  trumps  have 
all  been  played,  or  when  only  one 
or  two  remain  in,  and  when  the 
play  of  an  unnecessarily  high  card 
cannot  mean  'lead  a  trump,'  then 
the  play  of  an  unnecessarily  high 
card  means  change  your  suit.'1''  In 
other  words,  when  there  is  no  dan- 
ger of  mistaking  it  for  a  signal  or 
an  echo,  one  player  may  request 
his  partner  to  change  from  the  suit 
the  latter  is  leading  by  making  a 
trump  signal  in  it.  General  Dray- 
sou  claims  that  highly  intelligent 
players  may  make  use  of  the  con- 
vention also  when  some  trumps 
still  remain  in  play.  He  says: 
"  At  present  the  play  of  an  unne- 
cessarily high  card  means  only, 
'  play  me  a  trump  as  soon  as  you 
get  the  lead.'  If,  however,  we 
adopt  the  code  I  recommend,  and 
agree  that  \hzfirst  meaning  of  the 
play  of  an  unnecessarily  high  card 
means  'change  your  suit  to  trumps, ' 


but  that  if  the  previous  play  of  the 
cards  shows  that  this  unnecessarily 
high  card  cannot  mean  change 
your  suit  to  trumps,  then  it  means 
change  your  suit  to  one  of  the  two 
others  which  you  are  not  leading — 
in  other  words,  it  says,  '  any  other 
suit  will  be  better  for  me  than  a 
continuation  of  a  third  round  of 
the  suit  you  are  now  leading.'  " 

In  conclusion,  General  Drayson 
says  that  this  is  not  the  introduction 
of  a  new  conventional  signal,  but 
merely  increasing  the  powers  of 
one  at  present  in  use,  and  ' '  which 
is  now  rather  cramped  and  arbi- 
trary in  its  meaning."  In  regard 
to  possible  conflict  with  other  sig- 
nals, he  says:  "When  winning 
trumps  are  led  by  your  partner, 
the  present  conventional  .system  of 
intimating  that  you  hold  four  in 
suit  by  playing  the  lowest  but  one, 
followed  by  the  lowest,  would  still 
be  followed  without  any  chance  of 
confusion.  The  play  of  an  un- 
necessarily high  trump  would — if 
we  kept  to  the  letter  of  the  prin- 
ciple— mean,  change  your  suit  to 
trumps,  as  the  first  meaning;  as, 
however,  trumps  were  being  led, 
the  play  of  the  unnecessarily  high 
card  in  trumps  could  only  mean 
that  the  player  held  four  trumps  at 
least." 

Changing  Suits. — There  is  no 
rule  without  its  exception,  but  the 
authorities  are  all  agreed  that  to 
change  suits  in  playing  whist  means 
to  lose  tricks  thereby.  Bumble- 
puppists  and  beginners  love  to  lead 
the  high  cards  in  every  suit  in  their 
hand,  in  turn,  for  the  pleasure  it 
gives  them  to  temporarily  play  a 
winning  game;  but  the  final  result 
is  disastrous,  and  there  is  no  pre- 
tense at  partnership  play.  In  play- 
ing whist,  properly  speaking,  it  is 
better  to  stick  to  and  return  to  your 
best  suit,  which  you  originally  led, 


CHANGING  SUITS 


CHEATING  AT  WHIST 


even  though  you  are  obliged  to  lead 
a  card  which  you  know  will  be 
taken  by  your  opponent.  The  ex- 
ceptional conditions  under  which  it 
is  well  to  change  suits  are  such  that 
only  experts  can  take  proper  ad- 
vantage of  them.  The  novice  had 
better  obey  the  rule  until  he  learns 
how  to  disobey  it  with  profit. 

Changing  suits  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
mon methods  of  dropping  tricks.—^.  F. 
foster  [S.  O.].  "Whist  Tactics." 

It  is  less  mischievous,  generally,  to  lead 
a  certain  losing  card,  than  to  open  a  fresh 
suit  in  which  you  are  very  weak.—  "Cam" 
[O.],  "  What  to  Lead." 

The  general  rule  is:  avoid  changing 
suits.  But  the  development  of  the  hand 
may  render  a  change  necessary  under 
several  conditions.—  Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.] 

It  is  a  common  delusion  to  fancy  that 
when  a  suit  is  declared  against  you,  you 
can  prevent  it  making  by  leading  some- 
thing else;  whereas  you  merely  postpone 
the  evil  day,  and  do  mischief  in  the  in- 
terval.— "Pembridge  "  [L+O.]. 

"Avoid  changing  suits."  This  maxim 
should  not  be  departed  from  unless  the 
character  of  your  hand  or  the  fall  of  the 
cards  justify  it.  There  is,  perhaps,  noth- 
ing so  productive  of  loss  as  injudiciously 
changing  suits.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L. 
A.~\,  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

There  are  five  good  reasons  for  chang- 
ing suits,  but  unless  one  of  them  can  be 
applied  the  suit  should  be  continued: 
(i)  In  order  to  lead  trumps  to  defend  it. 
(2^  In  order  to  avoid  forcing  partner. 
(3)  In  order  to  avoid  forcing  both  adver- 
saries. (4)  Because  it  is  hopeless,  and 
there  is  some  chance  in  another.  (5)  To 
prevent  a  cross-ruff,  by  leading  trumps. — 
R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},  "Complete  Hoyle." 

We  firmly  believe  the  greatest  failure  of 
the  average  whister  is  a  wonderful  desire 
to  change  the  suit.  Our  advice  is,  when 
you  have  the  lead,  having  won  a  third 
trick  in  hand,  be  absolutely  sure  it  is  the 
wisest  play  to  shift  the  suit  before  you 
decide  to  do  so,  and  if  there  is  any  doubt 
in  your  mind  on  the  subject,  give  the  ben- 
efit of  that  doubt  to  the  suit  that  has  just 
been  led.  Remember,  every  time  you 
open  a  new  suit  vou  place  yourself  at  a 
disadvantage,  unless  it  is  headed  by  a 
three-card  sequence  of  which  the  queen 
is  a  component  part.—Jlftlton  C.  Work  [L. 
A.  If.],  Philadelphia  Telegraph. 

Avoid  changing  suits.  *  *  *  If  you 
have  had  the  lead  before,  it  is  generally 
advisable  to  pursue  your  original  lead. 
*  *  *  If  you  have  not  had  the  lead  be- 


fore, it  is  in  most  cases  advisable  to  open 
your  strong  suit,  when  you  possess  great 
strength  in  any  suit,  for  you  open  such 
suit  to  advantage;  but  with  weak  or  only 
moderately  strong  suits,  which  you  open 
to  a  disadvantage,  you  would,  as  a  rule, 
do  better  to  return  your  partner's  original 
lead,  or  to  lead  up  to  the  weak  suit  of 
your  right-hand  adversary,  or  through 
the  strong  suit  of  your  left-hand  adver- 
sary.— "Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  "Laws  and 
Principles  of  Whist." 

Character  and   Whist. — If  you 

wish  to  discover  the  real  character 
of  a  man, play  whist  with  him.  The 
whist-table  will  reveal  his  peculi- 
arities, if  he  has  any.  It  will  re- 
move the  mask  from  his  face,  if  he 
is  wearing  one. 

There  is  no  game  which  reveals  to  us 
more  the  character  of  a  man  than  whist. — 
A.  C.  Ewald. 

Here  the  true  gentleman  appears  in  his 
real  element;  here  may  be  compared  the 
silence  in  prosperity  with  the  pretentious 
braggadocio  of  the  winner;  the  kind  for- 
bearance to  the  faults  of  a  partner,  with 
the  angry  looks,  the  shrugging  shoul- 
ders, and  often  the  irritating  remarks  of 
the  loser.  In  no  place  in  the  social  circle, 
nor  in  the  free  and  easy  haunts  of  club 
life,  can  one  cultivate  so  well  that  equa- 
nimity so  necessary  to  the  polished  gen- 
tleman as  at  the  whist-table.  —  "A. 
Trump,  Jr."  [L.  O.]. 

Cheating  at  Whist.— Whist  in 

its  earliest  and  but  partially  de- 
veloped stage  was  much  used  by 
card-sharpers  as  a  means  of  fleecing 
the  unwary.  Cotton  and  Seymour, 
in  their  several  editions  of  "The 
Compleat  Gamester,"  showed  this 
to  be  a  fact;  and  Hoyle,  the  first 
teacher  of  whist,  not  only  taught 
the  game  itself,  but  showed  how  to 
counteract  the  tricks  of  the  gam- 
blers and  blacklegs.  It  is  surmised 
by  some  that  he  was  something  of 
a  gambler  himself,  and  gained  his 
knowledge  in  this  way.  Every  im- 
provement in  whist  which  tended 
to  make  it  more  a  game  of  skill  and 
less  a  game  of  chance,  lessened  the 
opportunities  for  cheating.  The 
fact  that  whist  in  England  and 


CHEATING  AT  WHIST 


92 


CHEATING  AT  WHIST 


Europe  is  played  for  small,  very 
often  nominal,  stakes,  and  in  this 
country,  as  a  rule,  entirely  without 
stakes,  also  takes  away  a  powerful 
incentive  for  cheating.  Profes- 
sional crooks  do  not  waste  their 
talents  on  the  desert  air,  and  have 
long  since  discovered  more  con- 
genial games  of  chance  at  which  to 
ply  their  vocation. 

The  danger  from  professional 
cheating  being  practically  nil,  there 
remains  to  be  considered  the  chance 
of  cheating  among  amateurs. 
Human  nature  and  vanity  is  such 
that  occasionally  some  players  are 
not  unwilling  to  take  advantage  of 
unfair  means  in  their  efforts  to 
achieve  a  victory,  although  such  a 
victory,  in  the  end,  must  be  dearly 
bought,  bringing  with  it  stings  of 
conscience  instead  of  noble  satis- 
faction. Many  who  practice  little 
deceptions  would  perhaps  be  hor- 
rified to  hear  them  plainly  charac- 
terized as  cheating,  such  as  the 
revoke  on  purpose,  the  overseeing 
of  an  antagonist's  hand,  (in  Eng- 
land) the  claiming  of  honors  which 
were  never  held,  and  other  like 
practices.  One  of  the  most  serious 
consists  in  collusion  between  part- 
ners in  secretly  conveying  informa- 
tion concerning  the  hands  or  play. 
Private  conventions  or  prearranged 
signals  are  cheating,  and  should  at 
once  subject  the  offenders  to  expul- 
sion from  the  club  or  whist  circle. 

There  is  a  popular  belief  that  card-laws 
are  intended  to  prevent  cheating.  This 
belief,  however,  is  aHogether  erroneous. 
The  penalty  of  cheating  is  exclusion  from 
society. — "Cavendish  "[/..  A.},  "Card  Es- 
says.1" 

Whist  offers  very  few  opportunities  to 
the  card-sharper.  When  honors  are 
counted  he  may  be  able  to  keep  one  on 
the  bottom  of  the  pack  until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  deal  by  making  the  pass  [put- 
ting the  two  parts  of  the  pack  back  as 
they  were  before  the  cut]  after  the  cards 
have  been  cut.  **  *  When  whist  is  played 
with  only  one  pack,a  very  skillful  shuffler 
may  gather  the  cards  vrithout  disturbing 


the  tricks,  and  by  giving  them  a  single 
intricate  shuffle,  then  drawing  the  middle 
of  the  pack  from  between  the  ends  and 
giving  them  another  single  intricate 
shuffle,  he  may  occasionally  succeed  in 
dealing  himself  and  his  partner  a  very 
strong  hand  in  trumps,  no  matter  how 
the  cards  are  cut,  so  that  they  are  not 
shuffled  again.  A  hand  dealt  in  this 
manner  is  framed  on  the  walls  of  the 
Columbus  (O.)  Whist  Club;  eleven  trumps 
having  been  dealt  to  the  partner,  and  the 
twelfth  turned  up.  In  this  case  the  shuf- 
fling dexterity  was  the  result  of  fifteen 
years'  practice,  and  was  employed  simply 
for  amusement.— .#.  F.  Poster  [S.  O.], 
"Complete  ffoyle." 

A  story  is  told  of  a  doctor  who  declined 
to  play  with  a  man  and  his  wife,  who  al- 
ways played  as  partners.  On  being  asked 
why,  he  said:  "It  is  very  curious,  but  I 
notice  that  whenever  it  is  the  lady's  turn 
to  lead,  she  hesitates.  Then  if  her  hus- 
band says,  '  Harriet,  my  dear,  it  is  your 
lead, 'she  leads  a  heart.  If  he  says,  'Come, 
dear,  lead,'  she  leads  a  club  and  so  on.  I 
don't  care  to  play  against  them." 

More  than  thirty  years  ago  a  visitor 
was  introduced  at  a  club  of  which  I  was 
a  member.  He  was  tall  and  very  fat,  and 
was  what  sailors  term  "dog  rigged" — that 
is,  when  he  sat  in  a  chair  he  was  nearly 
as  tall  as  when  he  stood  up.  I  soon  ob- 
served that  he  had  a  habit  of  glancing  at 
his  adversary's  cards.  As  he  sat  on  my 
right  I  played  after  him,  so  I  arranged  my 
cards  accordingly. 

I  held  ace,  ten,  four,  and  two  of  spades, 
so  I  concealed  my  ten  behind  the  four. 
This  suit  was  led  up  to  me,  and  I  took  no 
extra  precautions  to  prevent  my  "  dog- 
rigged  "  adversary  from  seeing  my  cards. 
Alter  a  slight  hesitation  he,  third  in  hand, 
played  the  eight  of  spades.  I  pulled  out 
my  ten  and  won  the  trick,  and  saw  that 
this  was  a  shock.  At  the  end  of  the  hand 
I  remarked  to  him,  "That  was  a  very 
deep  finesse  you  made  with  the  eight  of 
spades!" 

"Well,  I  thought  you  had  nothing 
higher  but  the  ace." 

How  did  you  know  I  had  the  ace?" 

"Well,  I  fancied  you  must  have  it." 

That  night  this  gentleman  received  a 
hint  that  his  future  visits  to  the  club 
might  be  dispensed  with. 

Two  men  used  to  join  a  rubber,  but 
would  play  only  as  partners.  The  reason 
they  assigned  for  doing  so  was  that  they 
went  shares  in  their  losses  or  winnings, 
and  if  they  were  adversaries  they  took  no 
Interest  in  the  results.  It  was  remarked 
that  they  were  very  successful,  especially 
in  leading  that  suit  which  was  best  suited 
to  partner,  I  was  asked  to  visit  the  whist 
room  and  try  if  I  could  discover  any  se- 
cret. Before  two  rubbers  had  been  played 


'CHINESE  WHIST" 


93 


"  CHINESE  WHIST  " 


I  quietly  told  some  lookers-on  that  I  had 
discovered  something,  and  to  prove  my 
case  I  said  I  would  indicate  what  suit 
would  be  led  by  each  of  these  men  at 
certain  periods  of  the  game,  especially 
when  there  was  a  slight  hesitation.  Dur- 
ing the  play  of  two  hands  I  named  the 
suit  that  would  be  led  iiiiie  times  out  of 
ten.  As  this  result  was  considered  to 
amount  to  proof,  I  was  asked  to  supply 
the  key,  which  was  very  simple. 

There  are  four  fingers  on  each  hand, 
and  there  are  four  suits.  Arranging  the 
suits  in  alphabetical  order  they  stand,  C.. 
D.,  H.,  S.  The  first  finger  represented 
clubs,  the  second  diamonds,  and  soon.  A 
player  holding  his  cards  in  his  left  hand, 
showing  the  second  finger  outside,  wished 
diamonds  led.  Sometimes,  as  a  variation, 
the  right  hand  was  brought  up  and  the 
cards  run  through,  the  indicating  finger 
being  outside.  The  operation  was  per- 
formed very  quickly,  but  would  be  per- 
ceived at  a  glance,  and  I  saw  that  each  of 
these  men,  when  it  was  his  lead,  did 
glance  at  his  partner's  hand. 

There  are  scores  of  other  ways  in  which 
similar  information  could  be  given,  but 
all  these  come  under  the  head  of  private 
signals,  or,  in  other  words,  cheating. — 
A.  W.  Dray  son  \_L+A+]t  Whist,  May 
and  June,  1897. 

"Chinese  Whist."—  Another 
offshoot,  or  variety,  of  whist,  some- 
what resembling  double-dummy. 
It  is  played  with  a  full  pack  of 
fifty-two  cards,  by  two,  three,  or 
four  persons.  The  game  usually 
consists  of  ten  points,  honors  not 
counting  except  by  agreement. 
When  four  play,  the  partners  sit 
opposite  each  other,  as  in  whist. 
Six  cards  are  dealt  to  each,  one  at  a 
time,  and  spread  out  face  down 
without  being  examined.  Six  more 
cards  are  then  dealt  to  each  player, 
and  these  are  sorted  into  suits  and 
placed,  face  up,  upon  the  other 
cards.  Lastly,  one  card  is  dealt  to 
each  player,  and  this  he  holds  in 
his  hand.  It  must  not  be  exposed 
or  named.  Then  follows  the  play, 
the  player  to  the  left  of  the  dealer 
leading  one  of  his  exposed  cards. 
The  others  must  follow  suit  if  they 
can,  either  from  their  exposed  card 
or  with  the  card  in  hand.  Having 
none  of  the  suit,  a  player  may 


throw  away  or  trump.  Before  the 
next  lead,  all  the  cards  which  have 
been  uncovered  are  exposed  face 
upwards.  Thus  the  game  proceeds 
to  the  end.  All  tricks  above  six 
count  towards  game,  as  in  whist. 
In  the  three-handed  game  each 
player  plays  for  himself  against  the 
other  two,  as  at  three-handed 
euchre.  The  two-handed  variation 
appears  to  have  become  popular  in 
this  country  of  late  years,  as  the 
following  description  by  a  writer 
in  the  New  York  Tribune  (Sep- 
tember 8,  1895)  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate: 

"  Two-handed  whist  is  being 
played  at  some  clubs  and  private 
parties,  and  a  variation  has  been 
introduced  which  makes  it  resemble 
more  than  ever  the  regular  four- 
handed  game,  and  has  infused  new 
interest  in  it.  As  has  been  before 
explained,  the  game  is  played  by 
dealing  to  each  of  the  two  players 
one-half  of  the  cards,  one  at  a  time, 
as  in  the  regular  game.  The  cards 
are  then  placed  on  the  table  in  piles 
of  two,  so  that  each  player  has 
thirteen  piles.  The  top  card  of 
each  pile  is  turned  up  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  game.  This  leaves 
thirteen  cards  in  each  hand  ex- 
posed. Play  begins  with  the  non- 
dealer,  who  plays  one  of  his 
exposed  cards,  and,  as  soon  as  the 
trick  is  taken,  he  turns  up  the  card 
that  was  beneath  it.  In  this  way 
all  the  cards  are  finally  exposed 
and  played. 

"As  two  cards  make  a  trick,  there 
are  naturally  twenty-six  tricks  in 
all,  thirteen  of  which  it  takes  to 
make  a  book,  after  scoring  which 
every  trick  counts  one  point.  Thus, 
while  it  is  possible  to  make  thir- 
teen points  in  one  deal,  it  is  also 
possible  to  have  no  count  whatever, 
and  in  actual  play  it  frequently 
happens  that  neither  player  makes 
a  point  in  a  particular  deal. 


CLAPP,  MISS  GERTRUDE   94  CLAPP,  MISS  GERTRUDE 


"  The  variation  of  the  game  is  to 
arrange  the  cards  as  before  de- 
scribed, when  the  non-dealer  be- 
gins the  play.  As  soon  as  he  has 
made  the  play,  he  turns  up  and  ex- 
poses the  card  which  was  covered 
by  the  card  played.  The  other 
player  then  plays,  and  likewise  ex- 
poses the  card  uncovered.  The 
first  player  then  plays  another  card 
on  the  same  trick,  again  exposing 
the  face  of  the  card  underneath  the 
one  played,  if  there  be  one,  and  the 
second  player  has  the  last  play. 
This,  of  course,  makes  only  thir- 
teen tricks,  and  the  regular  rules 
of  whist  govern  in  counting  the 
points." 

"  Chinese  whist "  is  double-dummy  for 
two,  three,  or  four  persons,  ouly  half  of 
each  player's  cards  being  exposed,  the 
others  being  turned  up  as  the  exposed 
cards  are  got  rid  of  in  the  course  of  plav. 
— R.  F.  Foster  [5.  0.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

Clapp,  Miss  Gertrude. — One  of 

the  earliest  and  foremost  lady  teach- 
ers of  whist.  Miss  Clapp  began 
teaching  the  game  in  New  York 
City  in  the  spring  of  1887,  and  has 
taught  there  every  winter  and 
spring  since  that  time,  beginning 
with  January  i,  and  ending 
with  June  I.  She  averages  four 
classes  a  day,  making  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  each 
week.  In  addition  to  her  work  in 
New  York,  she  has  also  taught 
largely  in  Philadelphia,  Pittsfield, 
Lenox,  Williamstown, Albany,  Hart- 
ford, Southampton,  Orange,  Wash- 
ington, Pittsburg,  Milwaukee,  and 
Mt.  Desert.  Among  her  pupils  are 
many  who  have  become  distin- 
guished as  players. 

Whist  is  one  of  Miss  Clapp's 
earliest  recollections,  as  both  her 
grandfather  and  grandmother  were 
fond  of  the  game,  and  in  their  day 
and  generation  noted  for  their  skill. 
She  was  not  quite  nine  years  of  age 


when  she  was  admitted  to  the  honor 
of  filling  a  vacancy  at  the  table. 
"The  next  evening  after  my  first 
attempt,"  said  Miss  Clapp,  in  nar- 
rating the  incident,  "I  remember 
tellingmy  grandmother  thatl  would 
like  to  play  again,  as  '  now  I  knew 
whist.'  Her  reply  was  most  char- 
acteristic, to  the  effect  that  a  child 
who  knew  so  much  must  require 
more  sleep,  and  I  was  accordingly 
sent  to  bed  instead.  I  mention  this 
incident  because  it  illustrates  her 
respect  for  the  game;  and  although 
I  smarted  under  a  sense  of  such  in- 
justice at  the  time  as  to  engrave 
her  words  indelibly  upon  my  mem- 
ory, I  have  long  since  looked  at 
myself  from  her  standpoint. 

"  Later,  as  a  young  girl,"  she 
continued,  "I  had  the  advantage 
of  playing  continually  with  good 
players  outside  of  my  own  family. 
One  in  particular  stands  out  in  bas- 
relief— a.  man  of  such  genius  at  the 
game  that  very  few  cared  to  play 
with  him  in  the  small  whist  circle 
of  a  country  town,  fearing  the 
wounds  to  their  amour  propre,  for 
his  cutting  frankness  and  mocking 
criticism  spared  neither  friend  nor 
foe.  I  have  often  said  I  was  con- 
trolled by  two  fears  on  those  occa- 
sions when  I  had  the  proud  honor 
of  being  his  partner:  the  first  was 
that  he  should  see  the  tears  which 
were  more  than  often  in  my  eyes; 
and  the  other,  the  dread  that  he 
would  never  play  with  me  again. 

"  When,  later,  circumstances  in- 
duced me  to  teach  whist,  I  found 
how  much  good  such  a  school- 
master had  done  for  me;  and  in  ex- 
plaining the  many  points  I  had 
practiced  for  yeais,  simply  because 
he  commanded  me  to  (without 
going  into  the  reason  of  things),  I 
have  found  how  philosophical  and 
logical  his  conclusions  were. 

"  The  gift  of  imparting,  it  seems 
to  me,  is  a  game  in  itself— entirely 


CLAY,  CHARLES  M. 


95 


CLAY,  CHARLES  M. 


independent  of  the  game  one  is  at- 
tempting to  teach;  and  it  is  just 
here,  in  this  thought,  that  the 
secret  of  success  in  teaching  seems 
to  me  to  lie.  It  is  an  excitement 
to  find  the  different  avenues  to  dif- 
ferent minds — a  problem  which 
never  tires,  because  it  is  so  difficult 
to  solve." 

Clay, Charles  M. — A  well-known 
whist  analyst  and  composer  of  what 
are  aptly  called  whist  perception 
problems.  He  was  the  first  to  origi- 
nate these  fascinating  exercises  in 
whist,  and  has  occupied  the  field 
almost  entirely  alone  up  to  the 
present  date. 

Mr.  Clay  was  born  in  Gardiner, 
Maine,  October  7,  1847;  the  son  of 
Lorenzo  Clay,  a  leading  lawyer  of 
the  Kennebec  bar,  and  Abby  Bourne 
Clay,  a  member  of  the  old  Massa- 
chusetts family  after  whom  the 
town  of  Bourne  was  named.  Both 
of  Mr.  Clay's  parents  were  fond  of 
whist,  and  his  mother  had  a  re- 
markable faculty  of  guessing  where 
the  cards  lay — a  faculty  which,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  descended  to  her 
son. 

At  twelve  years  of  age  he  began 
to  take  an  active  interest  in  the 
game,  forming  with  other  boys  a 
juvenile  club  which  was  conducted 
with  all  the  gravity  of  their  elders. 
At  sixteen  years  of  age  he  tried  to 
develop  a  bent  for  business  in  a 
store  in  Illinois,  but  he  soon  found 
that  he  preferred  an  intellectual 
life,  even  at  the  price  of  being 
obliged  to  educate  himself.  In  this 
endeavor  he  succeeded,  and  in  1869 
he  was  graduated  from  Dartmouth 
College.  During  his  college  course, 
and  for  a  year  after  graduation,  he 
taught  school.  In  1871  he  became 
civil  engineer  on  the  European  and 
North  American  Railway,  and  a 
half  year  later  assistant  chief  en- 
gineer of  the  Boston,  Hartford,  and 


Erie  Railway,  in  Boston.  Here  he 
was  burned  out  in  the  great  fire  of 
1872,  and  this,  in  addition  to  the 
general  railroad  depression  in  1873, 
caused  him  to  leave  the  profession 
and  return  to  teaching.  In  1883 
he  became  head  master  of  the  Rox- 
bury  High  School,  a  position  which 
he  still  holds. 

All  this  time  Mr.  Clay  continued 
to  play  his  favorite  game  during  his 
leisure  hours.  In  1880  he  was  in- 
vited by  Fisher  Ames  to  join  the 
Boston  Whist  Club,  but  would  not 
(much  as  he  appreciated  the  honor) 
because  they  did  not  play  the 
American  game  of  seven  points 
without  honors.  In  1886,  in  con- 
junction with  G.  W.  Pettes  and 
other  believers  in  the  American 
game,  he  helped  to  form  the  Des- 
chapellesClub,  in  Boston, "which," 
he  says,  ' '  we  fondly  hoped  was  to 
begin  a  new  era  in  whist.  The 
club  had  a  mission  to  fill,  undoubt- 
edly, and  filled  it;  but  it  was  not 
established  upon  a  right  basis,  and 
so  died  an  inevitable  death."  He 
felt  honored  to  be  asked  to  under- 
take its  reorganization  and  accept 
its  presidency;  but  it  did  not  seem 
to  him  to  be  founded  upon  correct 
principles,  and  consequently  he  de- 
clined. He  subsequently  organized 
the  American  Whist  Club,  of  Bos- 
ton, of  which  Fisher  Ames  became 
the  president  upon  Mr.  Clay's  invi- 
tation. "At  last,"  to  quote  his 
own  words,  "  we  have  in  Boston  a 
whist  club  founded,  it  seems  to  me, 
upon  a  right  basis,  playing  the 
American  game,  and  with  every 
element  of  permanency." 

In  October,  1893,  he  sent  to  Whist 
a  hand  taken  from  actual  play,  in 
which  he  had  been  able  to  place 
nearly  all  the  cards  after  five  tricks.' 
Studying  such  hands  seemed  to 
him  to  be  of  much  more  value  to 
the  average  player  than  dummy 
problems,  and  he  had  used  his 


CLAY,  JAMES 


96 


CLAY,  JAMES 


method  for  several  years  to  teach 
friends  who  had  applied  to  him  for 
assistance  in  learning  the  game. 
The  warm  reception  accorded  his 
"perception  problem"  upon  its 
appearance  in  the  November  num- 
ber of  Whist  encouraged  him  to 
continue  similar  contributions,  and 
he  adopted  the  principle  of  illus- 
trating, in  turn,  all  the  different 
phases  of  actual  play. 

Whist  of  July,  1897,  calls  atten- 
tion, as  follows,  to  another  whist 
invention  of  Mr.  Clay's:  "  The  new 
Clay  movement,  for  use  in  compass 
games  and  for  multiple  fours,  is  a 
vast  improvement  over  former 
methods  whenever  an  even  number 
of  trays  can  be  used  at  each  table. 
This  system,  and  the  schedule  for 
eights,  are  by  far  the  most  valuable 
recent  contributions  to  the  practice 
of  duplicate  whist,  and  New  Eng- 
land will  be  thankful  for  the 
credit. " 

Clay,  James. — The  leading  whist 
authority  of  his  day,  and  one  of  the 
finest  players  of  the  game  produced 
by  England,  the  home  of  whist. 
Mr.  Clay  was  born  in  London,  De- 
cember 20,  1805.  His  father,  a 
merchant,  was  the  brother  of  Sir 
William  Clay,  M.  P.  James  Clay 
was  educated  at  Winchester,  and  at 
Baliol  College,  Oxford.  In  1830, 
in  company  with  Disraeli,  who 
maintained  a  close  and  life-long 
friendship  with  him,  he  traveled  in 
the  East.  In  1847  he  was  elected 
to  Parliament,  as  a  Liberal,  for 
Hull,  and  he  continued  to  represent 
that  borough  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  in  1873,  at  Regency 
Square,  Brighton.  Mr.  Clay  was 
married  to  the  daughter  of  General 
Woolrych,  one  of  Wellington's  offi- 
cers, and  had  a  family,  the  best- 
known  of  whom  are:  Ernest  Clay 
(now  Clay  Ker  Seymer),  a  distin- 
guished diplomat;  Frederic  Clay, 


the  musician  (who  was  also  a  gov- 
ernment official  of  position,  private 
secretary  to  Mr.  Gladstone  and 
many  of  the  cabinet  ministers  of 
his  time),  and  Cecil  Clay,  well- 
known  in  literary  and  artistic 
circles.  To  the  latter  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  rare  photograph 
from  which  the  engraving  of  his 
father  was  made  for  this  work. 

James  Clay's  fame  rests  chiefly 
upon  his  admirable  "Treatise  on 
the  Game  of  Whist,"  which  was 
affixed  to  John  Loraine  Baldwin's 
"  Laws  of  Short  Whist,"  London, 
1864.  It  has  gone  through  many 
editions,  being  a  logical,  succinct, 
and  pleasantly  written  book,  which 
has  won  favor  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  laws  of  whist  accom- 
panying it  were  drawn  up  by  a 
committee,  of  which  he  was  chair- 
man (see,  "Laws  of  Whist,  Eng- 
lish Code  "),  and  were  adopted  not 
only  in  England  and  the  European 
capitals,  but  in  America,  and  held 
sway  here  until  the  adoption  of  the 
American  code.  In  1881  an  edition 
of  Mr.  Clay's  book  was  published 
containing  a  short  preface  contrib- 
uted by  his  sons,  in  which  they 
stated  that  their  father,  before  his 
death,  had  given  his  adhesion  to 
the  lead  of  the  penultimate  from 
suits  of  five  cards  or  more,  and  to 
the  discard  from  the  strongest  suit, 
instead  of  the  weakest,  when 
strength  of  trumps  is  shown  by  the 
adversaries. 

During  his  long  career  in  Parlia- 
ment Mr.  Clay  was  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  many  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  day.  Despite  their 
difference  in  politics,  as  already 
stated,  he  was  the  life-long  friend 
of  Lord  Beaconsfield,  and  many 
friendly  references  to  him  are 
found  in  the  published  correspond- 
ence of  the  great  prime  minister. 
In  a  letter  dated  September  27, 1830, 
he  speaks  of  Clay's  "  life  of  splendid 


CLAY,  JAMES 


97 


CLAY,  JAMES 


adventure,"  and,  after  chronicling 
his  various  triumphs,  concludes 
with  the  following  characteristic 
reflection:  "To  govern  men,  you 
must  either  excel  them  in  their  ac- 
complishments or  despise  them. 
Clay  does  one,  I  do  the  other,  and 
we  are  both  equally  popular." 

Mr.  Clay  was  a  most  admirable 
type  of  the  old-fashioned  player — 
suave,  courteous,  and  imperturbable, 
although  he  could  occasionally  say 
a  severe  thing  when  addressed  by 
men  whom  he  disliked.  Under  the 
name  of  Castlemaine  he  is  described 
by  George  Alfred  Lawrence  in  his 
novel,  "Sans  Merci  "  (chapter 32), 
and  a  remark  is  put  into  his  mouth 
which  we  are  assured  on  good  au- 
thority was,  in  fact, actually  made  by 
him,  and  is  about  as  severe  a  rebuke 
as  he  was  ever  known  to  administer 
to  a  bad  partner.  Castlemaine  is 
playing  with  Vincent  Flemyng,  and 
the  latter,  having  backed  himself 
heavily  because  he  had  a  tower  of 
strength  to  assist  him,  loses  the  rub- 
ber by  failing  to  lead  trumps  from 
five  to  an  honor.  The  story  goes 
on  to  say:  "Vincent  held  the 
knave  and  four  more  trumps.  If 
he  had  only  gone  off  with  that  suit, 
the  game  was  over.  True,  he  had 
not  a  very  powerful  hand,  so  he  led 
off  with  his  own  strongest  suit, 
which  was  trumped  by  Hardress 
the  second  round,  and  the  critical 
fifth  trick  was  just  barely  saved. 
Flemyng  said,  '  I  ought  to  have 
led  trumps;  there's  no  doubt  of  it.' 
He  looked  at  his  partner  (Castle- 
maine} as  he  spoke,  but  the  latter 
answered  never  a  word  till  Vincent 
repeated  the  question  pointedly.  It 
has  been  before  stated  that  Castle- 
maine's  manner  to  men  whom  he 
favored  not  was  somewhat  solemn 
and  formal.  'It  has  been  com- 
puted,' he  said  very  slowly,  'that 
eleven  thousand  young  English- 
men, once  heirs  to  fair  fortunes,  are 


wandering  about  the  Continent  in 
a  state  of  utter  destitution,  because 
they  would  not  lead  trumps  with 
five,  an  honor  in  their  hands.' 
The  ultra-judicial  tone  of  the  reply 
would  have  been  irresistibly  comic 
at  any  other  time." 

The  following  parallel  stories  to 
the  above  are  told  by  "  Cavendish:" 
The  great  authority  was  looking  on 
at  whist  when  the  second  player, 
whom  he  favored  not,  holding  ace, 
king,  knave,  instead  of  playing 
king  as  he  should  have  done, 
finessed  the  knave.  The  queen 
made,  third  hand;  ace  and  king 
were  afterwards  trumped.  The 
player  then  turned  to  Clay  and 
asked  whether  the  finesse  of  the 
knave  was  justifiable.  To  him  the 
following  crushing  rejoinder, 
spoken  very  deliberately  at  the 
wall  opposite,  instead  of  to  the 
querist:  "At  the  game  of  whist,  as 
played  in  England  [pause],  you 
are  not  called  upon  to  win  a  trick 
[another  pause] ,  UH less  you  please . ' ' 

A  player  having  asked  for 
trumps,  though  he  did  not  hold  a 
trump  (a  most  outrageous  whist 
atrocity),  his  partner  said,  after  the 
hand,  "I  presume  you  did  not  in- 
tend to  ask,  but  pulled  out  a  wrong 
card."  "No,"  was  the  reply,  "I 
had  a  very  good  hand,  and  wanted 
trumps  out."  Then,  turning  to 
Clay,  he  inquired,  if,  with  a  very 
good  hand,  his  play  was  defensible. 
Clay  threw  himself  back  in  his 
chair  and  stared  at  the  cornice  in 
the  next  room.  He  had  a  long 
cigar  cocked  out  of  one  corner  of 
his  mouth,  and  as  he  spoke,  in  his 
"ultra-judicial  tone,"  his  voice 
seemed  to  proceed,  in  a  most  comi- 
cal and  indescribable  manner,  from 
behind  the  cigar.  He  said:  "I 
have  heard  of  its  being  done  once 
before  [pause],  by  a  dear  old  friend 
of  mine  [pause]."  "And,"  inno- 
cently pursued  the  victim,  "was 


CLAY,  JAMES 


98 


CLERICAL  ERRORS 


your  friend  a  good  judge  of  whist  ?" 
"I  am  bound  to  add,"  resumed 
Clay,  as  though  he  had  wished  to 
conceal  the  fact,  but  that  the  recital 
of  it  was  wrung  from  him  by  this 
question,  "  I  am  bound  to  add,  that 
he  died  shortly  afterwards  [pause, 
and  then  very  distinctly]  in  a  luna- 
tic asylum!" 

In  answer  to  a  question  as  to 
what  Mr.  Clay's  attitude  toward 
the  modern  developments  of  whist 
would  be,  were  he  alive  to-day,  his 
son,  Cecil,  writes  as  follows:  "I 
should  be  loath  to  speculate  on  that 
point,  and,  indeed,  could  not  do  so 
with  any  confidence.  There  is  no 
ground  to  go  on,  unless  it  may  be 
considered  that  a  small  inference 
may  be  drawn  from  the  fact  of  his 
giving  his  adherence  to  the  then 
new  system  of  leading  a  penulti- 
mate card  in  the  case  of  an  inter- 
mediate sequence:  a  fact  which  we 
mentioned  in  a  subsequent  edition 
of  his  book.  As  that  may  be  con- 
sidered, I  imagine,  the  initial  stage 
of  the  system  which  has  culminated 
in  American  leads,  and  also  as  my 
father  was  first  the  mentor  and  sub- 
sequently the  fellow-counsellor  of 
my  friend  '  Cavendish, '  it  would 
seem  that  the  adherents  of  modern 
whist  developments  might  with 
some  justice  entitle  themselves  to 
consider  that  he  would  have  par- 
ticipated, to  some  extent  at  least,  in 
their  views.  I  could  not,  however, 
commit  myself  to  any  opinion  on 
that  point." 

I  am  often  asked  my  opinion  of  Clay's 
play.  In  the  first  place,  what  particu- 
larly struck  me  was  the  extreme  bril- 
liance of  his  game.  *  *  *  In  the  sec- 
ond place,  though  no  one  knew  better 
than  Clay  when  to  depart  from  rule,  no 
one  was  more  regular  in  his  observance 
of  rules.  He  combined  the  carefulness 
of  the  old  school  with  the  dash  and  bril- 
liancy of  the  new. — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.], 
"Card-Table  Talk." 

As  to  Clay's  manner  of  playing,  I  have 
heard  him  called  a  slow  player.  That, 


however,  is  hardly  correct.  He  should 
rather  have  been  called  a  deliberate 
player.  His  system  was  to  play  every 
card  at  the  same  pace.  Hesitation  is 
often  to  the  player's  disadvantage;  and 
Clay's  object,  in  playing  deliberately,  was 
that  his  pause,  when  doubtful  as  to  the 
correct  play,  should  not  be  taken  for  hes- 
itation, but  should  be  attributed  to  his 
natural  habit  of  machine-like  play. — 
"Cavendish  "  [L.  A.],  "Card-Table  Talk." 

It  is,  of  course,  a  pure  matter  of  specu- 
lation as  to  how  far  Mr.  Clay  would  have 
given  his  adherence  to  the  recent  inno- 
vations in  the  game.  It  is  a  fact,  how- 
ever, that  he  admitted  his  adhesion  to  the 
lead  from  the  "  intermediate  sequence," 
and  even  looked  with  favor  on  the  lead 
from  the  penultimate  card,  and  as  these 
leads  were  the  first  step  in  the  direction 
of  the  present  system  of  leading,  it  is 
quite  possible  that  were  he  here  now,  we 
should  find  him  leading  the  "card  of  uni- 
formity" with  the  same  conscientious- 
ness as  the  most  faithful  adherent  of  Mr. 
Trist.— C.  S.  Boulcher  [L.  A.],  "  Whist 
Sketches,"  1892. 

In  1864  appeared  "Short  Whist,"  by 
James  Clay,  the  acknowledged  authority 
on  the  game  in  his  day.  This  is  an  ad- 
mirable work,  and  is  full  of  suggestion 
for  those  who  read  between  the  lines. 
Unfortunately,  however,  it  is  not  up  to 
date.  It  is  well  known  that  Clay  intended, 
in  a  second  edition,  to  recast  a  portion  of 
his  treatise.  Illness,  terminating  fatally, 
prevented  the  execution  of  this  scheme; 
and  the  author's  sons,  with  whom  the 
copyright  rested,  decided,  with  filial  de- 
votion, not  to  make  any  alteration  in 
their  father's  work,  notwithstanding  that 
they  were  aware  of  the  intention  above 
expressed. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  in  "The 
Whist-Table." 

Clear  a  Suit,  To. — To  clear  a 
suit  is  to  force  out  the  commanding 
cards  contained  therein,  especially 
when  they  are  held  by  the  adversa- 
ries. A  player  also  clears  a  suit 
when  he  unblocks,  so  as  to  give  his 
partner  full  swing  in  it.  (See, 
"Unblocking.") 

Clerical  Errors. — Errors  in  whist 
due  to  carelessness  or  defective 
memory;  mistakes  which  are  not 
due  to  inherent  bad  play,  and 
which  the  player  himself  would 
immediately  correct  had  he  the 
opportunity  to  do  so. 


CLUBS 


99 


COMBINATION  GAME ' 


By  clerical  errors  I  mean  such  palpable 
mistakes  as  leading  out  of  turn,  mistaking 
the  trump  suit,  playing  a  club  to  a  spade 
suit  when  you  hold  a  spade,  or  a  diamond 
to  a  heart  suit  when  you  hold  a  heart. — 
A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "TAe  Art  of 
Practical  Whist." 

Clubs. — One  of  the  four  suits 
into  which  a  pack  of  cards  is  divi- 
ded; one  of  the  two  black  suits. 
On  German  cards  clubs  are  repre- 
sented as  acorns,  and  in  French 
they  are  called  trefles  (trefoils). 
Cards  used  in  English-speaking 
countries  are  directly  derived  from 
the  French,  but  the  name  clubs, 
applied  to  the  trefoils  of  this  suit, 
is  taken  from  the  Italian  bastoni 
(batons  or  clubs),  which  was  de- 
rived from  the  Spanish  (bastos, 
batons),  the  first  modern  cards  hav- 
ing been  printed  in  Spain. 

Clubs.— See,  "Whist  Clubs." 

Coat  Cards.  —  See,  "  Court 
Cards." 

Code.— See,  "Laws  of  Whist." 

Coffin, Charles  Emmet. — Amer- 
ican whist  author,  was  born  in 
Salem,  Ind.,  July  13,  1849.  He  is 
a  descendant  of  Tristram  Coffin,  of 
Nantucket;  was  educated  at  Bloom- 
ington  College,  studied  law,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1871. 
Now  carries  on  a  successful  real 
estate  and  banking  business  in  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.  A  clear,  concise, 
and  able  exponent  of  the  ' '  Caven- 
dish "  school  of  modern  scientific 
whist. 

Mr.  Coffin,  like  thousands  of 
others,  had  played  at  whist  in  the 
ordinary  way  for  many  years.  In 
1890  he  organized  a  small  club  of 
neighbors  for  the  systematic  study 
of  the  game,  using  the  works  of 
"  Cavendish,"  Drayson,  Pole,  Proc- 
tor, and  Ames  as  text-books.  He 
soon  became  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  only  a  small  proportion 


of  the  persons  who  claimed  to  be 
good  players  possessed  any  knowl- 
edge of  the  modern  scientific  game, 
the  principal  reason  being  that  they 
had  been  lost  in  their  efforts  at 
studying  whist  in  a  labyrinth  of 
laws,  leads,  rules,  etc.  In  analyzing 
the  leads  and  reducing  the  rules  to 
a  concise  and  comprehensive  form 
for  his  club,  Mr.  Coffin  conceived 
the  idea  that  his  condensation 
might  prove  valuable  to  other  stu- 
dents of  the  game,  and  so  pub- 
lished the  work  in  1894,  under  the 
happy  title  of  "The  Gist  of  Whist." 
It  became  popular  at  once,  and  in 
four  years  reached  its  fifteenth 
thousand.  In  1893  Mr.  Coffin  joined 
the  Indianapolis  Whist  Club, which, 
was  one  of  the  charter  clubs  of  the 
American  Whist  League.  In  1894, 
at  the  fourth  congress  of  the 
League,  in  Philadelphia,  he  was 
elected  a  director  of  the  League. 

"Combination  Game,  The." — 

The  ideas  which  as  successful  a 
teacher  as  Elwood  T.  Baker  em- 
bodies in  his  whist  instruction,  must 
have  merit  enough  to  command 
attention  and  respectful  considera- 
tion. What  he  calls  the  common 
sense  or  "  combination  game  "  is, 
what  its  name  implies,  a  combina- 
tion of  both  the  long  and  short- 
suit  principles  guided  by  the  teach- 
ings of  experience  and  sound,  prac- 
tical judgment.  At  our  request, 
Mr.  Baker  has  given  the  following 
details  concerning  his  method: 

' '  The  more  I  investigate  and  play, 
the  more  deeply  am  I  convinced 
that  the  best  game  of  whist  is  that 
which  is  as  free  as  possible  from 
all  arbitrary  conventions  and  sig- 
nals, and  one  in  which  no  absolute 
or  arbitrary  meaning  should  attach 
to  any  particular  card  or  style  of 
play  other  than  what  is  naturally 
indicated  by  the  card  itself.  I 
believe  that  to  use  the  queen,  ten, 


"  COMBINATION  GAME  "      IOO      "  COMBINATION  GAME ' 


or  nine,  as  played  by  Philadelphia 
players,  to  mean  a  call  through  an 
honor;  or,  that  the  play  of  an 
intermediate  card  as  a  bid  for  a  ruff , 
as  advocated  by  Howell;  a  two, 
three,  four,  and  five,  as  a  positive 
call  for  trumps  (or  the  lowest  of  a 
long  suit),  as  in  the  'invitation 
game,'  embarrasses  and  cripples 
the  freedom  and  scope  of  the  player, 
and  is  a  positive  detriment,  for  the 
reason  that  one  does  not  always 
find  the  conditions  to  suit  the  play. 
In  my  own  practice  for  a  long  time 
I  have  entirely  abandoned  the  call 
for  trumps,  number-showing  leads, 
and  all  other  conventions  included 
in  the  system  of  American  leads, 
and  have  found  it  much  more  en- 
joyable, and,  if  anything,  a  better 
intellectual  exercise,  and  at  the 
same  time,  have  not  found  it  any 
less  successful.  American  leads 
are  intended  to  make  the  game 
easy,  so  that  the  merest  tyro  can 
soon  learn  to  count  the  cards  and 
combinations  from  which  they  are 
led,  but  the  game  of  the  future,  in 
my  opinion,  will  require  the  player 
to  use  his  perceptions  more  in  de- 
termining proper  play  by  inference 
and  deduction  from  the  fall  of  the 
cards;  and,  therefore,  it  will  be 
more  difficult  and  require  greater 
experience  and  skill. 

"  In  order  to  play  the  '  combina- 
tion,' or  any  game,  for  that  matter, 
the  player  must  have  a  wide  knowl- 
edge of  the  possibilities  of  the 
cards  and  the  best  method  of  treat- 
ing different  hands.  Among  the 
things  that  I  insist  on  in  playing 
this  game,  are  :  (i)  That  the  lead  of 
a  card  indicating  a  short  suit  must 
be  from  a  short  suit,  except  in  rare 
cases.  In  other  words,  I  think  the 
'  top  of  nothing, '  or  the  top  of  a 
long  weak  suit,  is  a  losing  game. 
(2)  Holding  the  command  of  a  suit 
which  your  partner  opens  as  short, 
and  you  are  also  short,  you  must 


not  part  with  the  command  on  the 
first  trick.  For  instance,  if  partner 
leads  a  nine,  second  hand  covers 
with  jack,  and  you  hold  ace  and 
two  small,  you  must  on  no  account 
cover  and  give  up  command  of 
adversaries' suit.  (3)  Holding  two 
short  suits,  one  a  three-card  and 
the  other  two,  lead  from  the  longer 
if  you  are  strong  in  trumps,  the 
weaker  if  you  are  willing  to  be 
forced.  The  reason  for  this  is,  that 
when  you  lead  a  short  suit  it  is 
generally  to  assist  your  partner  in 
his  long  suit,  and  if  you  have  trump 
strength  you  can  better  do  this 
with  the  longer  than  with  the 
two-card  suit,  if  it  proves  to  be 
your  partner's.  There  are  other 
peculiarities  or  styles  of  play, 
which  cannot  be  called  conven- 
tions, but  grow  out  of  a  close 
study  of  the  cards  from  actual 
play,  and  are  suggested  by  com- 
mon sense." 

Mr.  Baker  adds  that,  although  he 
believes  in  playing  the  long-suit 
game,  he  does  not  believe  in  open- 
ing with  a  low  card  from  an  unes- 
tablished  long  suit,  unless  he  has 
sufficient  trump  strength  or  re- 
entry cards,  or  both,  to  warrant  it. 
"  In  actual  practice,"  he  continues, 
"  following  the  foregoing  line  of 
play,  it  will  be  found  that  in  not 
more  than  one  out  of  every  eight 
hands  will  one  be  justified  in  open- 
ing with  a  low  card  of  his  long  suit, 
so  that  the  '  combination  game  '  is 
very  nearly  like  what  is  generally 
known  as  the  short-suit  game.  I 
am  convinced  that  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  hands  a  short-suit  opening 
is  the  safer  and  sounder  play,  and 
that  it  results  more  frequently  in 
getting  your  long  suit  established 
than  if  you  were  to  lead  it  yourself 
in  the  first  place.  When  to  lead 
short  suits,  and  what  kind  of  open- 
ings to  make  from  the  multitude  of 
combinations,  requires  much  judg- 


COMBINATION  PRINCIPLE    IOI 


COMMENTS 


meat  and  experience,  and  adds 
much  to  the  zest  of  the  game." 

Combination  Principle,  The. — 

The  whole  practice  of  the  modern 
scientific  game  of  whist  may  be 
said  to  rest  upon  the  fundamental 
principle  of  combination  of  the 
hands  of  partners.  The  exposition 
and  philosophic  application  of  this 
principle  is  due  to  the  labors  of  Dr. 
Pole,  who  also  showed  that  the 
most  efficient  way  in  which  to  apply 
it  in  actual  play  is  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  long  suit. 

The  advantage  of  combination  in  whist 
is  now  impressed  upon  every  student  of 
its  niceties.  The  practice  of  playing  for 
your  own  hand  alone  was  condemned  by 
Clay,  "as  the  worst  fault  which  I  know  in 
a  bad  player."— Jf.  P.  Courtney  [Z.+0.], 
"English.  Whist." 

"  Why  should  men  play  whist  so  that 
you  can  know  by  the  cards  they  play 
what  they  hold  in  their  hands  ?"  On  this 
depends  the  beauty  and  the  principle  of 
the  game.  In  whist,  it  is  a  combination 
of  your  own  and  your  partner's  hand 
against  those  of  your  two  adversaries. — 
A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of 
Practical  Whist." 

It  is  said  that  you  might  often  play  your 
own  hand  to  more  advantage  by  treating 
it  in  your  own  way,  and  that  the  com- 
bined principle  may  lead  you  to  sacrifice 
it.  But  this  objection  is  merely  founded 
on  a  misapprehension  as  to  how  the  prin- 
ciple is  applied;  for  a  study  of  the  result- 
ing system  will  show  that  it  is  calculated 
fully  to  realize  any  advantages  your  own 
hand  may  possess,  while  the  cases  in 
which  sacrifice  is  required  are  only  those 
in  which  the  joint  interest  is  indubitably 
promoted  thereby.  Then,  secondly,  it  is 
objected  that  all  indications  given  to  your 
partner  may  also  be  seen  by  the  oppo- 
nents and  turned  against  you;  and  it  is 
sometimes  argued  that  by  enlightening 
in  this  •way  two  enemies  and  only  one 
friend  you  establish  a  balance  to  your 
disadvantage.  But  this  involves  a  confu- 
sion in  reasoning;  for,  if  the  oppo- 
nents are  equally  good  players,  they  will 
adopt  the  same  system,  and  the  positions 
must  be  equal;  and  if  they  are  not  good 
players  they  will  be  incapable  of  profiting 
by  the  indications  you  give,  and  the  whole 
advantage  will  rest  with  you.  Besides, 
many  players  do  not  pay  so  much  heed  to 
their  opponents'  as  to  their  partner's  in- 
dications, the  attention  being  always 


most  prominently  directed  to  the  part- 
ner's play.—  William  fbte[L.A+],  r'Tke 
Theory  of  Whist." 

Come  to  Hand. — An  expression 
used  by  some  English  whist- 
players,  meaning  to  obtain  the 
lead. 

Command. — The  best  card  or 
cards  of  a  suit,  the  holding  of  which 
gives  the  player  control;  the  win- 
ning cards  over  all  those  which  are 
in  play.  A  player  has  command 
of  a  suit  from  the  moment  when  he 
is  able  to  take  every  trick  in  it,  no 
matter  by  whom  led.  This  is  com- 
plete command.  He  may  also  hold 
strength  enough  in  the  suit  to  give 
him  temporary  or  partial  command. 
It  is  highly  important  to  obtain 
and  retain  the  command  of  an  ad- 
versary's suit,  but  more  important 
still  to  get  rid  of  the  command  of 
your  partner's  suit,  in  order  not  to 
block  him  in  endeavors  to  bring  it 
in.  (See,  "Unblocking.") 

Keep  the  commanding  card,  or  the 
second  best  guarded  of  your  adversaries* 
suit,  as  long  as  it  is  safe  to  do  so;  but  be 
careful  of  keeping  the  commanding  card 
single  of  your  partner's,  lest  you  should 
be  obliged  to  stop  his  suit.— -James  Clay 
[L.  0+]. 

Keep  the  command  of  your  adversary's 
suit,  and  get  rid  of  the  command  of  your 
partner's  suit.  In  the  first  case,  you  ob- 
struct the  adversaries'  suits,  and  prevent 
their  establishing  them;  in  the  second 
case,  you  assist  in  clearing  the  suit  for 
your  partner. — "Cavendish."  [L.  A.]. 

Commanding  Cards.— The  best 
cards  unplayed  in  any  suit;  the 
cards  which  give  the  command  to 
a  player. 

Comments. — As  silence  is  one 
of  the  essentials  of  good  whist,  all 
comments  should  be  barred  during 
the  play  of  the  hand.  (See,  ' '  Con- 
versation. ' ' ) 

It  is  positively  unfair  to  make  any  com- 
ments upon  your  hand  before  the  play, 


COMMON  SENSE  OF  WHIST  IO2    "  COMPLEAT  GAMESTER  " 


and  it  is  in  wretched  taste  to  complain 
about  your  weak  bands  at  any  time. — C. 
D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.]. 

After  a  hand  is  played,  comments,  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  erroneous — for  the 
same  result  would  have  eventuated  from 
different  play — are  made,  which  provoke 
reply.—  W.  M.  Deane  [L.  A+}. 

Common  Sense  of  Whist. — The 

quality  in  a  good  player  which  en- 
ables him  to  solve  difficulties  and 
surmount  critical  situations  where 
no  rules  apply,  or  where  he  must 
violate  the  rules  in  order  to  win. 
At  one  time  the  maxim,  "  When  in 
doubt,  win  the  trick,"  was  much 
applied.  A  better  maxim  is, 
"  When  in  doubt,  use  your  common 
sense." 

Success  at  whist  depends  upon  the  fac- 
ulty of  combination  and  the  rapidity  and 
accuracy  with  which  correct  inferences 
can  be  drawn  from  the  fall  of  the  cards, 
and  if  information  is  to  be  withheld  be- 
cause the  adversaries  may  make  use  of  it 
for  the  purpose  of  their  strategy,  the 
whole  science  of  the  game  is  gone.  But 
there  may  be,  and  frequently  is,  an  abuse 
of  uniformity;  where,  in  order  that  his 
hand  may  be  counted  or  his  cards  known, 
a  player  will,  under  all  conditions  and 
without  reference  to  the  score,  play  ac- 
cording to  conventional  rule.  Good  play- 
ers will,  however,  frequently  deviate  from 
recognized  play,  and  indulge  in  what  I 
hope  I  may  be  permitted  to  call  the  com- 
mon sense  of  whist. — F.  H.  Lewis  \L.  O.}, 
foot-note  in  doctor's  "How  to  Play  Whist.' 

44  Common  Sense  School."  — 

A  name  applied  to  a  school  of 
players  who  follow  the  teachings 
of  R.  F.  Foster,  eschewing  Ameri- 
can leads,  signals,  and  conventions 
of  all  kinds,  and  confining  them- 
selves to  this  simple  mode  of  play: 
To  lead  from  short  suits  when  they 
have  no  long  suit  which  they  can 
reasonably  hope  to  bring  in.  (See, 
"Short-Suit  Leads,  Foster's.") 

Compass  Whist. — A  variety  of 
progressive  duplicate  whist  (q.  v.), 
in  which  the  players  are  arranged 
according  to  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass (north  and  south  playing 


against  east  and  west),  and  retain 
their  relative  positions  throughout 
the  play.  Sometimes  the  players 
move  in  one  direction  while  the 
trays  containing  the  hands  for  the 
overplay  are  moved  in  another. 
Sometimes  the  trays  only  are  moved, 
and  the  players  sit  still.  It  is  the 
earliest  form  of  the  progressive 
game,  and  is  well  adapted  to  large 
numbers  of  players,  especially  in 
informal  gatherings,  where  no 
special  number  of  tables  has  been 
agreed  upon.  The  players  having 
the  greatest  number  of  tricks 
above  the  average  are  declared  the 
winners. 

In  the  East,  however,  for  some  reason, 
the  title  "progressive  whist  "  has  never 
been  popular,  while  the  system  itself  has 
flourished  under  the  title  of  "compass 
whist,"  so  called  because  the  four  players 
at  each  table  occupy  the  four  points  of  the 
compass.  —  M ilton  C.  Work  [L.  A.H.I 
"Whist  of  To-day." 

Before  the  invention  of  apparatus  for 
carrying_  the  cards  from  one  room  to  the 
other  without  mishap  or  confusion,  the 
players  were  in  the  habit  of  slightly  shuf- 
fling their  thirteen  cards,  and  then  leav- 
ing them  face  down  on  the  table,  with  the 
trump  turned,  the  four  in  one  room  then 
exchanging  seats  with  the  four  in  the 
other  room,  each  retaining  the  point  of 
the  compass  he  originally  occupied. — Jf, 
F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

"Compleat  Gamester,  The." 

— A  book  of  instruction  on  billiards, 
chess,  etc.,  published  in  London, 
by  Charles  Cotton,  in  1674.  It  con- 
tained a  description  of  "  Ruff  and 
Honours,"  the  game  from  which 
whist  was  directly  developed. 
Whist  is  incidentally  mentioned  in 
the  introduction.  In  a  subsequent 
edition  (1680)  occurs  the  first  print- 
ed attempt  at  a  description  of  the 
E resent  game,  which  was  said  to 
ave  been  named  "whist,  from  the 
silence  that  is  to  be  observed  in  the 
play."  It  is  stated  to  be  a  game 
not  differing  much  from  "  Ruff  and 
Honours,"  of  which  the  details  are 
given.  Cotton  also  sets  out  at 


CONGRESS,  WHIST 


103     CONVENTIONAL  SIGNALS 


length  the  tricks  of  the  profes- 
sional sharper,  saying:  "  He  that 
can  by  craft  overlook  his  adversa- 
ries' game  hath  a  great  advantage. " 
He  points  out  that  by  winking,  or 
by  moving  the  fingers,  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  honors  in  his  posses- 
sion can  be  communicated  by  a 
player  to  his  partner.  He  declaims 
against  "  reneging,  or  renouncing — 
that  is,  not  following  suit  when  you 
have  it  in  your  hand.  It  is  very 
fowl  play,"  he  says,  "and  he  that 
doth  it  ought  to  forfeit  one."  A 
subsequent  edition  of  the  work  was 
brought  out  by  Seymour.  (See, 
"Whist,  History  of.") 

Congress,  Whist. — See,  "Amer- 
ican Whist  League." 

Consultation. — In  the  English 
game,  except  in  the  case  of  a  re- 
voke, partners  are  not  allowed  to 
consult  as  to  which  of  any  given 
penalties  to  exact.  They  may, 
however,  agree  as  to  which  partner 
is  to  exact  the  penalty.  In  the 
American  duplicate  game  {Law  /.), 
"  a  player  has  the  right  to  remind 
his  partner  that  it  is  his  privilege 
to  enforce  a  penalty ,  and  also  to 
inform  him  of  the  penalty  he  can 
enforce." 

Conventional. — Of  established 
usage;  generally  accepted;  as,  the 
conventional  lead  of  the  ace  from 
ace,  queen,  jack. 

Conventionalities.— The  con- 
ventionalities of  whist  are  those 
things  pertaining  to  the  game 
which  are  established  by  usage, 
precedent,  or  general  acceptance. 
In  the  earlier  history  of  the  game 
the  conventionalities  were  com- 
paratively simple,  and  few  in  num- 
ber; but  as  whist  became  more 
scientific  and  intricate,  convention- 
alities multiplied,  until  to-day  it  is 


hard  to  draw  the  line  between  con- 
ventionalities proper  and  plays  that 
are  merely  arbitrary  arrangements 
or  expedients. 

The  Americans,  taking  hold  of  the  fact 
of  the  "  mutual  understanding"  neces- 
sary to  communicate  information  be- 
tween partners,  include  under  the  name 
of  "conventionalities"  all  sorts  of  infor- 
mation, making  no  distinction  between 
an  inference  drawn  from  the  normal 
play  of  a  card  for  ordinary  general  ex- 
pediency, and  an  arbitrary  interpretation 
of  it,  which  only  acquires  meaning  by 
special  compact  between  partners.  They 
forget  that  the  former  is  as  old  as  Hoyle, 
and  is  an  essential  element  of  whist  play; 
the  latter  is  of  quite  recent  introduction. — 
William  Pole  [JL.A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

Conventional  Play. — Any  gener- 
ally accepted  and  understood  play. 

Conventional  Signals. — Gener- 
ally accepted  and  understood  sig- 
nals, by  means  of  which  legitimate 
information  is  conveyed  between 
partners  at  whist;  such  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  play  of  an  unnecessarily 
high  card  followed  by  a  lower  one, 
known  as  the  call  for  trumps;  the 
return  of  the  highest  from  a  short 
suit;  the  play  of  the  lowest  of  a 
sequence;  the  discard  of  the  high- 
est of  a  suit  when  you  have  entire 
command,  etc.  Conventional  sig- 
nals are  as  old  as  Hoyle,  in  principle. 
They  must  be  generally  known  and 
accepted.  In  this  manner  they  are 
distinguished  from  private  signals, 
or  private  conventions,  which  are 
condemned  by  all  fair-minded 
players. 

The  conventional  methods  of  communi- 
cation, which  every  player  should  know 
by  heart,  may  be  divided  into  two  classes: 
those  used  in  attack,  and  those  required 
for  defense.  In  attack,  the  facts  required 
to  be  known  are:  (i)  The  general 
strength  or  weakness  of  the  hand, and  the 
best  suit  it  contains— shown  by  the  origi- 
nal lead.  (2)  Whether  the  suit  is  estab- 
lished or  not,  and  if  not,  how  much  es- 
tablishing it  needs— shown  by  always 
leading  from  certain  combinations  of 


CONVENTIONS 


104 


COUNTERS 


cards  In  certain  ways  under  similar  con- 
ditions. (3)  The  assistance  that  can  be 
given  to  the  partner— shown  by  the  re- 
turn leads  and  the  management  of 
trumps.  (4)  The  number  of  trumps  held 
— shown  by  leading  them,  by  "calling,1' 
by  "echoing,"  by  "passing,"  and  by 
"forcing."  In  defense,  the  partners  re- 
quire to  know:  (i)  What  chance  there 
is  of  stopping  the  adverse  suits— shown 
by  the  second-hand  play,  and  by  the  last 
player  winning  the  trick  with  the  lowest 
possible  card.  (2)  The  suits  which  are 
best  protected.  (3)  The  suits  which  it  is 
desirable  to  have  led;  and  (4)  the  suits 
which  it  is  desirable  to  avoid — all  shown 
by  the  discard.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O,\ 
"Johnson's  Universal  Cyclopedia,"  1895. 


Conventions.  —  See, 
Conventions." 


"  Private 


Conversation. — The  conversa- 
tion necessary  to  carry  on  a  good 
game  of  whist  could  easily  be  sup- 
plied by  mutes.  In  other  words, 
no  conversation  is  necessary  during 
actual  play,  if  all  the  players 
strictly  observe  the  rules  and  play 
whist.  Conversation  between  deals 
is  permissible,  but  should  not  be  of 
a  nature  to  disturb  other  players  in 
the  room.  (See,  also,  "Silence.") 

It  is  an  axiom  that  the  nearer  your  play 
approaches  to  the  dumb  man,  the  better. 
—  Thomas  Mathews  [L.  O.}. 

No  conversation  should  be  indulged  in 
during  the  play  except  such  as  is  allowed 
by  the  laws  of  the  game. — Etiquette  of 
Whist  {American  Code). 

No  intimation  whatever,  by  word  or 
gesture,  should  be  given  by  a  player  as  to 
the  state  of  his  hand  or  of  the  game. — 
Etiquette  of  Whist  (English  Code). 

Whist  is  the  game  of  silence.  Talking 
must  cease  when  the  first  Jeader  throws 
his  card;  silence  must  continue  until  the 
last  card  of  the  hand  is  played. — G.  W. 
Pettes  [L.  A.J>.],  "American  Whist  Illus- 
trated." 

"What  are  trumps?"  "Draw  your 
card;"  "Can  you  not  follow  suit?''  "I 
think  there  is  a  revoke."  The  above  re- 
marks, or  those  analogous,  are  the  only 
ones  allowed  to  be  used,  and  only  by  the 
person  whose  turn  it  is  to  play. — Descha- 
pelles  [O.],  "Laws  of  Whist,"  Article  no. 

Free  and  full  discussion  of  the  hand,  of 
the  play,  and  of  the  principle  involved  is 
not  only  admissible,  but  highly  desirable, 


with  a  view  of  promoting  good  whist;  but 
such  conversation  should  only  be  carried 
on  after  the  play  of  the  hand,  and  before 
beginning  the  next.— George  V.  Maynard 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  June,  fSof. 

You  may  remind  your  partner,  if  dealer, 
to  take  up  his  trump  card;  caution  him 
to  hold  up  his  hand;  and  warn  him  not 
to  throw  down  his  cards.  The  question, 
"  Who  dealt  ?"  is  held  to  be  irregular,  but 
on  what  ground  is  not  clear;  for  you  may 
inquire  whether  the  cards  are  correctly 
placed  for  the  next  deal.—  William  Cu- 
sack-Smith  [Z..  O.}. 

"Coroner's  Table."— A  table, 
specially  provided,  at  which  hands 
are  examined  and  criticised  after 
they  have  been  played. 

Correspondence  Match. — See, 
"  Whist  Match  by  Correspond- 
ence." 

Cotton,  Charles.— The  author 
of  the  "  Compleat  Gamester,"  was 
born  in  London,  England,  1630. 
His  volume,  which  was  the  first 
printed  book  to  contain  a  descrip- 
tive allusion  to  whist,  was  published 
in  1674.  He  was  the  adopted  son 
and  fellow-angler  of  Izaak  Walton, 
and  added  a  second  part  to  the  fifth 
edition  of  the  latter's  "  Compleat 
Angler,"  in  1676. 

Count. — To  count  the  cards  at 
whist  is  to  watch  and  remember 
how  many  of  each  suit  are  played. 
Only  players  with  most  extraordi- 
nary memories  can  remember  every 
card.  Ordinary  players  are  satis- 
fied if  they  can  remember  the  high 
cards  out  and  the  number  of  trumps 
played.  Keeping  count  of  the  game 
is  to  record  the  number  of  tricks 
or  games  scored. 

Travelers  tell  us  that  savages  cannot 
count  beyond  ten.  Long  experience  at 
whist  has  convinced  me  that  it  is  far 
more  difficult  than  is  commonly  supposed 
for  civilized  people  to  count  thirteen. — 
"  Cavendish  "  [L.  A.],  "  Card-Table  Talk." 

Counters. — Pieces  of  ivory  or 
metal  by  which  the  tricks,  games, 


COUP 


105      COURTNEY,  WILLIAM  P. 


and  rubbers  won  by  each  side  are 
plainly  indicated,  so  that  the  state 
of  the  score  may  be  ascertained  at 
any  stage  of  the  game.  Counters 
are  frequently  made  of  one  piece, 
with  revolving  or  other  devices,  by 
means  of  which  the  desired  infor- 
mation is  given. 

At  duplicate  whist,  it  was  at  first 
customary,  in  this  country,  to  use 
thirteen  counters,  or  poker  chips, 
and  place  the  same  on  the  tray  in 
the  centre  of  the  table  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  hand.  Each  side,  upon 
winning  a  trick,  took  a  chip,  and 
the  one  having  a  majority  of  the 
chips  won,  and  counted  the  num- 
ber over  six.  On  the  overplay  of 
the  hands  some  players  did  not  use 
the  counters,  but  played  and  gath- 
ered the  tricks  in  the  ordinary  way. 
Later  improvements  in  the  play  of 
duplicate  have  caused  the  majority 
of  the  players  to  go  back  to  the 
original  Allison  (q.  v.)  method  of 
counting  the  tricks,  which  is  the 
most  simple,  and  contains  the  great- 
est number  of  checks  upon  mis- 
takes. By  this  method  each  player 
simply  lays  each  card  which  wins 
a  tnck  for  his  side  (whether  taken 
by  himself  or  partner)  straight  be- 
fore him,  top  toward  the  centre  of 
the  table.  Cards  of  a  losing  round 
are  laid  down  horizontally.  Thus 
the  score  for  each  hand  is  kept  by 
four  persons. 

It  is  understood,  of  course,  that 
in  duplicate  whist  score-cards  are 
used,  instead  of  counters,  in  record- 
ing the  final  result  of  play. 

Coup. — A  brilliant  play,  not  di- 
rected by  any  special  rule  (and 
often  made  in  defiance  of  rules),  by 
which  an  advantage  is  gained,  or  a 
difficult  situation  met.  Some  of 
the  more  familiar  examples  of  this 
kind  of  whist  strategy  are:  The 
Bath  coup,  Deschapelles'  coup,  and 
the  grand  coup,  by  means  of  which 


a  player  rids  himself  of  a  super- 
fluous trump.  "Cavendish"  de- 
scribes seven  different  coups  in  his 
"  Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist." 
Fisher  Ames  also  mentions  the  fol- 
lowing as  coups:  Leading  from 
weakness  in  trumps  with  a  desper- 
ate score  and  a  poor  hand;  treating 
a  long  suit  as  if  it  were  a  short  one; 
leading  the  weakest  suit;  refusing 
to  trump,  or  to  overtrump;  holding 
up  the  winning  card  on  the  second 
round;  refraining  from  drawing  the 
losing  trump;  leading  a  losing  card 
to  place  the  lead,  and  playing  high 
cards  to  avoid  the  lead. 

A  coup  is  a  well-judged  departure  from 
rule.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.A.\. 

What  are  called  "  coups"  are  often 
cases  where  to  follow  the  rule  ensures 
your  losing  the  game. — A.  W.  Dravson 
[L+A+],  "Art of  Practical  Whist." 

Coups,  *  *  *  when  divested  of  mist  and 
halo,  are  found  to  be  the  result  of  quick 
apprehension  rather  than  the  flight  of 
genius.— Clement  Dames  [L.  A+],  "Mod- 
ern Whist." 

Coup  de  Sacrifice. — The  play 
by  which  a  master  card,  sure  to 
take  a  trick,  is  intentionally  given 
to  the  opponent.  Named  a  "  coup 
de  sacrifice"  by  G.  W.  Pettes. 

Court  Cards. — The  ace,  king, 
queen,  and  jack  are  popularly 
spoken  of  as  court  cards,  although, 
strictly  speaking,  the  term  applies 
only  to  the  king,  queen,  and  jack, 
being  corrupted  from  coat  card — 
*.  e.,  a  card  bearing  the  representa- 
tion of  a  coated  figure. 

Courtney,  William  Prideaux. — 

English  whist  author.  He  is  the 
fifth-born  and  third  surviving  son 
of  John  Sampson  Courtney,  of 
Alverton  House,  Penzance,  his 
brothers  being  the  Rt.  Hon.  L.  H. 
Courtney,  M.  P.,  and  John  Morti- 
mer Courtney,  C.  M.  G.,  deputy 
minister  of  finance,  Canada.  Mr. 
Courtney  was  born  April  26,  1845, 


COURT  OF  APPEALS 


106 


COVER 


at  Penzance,  and  educated  at  the 
local  grammar  school,  1856-9;  and 
in  the  London  city  school,  from 
1859  to  1864.  He  entered  the  office 
of  the  ecclesiastical  commission 
the  year  following,  and  retired  in 
April,  1892,  at  which  time  he  was 
head  of  the  pay-room. 

Mr.  Courtney  has  played  whist 
privately  for  many  years,  but  since 
1885  has  been  a  regular  player  at 
the  Reform  Club.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Baldwin  Whist 
Club,  in  Pall  Mall,  and  a  player  at 
the  Sussex  Club,  in  Eastbourne, 
the  new  club  at  Cheltenham,  and 
the  Malvern  Club,  at  Malvern.  He 
favors  the  long-suit  game,  with 
modifications  to  suit  emergencies, 
and  plays  the  old  leads. 

His  "  English  Whist  and  Whist- 
Players"  is  an  important  contribu- 
tion to  whist  literature,  being  chiefly 
historical  in  its  nature.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  New  York  and  London, 
in  1894.  He  is  also  the  author  of 
one  or  two  other  works,  not  in  the 
line  of  whist.  He  has  been  on  the 
staff  of  the  ' '  Dictionary  of  National 
Biography,"  and  was  a  contributor 
to  the  concluding  volumes  of  the 
last  edition  of  the  "  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica." 

Court  of  Appeals. — See,  "Judges 
of  Appeals." 

Cover. — To  play  a  higher  card  on 
a  high  card  led;  as,  for  example,  to 
cover  an  honor  with  an  honor — the 
king  being  led,  you  put  on  the  ace, 
second  hand. 

Fundamentally,  the  duty  of  the 
second  hand  is  to  play  low,  but  this 
conventional  and  natural  procedure 
has  been  modified  materially  from 
the  earliest  times  in  cases  where  an 
honor  is  led  originally.  Thus, 
second  hand  is  expected  to  cover  a 
high  card  led  with  the  lower  of  any 
two  high  cards  held  in  sequence;  he 


is  expected  to  cover  an  honor  with 
the  ace  if  held  without  any  other 
high  cards;  to  cover  an  honor  with 
an  honor,  if  holding  three  cards; 
to  cover  an  honor  if  holding  any 
number  of  cards  including  the  ten; 
and  to  cover  a  nine,  or  higher, 
when  holding  king,  queen,  or  jack, 
and  only  one  small. 

In  recent  years,  however,  the 
question  has  arisen  whether  it  is 
best  for  second  hand  to  cover  when 
holding  king  and  one  small  card 
only.  Dr.  Pole,  at  the  suggestion 
of  "Cavendish,"  investigated  the 
matter  scientifically,  and  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  not.  In 
fact,  he  became  convinced  that  the 
second  hand  should  not  cover  an 
honor  led  with  any  other  card  but 
the  ace,  no  matter  what  number 
was  held  in  suit.  But  W.  H.  Whit- 
feld,  on  examining  Dr.  Pole's  argu- 
ments, and  making  calculations  of 
his  own,  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  no  advantage  is  gained  by  not 
covering  queen  led,  holding  king 
and  one  small.  He  states  that,  on 
the  contrary,  there  is  a  distinct  dis- 
advantage in  not  covering,  if  the 
queen  should  be  led  from  short 
suits.  He  formulates  the  following 
rule:  The  second  player,  holding 
two  cards  (not  the  ace)  only  of  the 
suit  led,  should,  if  possible,  cover 
the  nine,  or  any  higher  card  led. 

Cover  a  high  card,  as  a  rule,  second 
hand.— A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "Art  of 
Practical  Whist.'1'' 

It  is  useless  for  him  [the  second  hand 
player]  to  cover  an  honor  with  a  single 
honor,  unless  it  is  the  ace.—/?.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "LompUte  Hoyle." 

Many  do  not  cover  the  knave  with  the 
king,  holding  king  and  two  others.  Yet 
it  can  easily  be  demonstrated  to  be  the 
correct  play.— Charles  S.  Street  [L+A.], 
"  W. h ist  Lip  to  Date. ' ' 

Dr.  Pole,  applying  his  high  mathemat- 
ical and  logical  attainments  to  the  solu- 
tion of  the  question  of  second  hand  cov- 
ering an  honor  with  an  honor,  holding 
fewer  than  four  in  suit,  published  the 
results  of  his  calculations  in  the  Field, 


COVER 


107 


CROSS-RUFF 


April  26,  1884,  by  which  he  demonstrated 
that  the  covering-  was  disadvantageous. 
Since  that  period  this  time-honored  prac- 
tice has  been  abandoned. — N.  B.  Trist 
\L.  A.],  Harper's  Magazine,  March,  1891. 

The  question  of  covering,  second  hand, 
does  not,  in  my  opinion,  depend  so  much 
on  a  calculation  of  the  number  of  times 
such  play  will  win  or  lose  a  trick  in  the 
suit, as  on  the  consideration  of  the  amount 
of  mischief  done  by  assisting  an  adver- 
sary to  establish  his  suit,  and  especially 
on  the  first  round.  I  do  not  see  how  this 
can  be  ascertained,  and  until  it  is  ascer- 
tained I  look  upon  the  discussion  more 
as  an  academic  than  a  practical  one. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.},  Field,  1894. 

In  trumps  the  recognized  play  [second 
hand]  with  either  king,  queen,  or  jack 
and  one  small  card,  for  years  was  the 
honor.  Of  late,  however,  it  has  been 
pretty  conclusively  proven  that  with 
either  king  and  one  small,  or  queen  and 
one  small,  unless  the  nine  or  ten  is  led, 
the  honor  is  a  trick-losing  play,  as  it  en- 
ables the  leader  to  finesse  too  freely  in 
the  return.  With  the  jack  and  one  small, 
the  question  is  much  more  doubtful,  and 
the  opinion  of  the  best  players  is  very 
evenly  divided.  The  writer  believes  it 
wise  in  this  case  to  be  governed  by  the 
size  of  the  card  led.  If  it  is  so  high  (nine 
or  eight)  as  to  indicate  great  strength  in 
the  leader's  hand,  it  is  probably  best  to 
play  the  jack  on  the  first  trick;  otherwise 
not— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.},  "Whist 
of  To-day,"  1896. 

While  "Cavendish"  was  in  America, 
this  point  [covering  an  honor  with  an 
honor]  came  up  in  conversation,  and  he 
then  told  how  the  change  of  rule  came 
about.  From  time  immemorial  the  ac- 
cepted rule  of  play  had  been  to  cover  an 
honor  with  an  honor,  holding^  but  three 
of  the  suit.  "Cavendish,"  playing  against 
Mr.  Richard  Dalby  Dalby,  led  a  queen. 
Mr.  Dalby,  holding  king  and  two  small, 
second  hand,  passed.  At  the  end  of  the 
hand  "Cavendish"  remarked:  "Dalby, 
as  you  only  had  three  cards  of  the  suit, 
why  didn't  you  cover?"  Mr.  Dalby  re- 
plied: "I  have  long  since  made  up  my 
mind  that  it  is  disadvantageous  at  second 
hand  to  cover  queen  with  king,  holding 
three  of  the  suit."  Mr.  Dalby's  observa- 
tion set  "  Cavendish  "  to  thinking,  and 
he  wrote  to  Dr.  Pole,  asking  if  it  was  pos- 
sible to  ascertain  by  calculation  whether 
or  not  it  was  right  lor  the  second  hand  to 
cover  under  the  circumstances  stated. 
Dr.  Pole  made  an  exhaustive  calculation, 
which  absolutely  demonstrated  that  it 
was  incorrect  to  cover  an  honor  led  with 
any  honor  except  the  ace,  irrespective  of 
number  in  the  suit,  and  this  calculation 
was  published  in  the  Field— Robert  H. 
Weems  \L.  A.],  Whist,  May,  1894. 


"Crawley,  Captain." — The  pen 

name  of  George  Frederick  Pardon, 
an  English  whist  author  who,  in  the 
estimation  of  "Cavendish,"  wrote 
"the  worst  book  on  games  ever 
published."  All  his  life  he  was 
an  industrious  booksellers'  hack, 
rarely  appearing  before  the  public 
under  his  own  name.  His  ventures  in 
the  domain  of  whist  were:  "Whist: 
Its  Theory  and  Practice,"  which 
appeared  in  1859,  and  was  dedi- 
cated to  his  "  friends  and  partners 
in  many  hard  -  fought  games, 
Thomas  Ridgway  and  Thomas 
Clementson;"  "A  Handbook  of 
Whist  on  the  Text  of  Hoyle," 
1863;  "Theory  and  Practice  of 
Whist,"  1865;  and  "Whist  for  all 
Players,"  1873.  He  died  August 5, 
1884,  at  the  Fleur  de  Lis  Hotel, 
Canterbury,  England. 

Critical  Endings. — Final  rounds 
in  a  hand  at  whist  when  extraordi- 
nary skill  may  be  displayed,  or 
found  necessary,  in  winning  or  sav- 
ing the  game.  Hamilton,  in  ' '  Mod- 
ern Scientific  Whist,"  illustrates 
sixty  critical  endings,  which  are  in- 
valuable to  the  whist  student.  ( See, 
also,  "Perception  Problems.") 

The  end-hand  in  whist  is  very  often 
susceptible  of  brilliant  treatment.  It  is 
here  that  the  liability  to  error  is  greatest. 
To  insure  correctness  in  end-play  the 
most  consummate  understanding  of  the 
entire  game  is  requisite. — C.  D.  P.  Hamil- 
ton [L.  A.],  "  Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

The  chief  points  arising  at  the  close  of  a 
game  are  these:  (i)  The  right  choice  of 
cards  to  throw  away  to  winning  cards 
either  of  the  enemy  or  of  your  own  part- 
ner; (2)  placing  the  lead,  and  (3)  what 
may  be  regarded  as  a  combination  of  both 
points,  the  recognition  of  the  necessity 
•which  sometimes  arises  for  throwing 
away  a  winning  card  or  an  extra  trump — 
playing  what  is called(after  Deschapelles) 
the  grand  coup.— R.  A.  Proctor  \L.  O.]. 

Cross- Ruff. — The  play  by  which 
each  partner  ruffs  or  trumps  the 
other's  suit,  alternately  led  for  that 


CROWN  COFFEE-HOUSE      108      CURIOSITIES  OF  WHIST 


purpose.     Also  called   "see-saw" 
(g.  v.). 

There  is  nothing  so  destructive  of  good 
suits  as  a  cross-ruff,  if  allowed  to  con- 
tinue.—^. F.  Foster  \S.  O.\  "  Whist  Tac- 
tics." 

Crown  Coffee -House. — A  coffee- 
house on  Bedford  Row,  at  that  time 
an  aristocratic  locality  in  London. 
The  Crown  was  one  of  a  number  of 
such  resorts  of  high  character,  cor- 
responding to  the  social  clubs  of  the 
present  day,  and  within  its  portals 
whist  received  its  first  serious  con- 
sideration as  a  game.  Up  to  this 
time  it  had  been  crudely  played  in 
taverns  and  low  resorts,  but  about 
the  year  1728  the  first  Lord  Folke- 
stone and  a  party  of  gentlemen 
made  a  regular  study  of  it  at 
the  above-mentioned  house.  (See, 
"  Folkestone." )  It  is  also  surmised 
that  Hoyle  may  have  been  a  fre- 
quenter of  the  Crown,  which  soon 
set  the  fashion  for  other  coffee- 
houses. At  all  events,  he  was  fa- 
miliar with  the  teachings  of  the 
Folkestone  school,  to  which  he 
added  a  number  of  improvements, 
and  after  the  publication  of  his 
"Short  Treatise,"  in  1742,  there 
ensued  a  great  whist  boom  in  Eng- 
land. (See,  "Hoyle.") 

About  fifty  years  ago  [1736]  whist  was 
much  studied  by  a  set  of  gentlemen  who 
frequented  the  Crown  Coffee-House,  in 
Bedford  Row.  Before  that  time  it  was 
chiefly  confined  to  the  servants'  hall,  with 
"all  fours"  and  "put."  They  laid  down  the 
following  rules:  To  play  from  the  strong- 
est suit;  to  study  your  partner's  hand  as 
much  as  your  own;  never  to  force  your 
partner  unnecessarily,  and  to  attend  to 
the  score. — Hon.  Daines  Harrington, 
"Arck&ologia,"  vol.  8  (1786). 

Curiosities  of  Whist. — A  volume 
might  be  filled  with  curious  inci- 
dents and  matters  connected  with 
whist,  both  of  a  technical  or  scien- 
tific, as  well  as  of  a  historical,  na- 
ture. "  Cavendish,"  in  his  "  Card- 


Table  Talk,"  devotes  considerable 
space  to  matters  of  this  kind,  as 
does  also  Proctor,  under  the  head 
of  "Whist  Whittlings,"  in  his 
book,  "How  to  Play  Whist,"  and 
W.  P.  Courtney,  in  his  "  English 
Whist  and  Whist-Players."  Aside 
from  the  curious  features  connected 
with  the  play  or  distribution  of  the 
cards,  there  are  many  interesting 
things  to  be  told;  as,  for  instance, 
the  following: 

Lord  Clive,  the  Indian  nabob, 
was  an  inveterate  player  and  gam- 
bler. He  played  whist  on  the  day 
of  his  suicide,  excusing  himself 
from  the  table  during  an  interval 
in  the  game,  and  killing  himself  a 
few  minutes  later.  Lord  Mount- 
ford,  another  great  gambler,  played 
whist  the  last  night  of  his  life,  on 
December  31,  1754.  Next  day  he 
committed  suicide.  Lord  Rivers 
sat  down  one  night  at  the  Union 
Club,  in  London,  to  play  whist, 
with  _^~ioo,ooo  in  bank-notes  before 
him.  By  morning  he  had  lost 
everything,  and  on  January  25,  1831, 
his  body  was  found  in  the  river. 
The  Duke  of  Clarence,  exactly  one 
year  to  a  day  after  this  event,  was 
stricken  by  death  while  playing 
whist,  after  dinner.  Lord  Lans- 
downe  was  taken  ill  while  playing 
a  rubber  in  the  drawing-room  01 
White's  Coffee-House,  in  July,  1866. 
and  died  very  soon  afterwards, 
Von  Moltke,  the  great  field  mar- 
shal, played  a  remarkable  game  of 
whist  on  the  night  before  his  death, 
making  a  slam  and  winning  the 
rubber. 

Stories  of  players  who  became 
so  absorbed  in  the  game  that 
they  played  for  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  hours  at  a  stretch  are  very 
common.  Such  a  player  was  Lord 
Granville;  and  Elwes,  the  most  no- 
torious miser  in  all  England,  was 
another.  Although  he  resisted 
with  might  and  main  the  expendi- 


CURIOSITIES  OP  WHIST      109 


CUTTING 


ture  of  a  few  pennies  in  the  ordi- 
nary transactions  of  life,  at  whist 
He  was  carried  away  with  the 
game,  and  frequently  risked  thou- 
sands of  pounds.  Upon  one  occa- 
sion he  is  said  to  have  played  for 
two  days  and  nights  without  inter- 
mission. 

Dr.  John  Moore,  father  of  the 
gallant  Sir  John  Moore,  tells  in  his 
"  Views  of  Society  in  Italy  "  (1790), 
how,  at  Florence,  he  was  invited  to 
become  one  of  a  whist-party  in  a 
box  at  the  opera.  In  vain  he 
hinted  that  an  adjournment  might 
be  taken  to  a  more  convenient 
place.  The  answer  was  that  "  good 
music  added  greatly  to  the  pleasure 
of  a  whist-party;  that  it  increased 
the  joy  of  good  fortune,and  soothed 
the  affliction  of  bad."  From  that 
time  forward,  during  his  stay,  a 
rubber  of  whist  in  the  stage  box, 
upon  a  table  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose, was  the  regular  thing  every 
opera  night. 

A  curious  interlude  in  a  game  of 
whist  happened  at  Edinburgh.  It 
gave  rise  to  a  humorous  remark  by 
David  Hume  which  was  remem- 
bered for  more  than  seventy  years. 
It  appears  that  a  married  lady  was 
playing  a  rubber  of  whist  at  a  table, 
when  suddenly  she  was  seized  with 
the  throes  of  labor.  Hume,  who 
was  one  of  those  present,  playfully 
named  the  child  the  little  "  Paren- 
thesis," and  by  that  appellation  she 
(for  it  was  a  girl)  was  known  all 
her  life,  as  is  told  in  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  Sir  Walter  Scott  to  his 
friend  Morritt. 

A  good  story  is  told  of  Catherine 
of  Russia,  who  was  devoted  to 
whist,  among  other  things,  and 
frequently  gave  ' '  little  whist- 
parties  at  which  she  sometimes 
played,  and  sometimes  not."  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  while  pass- 
ing from  table  to  table,  watching 
the  play,  she  had  occasion  to  ring 


for  a  page.  The  latter  was  busy  in 
the  ante-room,  also  at  whist,  and 
could  not  tear  himself  away  at  a 
critical  stage  of  the  game.  Her 
majesty  rang  again  and  again,  and 
still  receiving  no  answer,  became 
furious.  Upon  going  to  the  ante- 
room in  person  to  wreak  vengeance 
upon  the  luckless  wight,  it  is  said 
her  anger  gave  way  to  kindly  sym- 
pathy such  as  she  was  rarely  guilty 
of,  and  instead  of  having  him 
knouted  or  transported  to  Siberia, 
she  dispatched  him  on  his  errand, 
and  played  his  hand  for  him  until 
his  return.  All  of  which  is  an  ad- 
ditional proof  of  the  fascination, 
power,  and  civilizing  effects  of  the 
great  game.  (See,  also,  "  Duke  of 
Cumberland's  Famous  Hand," 
"Phenomenal  Hands,"  "Prob- 
lems," and  "Vienna  Coup.") 

Cusack-Smith,  Sir  William.— 

An  English  whist  author  who  pub- 
lished, in  1891,  a  small  text-book, 
which  he  called  an  "  Encyclopedia 
of  Whist,  Prefaced  with  Words  of 
Advice  to  Young  Players." 

Cutting. — The  act  of  dividing 
a  pack  of  cards  to  decide  who 
shall  play  at  a  table,  who  shall 
be  partners,  who  shall  deal,  or  as 
a  preliminary  to  the  deal.  A 
cut  must  be  at  least  to  the  depth 
of  four  cards.  If,  after  the  cards 
have  been  cut,  the  dealer  drops  a 
large  portion  of  the  pack  under  the 
table  or  on  the  table,  so  that  they 
cannot  be  put  together  exactly  as 
they  were  cut,  Clay's  decision  was 
that  there  must  be  a  new  cut.  (See, 
also,  "  Cutting  to  the  Dealer.") 

The  ace  is  the  lowest  card.  In  all  cases, 
every  one  must  cut  from  the  same  pack. 
Should  a  player  expose  more  than  one 
card,  he  must  cut  again. — Laws  of  Whist 
(English  Code),  Sections  13-15. 

In  cutting,  the  ace  is  the  lowest  card. 
All  must  cut  from  the  same  pack.  If  a 
player  exposes  more  than  one  card,  he 


CUTTING  IN 


1 10    CUTTING  TO  THE  DEALER 


must  cut  again.  Drawing  cards  from  the 
outspread  pack  may  be  resorted  to  in 
place  of  cutting. — Laws  of  Whist  (Ameri- 
can Code),  Section  7. 

A  cut  is  irregular  when  it  is  not  made 
by  the  dealer's  right-hand  adversary.  It 
is  not  clean  if  there  be  any  hesitation  or 
awkwardness  in  its  performance.  It  is 
not  clean  also  if  one  card  be  dragged  after 
the  rest.  The  cut  should  be  made  neatly, 
and  the  cards  fairly  lifted  up. — Descha- 
pelles  [O.],  "Laws"  Articles  21  and  22. 

Cutting  In. — Selecting  partners 
at  the  commencement  of  a  rubber, 
and  deciding  who  shall  have  the 
first  deal.  After  the  cards  are 
shuffled,  they  are  spread  face  down- 
wards upon  the  table.  Each  candi- 
date for  the  rubber  draws  a  card, 
and  places  it  face  upwards  in  front 
of  him.  The  four  lowest  are  suc- 
cessful, and  these  again  cut  for 
partners,  in  the  same  manner,  the 
lowest  two  pairing  against  the 
highest  two.  The  lowest  of  the 
four  has  the  first  deal  and  the  choice 
of  cards  and  seats.  Ties  in  cutting 
are  determined  by  the  players 
making  such  ties  cutting  again. 

There  is  one  question  which  has  caused 
trouble  in  almost  every  club.  It  is  the 
rule  which  provides  for  the  formation  of 
tables  by  cutting  in.  It  is  quite  natural 
that  this  rule  has  been  frequently  broken, 
and  in  some  clubs  entirely  disregarded. 
Strong  players  like  to  play  with  strong 
players,  and  they  play  this  way  or  not  at 
all.  The  weaker  players  want  to  play 
with  the  stronger,  and  find  fault  when 
they  find  it  impossible  to  do  so.  Those 
players  who  complain  the  most  are  those 
who  make  no  effort  to  improve  on  their 
own  part,  and  who  give  unreasonable 
excuses  for  their  bad  plays,  or  say  "  they 
don't  care,"  "they  are  only  playing  for 
fun,"  or  "  life  is  too  short."  Such  players 
soon  find  that  the  best  players  think  life 
too  short  to  play  with  them.— -J.  H.  Briggs 
[L.  A.],  Minneapolis  Journal. 

Cutting  Out. — Deciding  by  the 
lowest  cards  cut  which  of  two  per- 
sons shall  remain  in  when  one  or 
two  are  required  to  go  out. 

At  the  end  of  a  rubber,  should  admis- 
sion be  claimed  by  any  one  or  two  candi- 
dates, he  who  has,  or  they  who  have, 


played  a  greater  number  of  consecutive 
rubbers  than  the  others  is,  or  are,  out; 
but  when  all  have  played  the  same  num- 
ber they  must  cut  to  decide  upon  the  out- 
goers;  the  highest  are  out. — Laws  of 
Whist  (English  Code),  Section  20. 

In  most  cases,  but  particularly  when 
the  table  consists  of  five  players,  it  is  as 
well  to  write  on  paper  the  roster,  so  that 
it  can  be  at  once  decided  who  is  out: 

A, 

B, 

C, 

D, 

E, 

are  the  players,  and  A,  B,  C,  D.play  first 
The  next  player  to  come  in  is  IJ,  and  the 
first  player  out,  decided  by  drawing,  we 
will  suppose  is  B.  A,  C,  and!  D  next  draw, 
and  A  is  out;  then  C  and  D  draw,  and  C  is 
out;  the  roster  would  then  be  as  follows: 

E, 

B, 

A, 

C, 

D. 

D  goes  out  after  the  rubber  into  which  he 
has  gained  entrance  by  drawing  with  C. 
E,  B,  A,  and  C  play  a  rubber,  then  E  goes 
out,  then  B,  and  so  on.  When  a  long 
evening's  play  occurs,  this  roster  prevents 
any  dispute  as  to  whose  turn  it  is  to  go 
out;  and  when  no  record  is  kept  of  the 
rubbers,  it  is  often  a  fruitful  cause  of  dis- 
putes to  decide  whose  turn  it  is  to  quit  the 
table.  Every  precaution  ought  to  be  used 
to  prevent  any  cause  for  discussion  at 
whist.— A.  IV.  Dravson  [L+A+],  "The 
Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Cutting  to  the  Dealer. — The  act 

of  cutting  the  cards  when  presented 
by  the  dealer  for  that  purpose.  In 
the  American  laws,  this  subject  is 
given  a  separate  heading;  in  the 
English  code,  the  provisions  will  be 
found,  substantially  the  same,  un- 
der the  head  of  "The  Deal." 


The  dealer  must  present  the  pack  to  his 
right-hand  adversary  to  be  cut;  the  adver- 
sary must  take  a  portion  from  the  top  of 
the  pack  and  place  it  toward  the  dealer; 
at  least  four  cards  must  be  left  in  each 
packet:  the  dealer  must  reunite  the  pack- 
ets by  placing  the  one  not  removed  in 
cutting  upon  the  other. 

If.in  cuttiugoriu  reuniting  the  separate 
packets  a  card  is  exposed,  the  pack  must 
be  reshuffled  by  the  dealer,  and  cut  again: 
if  there  is  any  confusion  of  the  cards,  or 
doubt  as  to  the  place  where  the  pack  was 
separated,  there  must  be  a  new  cut. 


"DALE,  PARSON" 


III 


DEAL 


If  the  dealer  reshuffles  the  pack  after  it 
has  been  properly  cut,  he  loses  his  deal. — 
Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code),  Sections 

10-13. 

"  Dale,  Parson." — A  character 
in  Bulwer  Lytton's  romance,  "My 
Novel."  Parson  Dale  is  a  model 
whist-player,  as  good  in  his  way  as 
Sarah  Battle  in  hers.  So  anxious 
was  he  to  play  correctly  that  he 
was  ruffled  even  by  his  adversa- 
ries' mistakes.  He  was  completely 
happy  when  matched  against  foe- 
men  worthy  of  his  steel,  and  only 
floried  in  the  game  when  con- 
ucted  on  legitimate  and  scientific 
principles. 

Dallam,  Miss  Frances S. — Miss 
Dallam  is  a  teacher  and  player  of 
recognized  ability,  and  has  many 
pupils  in  Baltimore,  where  she  re- 
sides. She  informs  us  that  she  has 
played  whist  all  her  life,  but  began 
teaching  the  game  in  1893.  To  Miss 
Wheelock's  instruction  she  owes  a 
good  share  of  her  present  profi- 
ciency. She  has  played  constantly 
with  the  Baltimore  Whist  Club, 
since  its  formation  a  few  years  ago, 
and  during  the  first  season  she  won 
the  ladies'  first  prize,  receiving 
Milton  C.  Work's  new  book  on 
whist.  Her  team  won  in  two  severe 
contests  against  the  strongest  team 
Philadelphia  could  muster.  Miss 
Dallam  is  a  strict  adherent  of  the 
long-suit  school  and  American 
leads.  She  is  a  very  steady  player, 
never  deceives  her  partner,  and  fol- 
lows the  rules.  She  has  been  pres- 
ident of  the  Woman's  Whist  Club, 
of  Baltimore,  but  in  1897  declined 
a  re-election,  as  her  work  as  a 
teacher  occupied  all  her  time. 

Davies,  Clement. — An  English 
whist  author,  whose  book,  "Mod- 
ern Whist:  the  Complete  Theory 
and  Practice,"  was  published  in 
1886.  In  it  he  emphasizes  the  im- 


portance of  playing  to  the  score, 
which  he  claims  is  fundamental, 
and  should  receive  the  first  consid- 
eration. His  instructions  follow 
those  of  the  "Cavendish"  school 
and  the  American  leads.  Mr.  Davies 
is  a  graduate  of  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge. 

Dead  Suit. — A  suit  in  which  the 
player  holding  it  cannot  possibly 
take  a  trick. 

Deal. — To  deal  is  to  distribute 
the  fifty-two  cards  at  whist.  The 
deal  means  the  privilege  of  thus 
distributing  the  cards,  and  the 
cards  themselves  when  distributed 
are  also  spoken  of  as  the  deal. 

Each  player  deals  in  turn,  the 
one  who  cut  lowest  in  the  selection 
of  partners  dealing  first.  The  deal 
passes  around  the  table,  always  to 
the  left. 

The  cards  are  dealt,  one  card  to 
each  player,  beginning  to  the  left 
of  the  dealer,  and  continuing  until 
the  entire  pack  is  exhausted.  They 
should  be  dealt  slanting  downward 
on  leaving  the  hand,  so  that  their 
faces  may  not  be  exposed  to  any  of 
the  players.  In  the  early  history 
of  whist  it  was  customary  to  deal 
four  cards  at  a  time  to  each  player, 
"  but, "  says  Seymour,  in  1734,  "it 
is  demonstrable  there  is  no  safety 
in  that  method,"  and  "now  the 
cards  are  dealt  round  one  and  one 
at  a  time  as  the  securest  and  best 
way."  It  is  a  curious  fact  that 
Deschapelles,  the  great  French 
player,  favored  the  original  mode 
of  dealing  more  than  one  card  at 
a  time.  In  his  "Laws"  (article 
36)  he  says:  "  It  is  singular  enough 
that  the  plan  of  dealing  out  an  en- 
tire pack  of  cards,  one  by  one, 
should  have  ever  been  adopted.  It 
is  sometimes  a  great  fatigue,  and 
one  which  has  imposed  upon  a 
class  of  persons  who  would  willingly 


DEAL 


112 


DECLARED  TRUMP 


dispense  with  it"  This  objection 
becomes  intelligible  when  we  re- 
member that  Deschapelles  had  but 
one  arm,  having  lost  the  other  in 
the  defense  of  his  country.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  plan  of 
dealing  one  card  at  a  time  is  the 
safest  and  best. 

In  duplicate  whist,  on  the  dupli- 
cate or  overplay  of  the  hands,  pro- 
vision is  made  whereby  each  player 
has  every  position  at  the  table  an 
equal  number  of  times,  or  as  nearly 
so  as  possible.  The  leader  is  indi- 
cated by  an  index  finger  or  other 
mark  on  each  tray  or  other  device 
for  holding  the  hands,  and  the  po- 
sition is  varied  in  the  different 
trays.  As  the  dealer  always  comes 
just  before  the  leader,  the  supposed 
advantages  of  the  deal  and  lead  are 
preserved  in  this  way,  although  no 
cards  are  actually  dealt  in  the  over- 
play. 

Each  player  deals  in  his  turn;  the  right 
of  dealing  goes  to  the  !eft.—  Laws  of 
Whist  (English  Code),  Section  33.  (See, 
also,  "  New  Deal.") 

A  deal  may  be  lost  irrespective  of  any 
misdeal,  and  a  misdeal  does  not  in  every 
instance  forfeit  the  deal. — Sir  William. 
Cusack-Smilh  [L.  O.]. 

A  player  has  a  right,  if  he  choose,  to 
allow  his  deal  to  be  taken  from  him;  but 
never,  designedly,  to  take  that  of  others. 
— Deschapelles  [O.],  "Laws,"  Article 38. 

During  the  deal  is  the  term  applied  to 
the  time  between  the  taking  of  the  last 
trick  of  a  hand  and  the  turning  of  the 
next  trump  card.— Rules  of  the  Descha- 
pelles Club,  Boston. 

The  total  number  of  different  ways  in 
which  the  fifty-two  cards  may  be  dis- 
tributed among  the  four  players  *  *  * 
amounts  to  53,644.737,765,488.792,839,237,- 
440,000.—  William  Pole  [L.  A +],"  The  Phil- 
osophy of  Whist." 

The  deal  is  so  decided  an  advantage, 
•where  five  is  the  number  to  be  played  for 
[at  short  whist],  that  I  am  confident  two 
bad  players  with  the  first  deal  in  every 
game  would  in  the  long  run  beat  the  two 
best  players  in  England. — Thomas  Math- 
ews  [L.  O.\. 

The  deal  and  the  lead  are  the  original 
opposing  elements  in  the  game  of  whist. 
Here  is  the  starting  point  oi  analysis,  tbe 


foundation  of  the  philosophy  and  strat- 
egy of  the  game.  The  dealer  has  the 
advantage,  being  the  only  player  who  is 
from  the  first  absolutely  sure  of  holding 
a  trump  or  having  the  last  play  upon  a 
trick. — Emery  Boardman  [L+A.],  Win- 
ning Whist." 

Dealing. — When  the  pack  has  been  prop- 
erly cut  and  reunited,  the  dealer  must 
distribute  the  cards,  one  at  a  time,  to  each 
player  in  regular  rotation,  beginning  at 
his  left.  The  last,  which  is  the  trump 
card,  must  be  turned  up  before  the  dealer. 
At  the  end  of  the  hand,  or  when  the  deal 
is  lost,  the  deal  passes  to  the  player  next 
to  the  dealer  on  his  left,  and  so  on  to  each 
in  turn. 

There  must  be  a  new  deal  by  the  same 
dealer:  (i)  If  any  card  except  the  last  is 
faced  in  the  pack;  (2)  if,  during  the  deal, 
or  during  the  play  of  the  hand,  the  pack 
is  proved  incorrect  or  imperfect;  but  any 
prior  score  made  with  the  pack  shall 
stand. 

If,  during  the  deal,  a  card  is  exposed, 
the  side  not  in  fault  may  demand  a  new 
deal,  provided  neither  of  that  side  has 
touched  a  card.  If  a  new  deal  does  not 
take  place,  the  exposed  card  is  not  liable 
to  be  called. 

Any  one  dealing  out  of  turn,  or  with  his 
adversaries'  pack,  may  be  stopped  before 
the  trump  card  is  turned,  after  which  the 
deal  is  valid,  and  thepacks,  if  changed,  so 
remain.— Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code), 
Sections  13-16. 

Dealer. — One  who  deals  or  dis- 
tributes the  cards. 

Deane,  Walter  Meredith.— Wal- 
ter Meredith  Deane,  C.  M.  G.,  M. 
A.,  was  born  in  London,  1840;  is  a 
graduate  of  Cambridge;  was  in  the 
civil  service  for  many  years,  sta- 
tioned at  Hong  Kong,  China,  from 
1862  to  1891;  captain-superinten- 
dent of  police  of  the  colony  from 
1866  to  1891.  He  also  acted  as 
colonial  secretary,  and  as  colonial 
treasurer,  and  member  of  the  exec- 
utive and  legislative  councils.  To 
whist-players  he  is  best  known  by 
his  ' '  Letters  on  Whist  Addressed 
to  Moderate  Players,"  a  series  of 
articles  first  appearing  in  Bailey's 
Magazine,  and  published  in  book 
form  in  1894. 

Declared  Trump. — In  duplicate 
whist  it  is  largely  a  custom,  instead 


DECLARED  TRUMP 


DECLARED  TRUMP 


of  turning  trumps,  to  declare  a  cer- 
tain suit  trumps  for  the  occasion. 
The  laws  of  duplicate  whist  adopted 
in  1894  make  no  provision  for  this, 
except  in  the  single-table  or  mnemo- 
nic duplicate  game, where  it  is  said: 
"  Instead  of  turning  the  trump,  a 
single  suit  may  be  declared  for  the 

fame. ' '  The  general  sentiment  of 
uplicate  whist-players  is  largely  in 
favor  of  the  declared  trump,  and 
many  go  so  far  as  to  advocate  a 
permanent  trump  for  the  game. 
The  question  of  allowing  a  League 
club  to  depart  from  the  rule  which 
requires  the  turning  of  the  trump, 
was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
President  Schwarz,  in  October, 
1895,  by  Norton  T.  Horr,  president 
of  the  Cleveland  Whist  Club.  The 
president  referred  the  matter  to  the 
judges  of  appeals,  whose  opinions 
were  published  in  Whist,  Novem- 
ber, 1895,  and  were  to  the  effect 
that  while  it  was  a  breach  of 
League  law  for  a  club  to  declare  a 
trump,  instead  of  turning  it,  there 
did  not  seem  to  be  any  way  to  pre- 
vent the  members  from  making 
the  change,  especially  if  unani- 
mously acquiesced  in  by  the  players 
interested.  In  the  issue  of  Whist 
for  December,  1895,  Sidney  Lovell 
went  so  far  as  to  advocate  not  only 
a  declared  trump  in  duplicate,  but 
a  national  trump  suit  for  all  forms 
of  whist,  and  he  suggested  clubs. 
In  the  next  issue  of  Whist  a.  writer 
signing  himself  "  Prex  "  argued 
for  a  declared  trump  in  duplicate, 
but  ' '  so  far  as  straight  whist  is  con- 
cerned," said  he,  "  we  may  dismiss 
the  discussion.  Chance  enters  so 
largely  into  it  that  the  chance  of 
turning  up  an  honor  may  as  well 
remain."  But  as  to  duplicate  whist, 
he  continued:  "To  my  mind,  the 
evolution  of  duplicate  whist  will  be 
in  the  direction  of  uniformity  and 
simplicity.  I  do  not  believe  in  de- 
claring trumps  at  every  sitting,  but 

8 


believe  we  will  evolve  a  higher 
form  when  we  make  one  suit 
trumps  permanently."  In  the  Feb- 
ruary issue  Mr.  Lovell  returned  to 
his  argument  in  favor  of  clubs  as 
the  permanent  and  national  trump 
suit.  On  February  19,  1897,  Fisher 
Ames  sent  a  communication  to  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League,  in  which  he 
suggested  that  it  would  be  ' '  for  the 
advantage  and  interest  of  the  dupli- 
cate match  games  in  tournaments 
and  contests  for  trophies,  and  in- 
deed for  all  duplicate  whist  games, 
that  a  rule  be  established  forbidding 
the  turning  of  a  trump  in  the  pack 
in  play,  and  requiring  the  umpire, 
or  parties,  to  cut  a  trump  suit  for 
the  session,  in  another  pack."  He 
continued:  "The  true  theory  of 
duplicate  whist  is  that  each  side  at 
beginning  has  no  knowledge  of  the 
resources  or  strength  of  the  other 
side.  The  turning  of  a  trump  card 
is  in  violation  of  this  principle; 
and  although  the  same  conditions 
are  in  turn  imposed  on  the  other 
side,  two  wrongs  do  not  make  a 
right.  The  recording  of  the  trump 
turned  adds  greatly  to  the  labor, 
trouble,  and  difficulty  of  keeping 
the  score.  If  the  trump  turned  is 
so  small  as  to  affect  the  play  in  no 
degree,  it  is  only  so  much  more 
trouble  to  record  and  keep  the  run 
of  it;  if  sufficiently  high  to  affect 
the  play,  it  is  contrary  to  the  true 
principles  of  the  game." 

No  decisive  action  was  taken  on 
the  trump  question  at  the  seventh 
congress  of  the  American  Whist 
League  (1897),  although  an  effort 
was  made  to  get  the  executive  com- 
mittee to  declare  in  its  favor.  This 
occurred  on  July  5,  when  Director 
P.  J.  Tormey  offered  a  resolution  to 
the  effect  that  "  in  contests  Nos.  5, 
6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  n,  and  12  of  the 
schedule  of  contests  for  this  con- 
gress, the  executive  committee  re- 


DESCHAPELLES 


114 


DESCHAPELLES 


commend  that  in  all  plays  no  trump 
shall  be  turned,  and  that  clubs 
shall  be  declared  trump. "  Director 
E.  Le  Roy  Smith  moved,  as  an 
amendment,  that  the  rule  apply  to 
all  contests.  Lost.  On  a  vote,  the 
original  resolution  was  also  lost. 

Deschapelles,  Guillaume  le 
Breton. — A  phenomenal  whist- 
player,  considered  by  James  Clay 
as  "  the  finest,  beyond  any  compar- 
ison, the  world  has  ever  seen." 
This  verdict  has  been  generally 
concurred  in,  not  only  by  Descha- 
pelles' contemporaries,  but  by  every 
writer  on  whist  since  his  time. 
Deschapelles  was  born  in  France, 
in  1780,  and  came  of  good  family. 
His  father  was  gentleman  of  the 
bedchamber  to  Louis  XVI.,  and  the 
same  position  was  held  by  his 
brother  in  the  court  of  Charles  X. 
Deschapelles  himself  did  not  take 
kindly  to  royalty,  and  his  republi- 
canism came  very  near  getting  him 
into  serious  trouble  in  the  earlier 
days  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe. 
On  one  occasion  a  seizure  of  his 
private  papers  disclosed  the  fact 
that  he  had  plotted  revolution.  In 
a  list  of  persons  to  be  summarily 
disposed  of  were  found  many  names 
of  prominence,  and  among  them 
the  following,  with  the  accusation 
as  stated:  "  Vatry  (Alphie),  to  be 
guillotined.  Reason—  Citoyen  in- 
utile." A  worthless  citizen,  and 
why?  He  was  a  notoriously  bad 
whist-player! 

Deschapelles  is  mentioned  by 
Hayward  as  one  of  the  principal 
players  of  whist  at  the  Union  Club, 
in  Paris,  where  he  frequently  met 
and  played  with  Lord  Granville, 
the  English  ambassador,  Count 
Medem,  Count  Walewski,  the  Due 
de  Richelieu,  General  Michelski, 
Comte  Achille  Delamarre,  M.  Bon- 
pierre,  and  other  famous  players. 
He  also  excelled  in  other  games, 


notably  at  billiards,  Polish  draughts, 
and  chess,  being  for  years  without 
a  rival  in  the  latter.  Despite  the 
fact  that  he  had  lost  his  right  hand 
at  the  wrist,  in  the  war  with  the 
allies,  he  could  play  billiards  with 
wonderful  dexterity.  At  whist  he 
dealt  the  same  as  other  players, 
and  collected,  sorted,  and  played 
his  own  cards  with  his  left  hand. 
He  was  a  brilliant  and  daring 
player,  and  a  perfect  master  of 
whist  strategy,  as  is  shown  by  the 
coups  which  he  invented,  especially 
the  one  which  still  bears  his  name. 
In  his  day,  whist  was  played  for 
high  sums  of  money,  and  he  fre- 
quently staked  and  won  immense 
amounts.  Upon  one  occasion  a 
match  was  proposed  between  him 
and  Lord  Granville,  another  daring 
player,  for  200,000  francs,  and  his 
part  of  the  stake  was  promptly 
subscribed  in  shares.  But  the  con- 
test never  came  off,  being  stopped 
by  friends  of  the  English  player, 
who  feared  the  consequences  of  a 
possible  failure  to  him. 

Deschapelles  published  in  Paris, 
in  1839,  the  fragment  of  a  great 
projected  work  on  whist.  It  was 
entitled  "Traite"  du  Whiste:  ad 
Partie,  La  Legislation,"  and  issued 
by  Furne,  duodecimo,  at  five  francs. 
Part  I.  was  never  published.  In 
the  same  year  there  was  published, 
in  London,  through  Hookham,  an 
English  translation  entitled,  ' '  A 
Treatise  on  Whist,  With  Laws," 
two  volumes,  octavo,  at  sixteen 
shillings.  The  work  was  disap- 
pointing, inasmuch  as  Deschapelles 
had  spent  such  leisure  as  he  could 
find  during  twenty  years  upon  its 
preparation.  It  was  reviewed  in 
the  Foreign  Quarterly  Review 
(vol.  24,  p.  335.)  The  first  part, 
had  it  ever  been  written,  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  a  more 
satisfactory  work.  In  1842  ap- 
peared his  "  Trait6  du  Whiste  Tin- 


DESCHAPELLES 


DEUCE 


g£nu,  ou  Whiste  &  Trois,"  pub- 
fished  by  Perrotin,  in  Paris.  Five 
years  later,  his  death  took  place  in 
the  same  city. 

Deschapelles'  brilliant  manner  of 
playing  the  game  was  exemplified, 
to  a  certain  extent,  in  America,  by 
his  pupil,  the  late  John  Rheinart 
(g.  v. ) ,  who  had  frequently  played 
as  his  partner  before  coming  to  this 
country. 

1  had  rather  he  [Deschapelles]  would 
lead  or  play  third  hand  than  be  at  my 
left  when  in  an  exigency  I  am  to  play. 
He  plays  second  hand  to  win  with  it;  and 
he  does  win  with  it.  His  finesse  is 
terrific. — Lassave  \O.\. 

In  re  Deschapelles,  is  it  generally 
known  that  the  Boston  Herald  published 
twenty-two  hands,  alleged  to  have  been 
played  by  him  ?  Some  of  them  show 
that  he  was  quite  familiar  with  the  lead 
of  the  fourth  best  (see  August  n,  1889). 
And  yet  he  died  in  1847 ! !  Truly,  there 
is  nothing  new  this  side  of  the  grave. — 
R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Whist,  July,  1893. 

It  would  probably  have  surprised  Des- 
chapelles had  he  been  told  that  the  time 
would  come  when  persons  calling  them- 
selves whist-players  would  think  more 
of  a  number  of  arbitrary  signals,  taxing 
only  the  attention,  than  of  all  the  points 
of  strategy  which  he  and  his  contempo- 
raries regarded  as  the  essence  of  the 
game.— R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.],  Longman's 
Magazine,  April,  1887. 

The  "Trait^  du  Whiste  "  was  devoted 
principally  to  the  laws  of  the  game.  The 
author  said  little  about  the  play;  but 
treated  the  subject  in  a  manner  highly 
spirituel.  He  reasoned  on  immensity  and 
eternity;  on  metaphysical  necessity  and 
trial  by  jury:  he  invoked  the  sun  of 
Joshua  and  the  star  of  the  Magi;  he 
investigated  the  electric  affinities  of  the 
plavers;  and  illustrated  a  hand  by  ana- 
lytical geometry. —  William  Pole  [L.  A+], 
"Evolution  of  Whist." 

Early  in  the  present  century  the  great 

Slayer,  Deschapelles,  introduced  his  won- 
erful  play  to  the  Parisian  clubs,  far  the 
most  original  and  brilliant  ever  known. 
The  fine  "coups,"  as  may  be  known  by 
the  French  term  for  his  startling  acts, 
were  of  his  invention;  but  the  record 
of  play  not  being  kept,  the  many  in- 
stances of  victory  achieved  by  the  aid 
of  his  foresight  and  practice  of  strange 
ways  are  lost  to  us.— G  W.  Pettes  [L.  A .  P.} 
"American  Whist  Illustrated.'" 


Deschapelles'  Coup. — A  cele- 
brated stratagem  in  whist,  named 
after  its  inventor,  Deschapelles.  It 
consists  in  the  play  of  king,  or  other 
high  card  at  the  head  of  a  suit,  for 
the  purpose  of  forcing  out  the  ace 
or  other  high  card  held  by  the  ad- 
versary, thereby  making  good  a 
lower  card  in  partner's  hand,  and 
thus  giving  him  an  opportunity  to 
obtain  the  lead  and  make  his  es- 
tablished suit.  The  situation  justi- 
fying the  sacrifice  is  when  trumps 
have  been  exhausted  and  you  have 
the  lead,  but  are  unable  to  play  a 
card  which  would  give  the  lead  to 
your  partner,  he  haying  an  estab- 
lished suit  which  it  is  necessary  to 
bring  in. 

Its  object  is  to  save  any  card  of  re-entry 
that  may  be  in  the  partner's  hand  when 
trumps  are  out,  and  you  have  none  of  his 
established  suit  to  lead  him.— R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "  Whist  Strategy." 

Detached  Card. — A  card  taken 
out  of  the  hand  and  entirely  sepa- 
rated from  the  rest,  as  in  the  act  of 
play.  Very  often  an  error  is  com- 
mitted by  players  returning  such 
card  and  taking  another,  and  play- 
ing it  instead,  after  they  have  partly 
or  wholly  exposed  the  first  card. 
In  such  case  it  is  liable  to  be  called, 
according  to  section  60  of  the 
English  code.  In  the  American 
code,  the  word  "  detached"  is  not 
used,  and  no  penalty  is  prescribed, 
because,  as  Mr.  Trist  informs  us, 
"it  does  not  cover  the  case  of  a 
card,  turned  face  outward,  in  the 
player's  hand;  and  the  seeing  of  the 
card  by  the  partner  was  made  a 
condition  precedent  to  the  right  of 
calling  it,  because  in  almost  every 
case  of  a  detached  card  the  adver- 
saries alone  can  name  it;  and  no 
injury  being  done,  no  penalty 
should  be  suffered." 

Deuce. — A  card  with  two  pips 
or  spots;  the  two-spot  (q.  v.).  The 


DIAMONDS 


116 


DISCARD 


word  is  derived  from  French  deux, 
Latin  duo,  two.  It  has  no  connec- 
tion with  deuce,  an  evil  spirit,  not- 
withstanding the  popular  notion 
that  such  is  the  case. 

When  partner  leads  low  cards,  or  cards 
which  are  not  the  best,  the  most  impor- 
tant thing  for  the  third  hand  is  to  locate 
the  deuce.  So  well  is  this  known  among 
experts,  that  very  few  of  them  will  give 
up  the  deuce  of  an  adversary's  suit,  if  they 
have  any  other  small  cards  to  play.  *  *  * 
The  absence  of  the  deuce  is  a  most  im- 
portant factor  in  estimating  whether  or 
not  the  lead  is  from  five  or  more  cards, 
and  in  judging  whether  or  not  the  part- 
ner is  echoing.  It  has  lately  become  so 
much  the  practice  to  play  false  in  the 
smaller  cards  of  the  adversaries'  suits 
that  the  plain-suit  echo  is  almost  useless. 
— R.  F.  Foster  [5.  0.],  "Whist  Tactics." 

Diamonds. — One  of  the  four 
suits  composing  a  pack  of  cards; 
one  of  the  two  red  suits.  On  Ger- 
man cards  the  corresponding  sym- 
bols are  bells  (Schellen}.  In  the 
original  Spanish  cards,  from  which 
all  modern  cards  are  derived,  the 
symbol  is  oros,  or  dinoros  (money). 
In  Italian  it  is  called  danari,  also 
meaning  money.  In  French  it  is 
carreaux,  or  diamonds,  represented 
the  same  as  in  English,  and  show- 
ing that  English  cards  came 
through  a  French  source. 

Dillard,  H.  K.  —  See,  "Blind 
Whist- Players. " 

Discard. — The  card  from  another 
plain  suit  which  a  player  puts  on 
the  round,  or  trick,  when  he  is  un- 
able to  follow  suit  and  does  not 
wish  to  trump.  To  discard,  in  a 
general  way,  means  to  throw  away 
useless  cards,  but  there  has  been 
method  and  meaning  in  the  discard 
from  the  earliest  history  of  the 
game.  The  ordinary  rule  is  to  dis- 
card from  short  or  weak  suits,  and 
an  especial  importance  attaches  to 
the  first  discard,  which  conveys 
positive  information  to  partner.  In 
case  the  adversaries  call  for  or  lead 


trumps,  or  otherwise  indicate  great 
trump  strength,  it  is  customary  to 
reverse  the  ordinary  rule,  and  make 
your  original  discard  from  your 
longest  or  strongest  suit — the  one 
you  desire  partner  to  lead  to  you. 
Being  on  the  defensive,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  protect  your  weak  suits  as 
far  as  possible;  and  it  is  better  to 
discard  from  your  long  suit,  in  such 
case,  as  you  have  but  little  hope  of 
bringing  it  in.  Discards,  after  the 
first,  are  not  intended  to  convey 
special  information,  but  are  made 
to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the  play. 
Here,  however,  it  is  well  to  explain 
that  of  late  several  other  signals, 
by  means  of  the  discard,  have  been 
proposed  and,  to  some  extent,  ac- 
cepted, although  not  by  authorities 
like  "Cavendish."  Such,  for  in- 
stance, is  a  new  trump  signal  made 
by  discarding  a  card  at  least  as  high 
as  an  eight,  second  hand,  from  an 
unplayed  suit.  This  must  be  made 
early  in  the  game,  however,  duriug 
the  first  three  rounds  of  the  hand. 
"  Cavendish  "  says:  "  It  is  true  that 
a  brainy  player,  finding  strength  in 
trumps  and  strong  plain  suits  with 
his  partner,  might  often  be  induced 
to  lead  a  trump  in  consequence  of  a 
high  discard,  when  otherwise  he 
would  not.  That  is  a  point  of  judg- 
ment. The  exercise  of  j  udgment  is 
quite  different  from  blind  abandon- 
ment." Other  innovations  are: 
Complete  control  of  a  suit  may  be 
indicated  by  the  discard  of  the 
commanding  card  in  it,  and  the 
non-possession  of  the  best  card  of  a 
suit  is  shown  by  the  discard  of  the 
second-best. 

We  may  also  add  that  it  is  but 
natural  that  in  this  period  of  great 
activity  and  change  there  should  be 
found  those  who  object  to  the  rules 
of  the  discard  as  fundamentally 
laid  down  by  the  earliest  masters 
of  whist,  and  followed  by  all  au- 
thorities ever  since.  In  exceptional 


DISCARD 


117 


DISCARD 


cases,  no  doubt,  the  rules  of  the 
discard,  like  other  rules  of  whist, 
may  be  profitably  set  aside;  but 
that  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
abandon  what  in  normal  conditions 
have  always  been  found  most  excel- 
lent rules.  Whist  geniuses  may 
need  no  rules  whatever,  but  they 
should  not  on  that  account  throw 
those  less  gifted  into  chaos. 

The  first  discard  is  the  most  important, 
and  the  information  given  by  it  must  be 
carefully  noted. — Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.\ 
"Practical  Guide  to  Whist." 

If  weak  in  trumps,  keep  guard  on  your 
adversaries'  suits;  if  strong,  throw  away 
from  them. —  Thomas  Mathews  [L.  O.], 
"Advice  to  the  Young  Whist-Player" 
1804.. 

When  the  adversaries  have  declared 
strength  in  trumps,  my  discard  (and  my 
partner's)  should  convey  no  definite  in- 
formation whatever. —  W.  S.  Fenollosa  [L. 
A.],  Whist,  April,  1893. 

Your  original  discard  indicates  your 
shortest  suit,  if  trump  strength  is  not  de- 
clared against  you;  your  longest  suit,  if  it 
is.  Subsequent  discards  have  no  such 
significance. — R.  A,  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

The  system  of  discarding  most  con- 
ducive to  trick-taking  seems  to  be  to  al- 
ways discard  the  card  that  can  best  be 
spared  from  the  plaver's  hand. — Milton 
C.  Work  [L.  A .  H.\, "  Whist  of  To-day." 

It  is  dangerous  to  unguard  an  honor  or 
to  blank  an  ace;  and,  also,  to  discard  a 
single  card  when  the  game  is  in  an  un- 
developed state,  as  it  exposes  vour  weak- 
ness almost  as  soon  as  the  suit  is  led. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.]. 

Leads  and  the  play  of  second  and  third 
hand  are  in  most  cases  governed  by 
readily  understood  rules,  but  in  the  dis- 
card much  must  be  left  to  the  whist 
genius  of  the  player. — George  V.  Maynard 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  May,  1893. 

A  player  having  full  command  of  a  suit, 
may  show  it  to  his  partner  by  discarding 
the  best  card  of  it.  Discarding  the  sec- 
ond best  is  an  indication  that  the  player 
has  not  the  best;  and,  in  general,  the  dis- 
card of  any  small  card  shows  weakness 
in  that  suit.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.].  ''Com- 
plete Hoyle." 

Discard  from  the  weak  suit  if  strength 
of  trumps  is  with  partner,  and  from  the 
strong  suit  if  the  strength  is  with  the  ad- 
versaries; and  that  side  is  considered 
strong  in  trumps  which  remains  with  the 
mastery,  no  matter  from  which  side  came 
the  original  lead  of  trumps. — Frederick 


H.  Lewis  [L.  O.],  London  Field,  November. 
1887. 

If  early  in  the  hand  (before  the  fourth 
trick)  as  high  a  card  as  a  nine  is  discarded 
from  an  unplayed  suit,  it  is  generally 
safe  to  consider  it  a  call  for  trumps.  *  *  * 
The  discard  of  the  command  indicates 
complete  control  of  the  suit.  *  *  *  The 
discard  of  the  second  best  indicates  no 
more  of  the  suit.— Kate  Wheelock  (L.  A.I 
"  Whist  Rules,"  1896. 

The  long  suit  is  or  may  be  (after 
trumps)  the  most  valuable  you  have,  and 
every  card  of  it,  even  the  smallest,  may 
make  a  trick.  Hence,  you  must  discard 
from  a  short  or  weak  suit.  *  *  *  But 
if  strength  of  trumps  is  declared  against 
you,  reverse  the  rule,  and  discard  from, 
your  most  numerous  suit. —  William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  " Philosophy  of  Whist." 

Your  partner  should  understand  that 
your  first  or  original  discard  is  from  your 
weakest  suit,  just  as  he  understands  that 
your  original  lead  is  from  your  strongest 
suit.  But,  as  in  the  case  of  leads,  you  are 
sometimes  obliged  to  lead  from  a  weak 
suit,  or  to  make  a  forced  lead,  so  some- 
times you  have  to  make  &  forced  discard. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  "Laws  and  Princi- 
ples of  Whist." 

The  play  introduced  by  Rufus  Allen,  of 
Milwaukee,  is  to  discard  from  your  strong 
suit  if  trumps  are  led  originally,  whether 
by  partner  or  opponent,  and  from  your 
weak  suits  if  a  plain  suit  is  opened  orig- 
inally. That  is  to  say,  if  no  plain  suit  has 
yet  been  shown  by  any  one,  you  discard 
from  your  best  suit,  or  the  one  you  want 
your  partner  to  lead  you;  but  if  some  one 
has  shown  a  suit,  you  discard  from  the 
one  of  the  other  two  in  which  you  are 
weak,  or  which  you  do  not  want  him  to 
lead  you.— John  T.Mitchell  [L.  A.].  "Du- 
plicate Whist." 

Your  original  discard  is  from  your 
weakest  suit,  the  suit  in  which  you  are 
least  likely  to  make  a  trick.  It  is  under- 
stood, however,  that  this  is  before  strength 
in  trumps  has  been  declared  by  the  op- 
ponents. If  partner  has  asked  for  trumps, 
or  led  them,  it  does  not  affect  this  rule — 
you  still  discard  from  your  weakest  suit. 
If  the  opponents  have  first  called,  or  first 
led  trumps,  your  first  discard  is  from  your 
best  protected  suit.  When  trumps  are 
declared  against  you,  you  play  a  defen- 
sive game,  and  husband  what  little 
strength  you  have  in  your  weak  suits. — 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  \.L.A.\,  "Modern  Scien- 
tific Whist." 

The  present  system  of  discarding,  as 
laid  down  by  "  Cavendish,"  is  full  of  dif- 
ficulty. It  is  to  discard  from  your  weak 
suit  under  ordinary  circumstances,  and 
from  your  best  protected  suit  when  the 


DISCARD 


118 


DISPUTES 


strength  in  trumps  is  declared  against 
you:  and  that  these  should  be  distinctly  di- 
rective to  your  partner  (twentieth  edition, 
page  i  i6j.  I  find  this  system  is  no  longer 
adopted  by  players  of  the  first-class. 
They  claim  it  is  folly  to  betray  to  an 
enemy,  who  has  declared  superiority  in 
trumps,  the  exact  location  of  what  little 
defensive  strength  you  have.  *  *  *  The 
modern  theory  of  the  discard  is :  In 
attack,  or  when  playing  a  forward  game, 
preserve  your  own  and  your  partner's 
suits,  letting  everything  else  go,  even  un- 
guarding honors  and  leaving  aces  blank. 
In  defense,  discard  from  your  own  and 
your  partner's  suits,  keeping  guard  on 
those  of  the  adversary.  The  player  must 
be  particularly  on  his  guard  against 
drawing  too  rigid  inferences  from  dis- 
cards. It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
false  discard  is  too  often  a  stratagem  to 
mask  a  well-placed  tenace. — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.]  "  Whist  Strategy,"  1894. 

The  discard  from  the  best  protected 
suit,  on  adverse  declaration  of  strength 
in  trumps,  has  lately  been  assaulted,  and 
has  even  been  called  an  exploded  fallacy. 
*  *  *  The  manoeuvres  of  intelligent 
players,  with  the  exception  of  short-suit- 
ers, tend  to  this:  To  establish  a  suit;  then, 
with  reasonable  strength  in  trumps,  to 
exhaust  the  opponents;  and,  finally,  to 
bring  in  the  established  suit.  If  these 
tactics  work  successfully,  or  seem  to  give 
promise  of  a  successful  issue,  long  cards 
of  an  established  suit  should  be  religi- 
ously preserved.  But  it  may  be,  and  often 
is,  in  actual  play,  that  the  wary  adversary 
counterplots  and  strives  to  obstruct  the 
design.  Then  the  bigger  battalion  will 
generally  carry  the  day,  and,  if  against, 
defense  must  be  substituted  for  attack. 
The  question  then  is,  What  is  the  best  de- 
fense? When  the  opponent  is  firing  off 
his  trump  artillery,  and  is  known  to  have 
plenty  of  ammunition  in  reserve,  there  is 
no  chance  for  the  defender  by  ordinary 
methods.  He  must,  therefore,  reverse 
his  tactics,  and  try  to  save  what  little  he 
can,  by  protecting  his  weak  spots,  and,  to 
revert  to  card  language,  must  discard 
from  the  suit  in  which  he  is  well  protect- 
ed, but  which  he  cannot  hope  to  bring  in. 
There  is  another  side  to  the  shield.  The 
man  who  starts  the  shooting  may  have 
encountered  an  adversary  with  as  much 
ammunition  as  himself,  or  more,  and 
who  may  shoot  back.  Then  comes  the 
trouble.  Are  the  discards  to  be  protective 
or  the  reverse?  They  become  entirely  a 
matter  of  judgment;  and,  as  no  rule  can 
be  laid  down  for  judgment,  the  discards 
are  often  misleading.  Then  ensue  re- 
criminations, and  the  discard  from, 
strength  is  sneered  at  as  an  exploded 
fallacy.  If  the  players  who  desire  to  ex- 
plode it  would  only  turn  their  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  first  discard  depends 


on  who  has  the  command  of  trumps 
when  it  is  made,  they  would  probably  im- 
prove their  game,  and  would  displace  the 
exploded-fallacy  fad  from  their  imagina- 
tion. Still,  it  has  to  be  allowed  that,  un- 
der certain  circumstances,  the  original 
discard  is  beset  with  difficulties.  This, 
however,  is  no  reason  for  attempting  to 
explode  a  fallacy  which  is  not  a  fallacy. 
The  accepted  style  of  discarding  is  conso- 
nant with  sound  reason;  the  only  objec- 
tion to  it,  and  one  which  cannot  be  sur- 
mounted by  introducing  any  other  style, 
is  that  judgment  is  often  requisite  for  its 
correct  interpretation. — "'Cavendish  "  [L. 
A.],  Scribner's  Magazine,  July,  iSgj. 

Discard  Call. —See,  "Single 
Discard  Call." 

Discard,  Rotary. — See,  "Rotary 
Discard." 

Disguising  the  Number. — Play- 
ing a  card  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
ceiving as  to  number  in  suit. 

Disputes  About  Penalties. — In 

this  country,  where  whist  is  played 
chiefly  for  the  sake  of  the  game, 
disputes  over  the  penalties  pre- 
scribed by  the  laws  are  not  as  fre- 
quent or  serious  as  in  countries 
where  stakes  are  the  rule  at  the 
whist-table.  One  of  the  evils  of 
playing  for  money  is  plainly  evident 
in  the  obstinate  wrangling  to  which 
it  frequent!}'  leads.  Drayson  [L-f 
A+],m  his  "Whist  Laws  and  Whist 
Decisions,"  says:  "When  disputes 
occur  relative  to  penalties  for  of- 
fenses committed  against  the  laws 
of  whist,  these  usually  come  under 
three  heads,  viz. :  ( i )  ignorance  of 
the  laws;  (2)  misreading  or  forget- 
ting the  law  suitable  to  deal  with 
the  offense;  (3)  incompetency  for 
reasoning  soundly  on  the  applica- 
tion of  the  law."  General  Drayson 
has  done  his  share  in  trying  to  re- 
duce these  disputes  to  a  minimum, 
by  giving  in  his  book  upwards  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  actual 
cases  which  he  has  decided  in  the 
course  of  his  thirty  years'  experi- 
ence as  an  exponent  of  whist. 


DOMESTIC  RUBBER 


119 


DOUBLE-DUMMY 


No  player  should  object  to  referring  a 
disputed  question  of  fact  to  a  bystander 
who  professes  himself  uninterested  in 
the  result  of  the  game  and  able  to  decide 
the  question.— Etiquette  of  Whist  (Ameri- 
can Code). 

No  player  should  object  to  refer  to  a 
bystander  who  professes  himself  unin- 
terested in  the  game,  and  able  to  decide 
any  disputed  question  of  facts — as  to  who 
played  any  particular  card,  whether 
honors  were  claimed  though  not  scored, 
or  vice  versa,  etc. — Etiquette  of  Whist 
(English  Code). 

The  litigious  player  *  *  *  is  a  man 
much  given  to  argument  and  dispute. 
Although  there  are  certain  rules  laid 
down  for  whist,  yet  these  rules  do  not, 
and  cannot,  meet  every  variation  in  the 
game,  or  solve  all  the  cases  that  crop  up. 
The  litigious  player  is  perpetually  start- 
ing such  cases. — A.  W  Drayson  [L+A+], 
"Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Domestic      Rubber,      The. — A 

rubber  of  whist  played  in  the 
family  circle,  as  distinguished  from 
whist  at  the  clubs,  especially  in 
England.  In  domestic  whist,  natur- 
ally enough,  players  who  are  not 
experts  participate,  and  the  habitub 
of  the  club  is  apt  to  find  the  game 
perplexing,  if  not  trying  to  his 
good  nature. 

The  game,  even  when  mitigated  by 
muffins,  music,  and  the  humanizing 
influence  of  woman,  is  inexpressibly 
dreary. — "Pembridge"  [L+O.]. 

In  "domestic  whist"  I  have  found  it  an 
excellent  plan  never  to  lead  originally  a 
small  card  of  a  suit  in  which  I  have 
neither  ace  nor  king.  It  discourages  an 
untaught  partner  to  find  you  with  noth- 
ing better  than  jack  or  ten  when  he 
returns  your  suit.  The  long-suit  theory 
he  does  not  understand,  but  to  find  you 
with  ace  or  king  every  time  he  returns 
your  suit,  gives  him  great  confidence. 
Having  no  ace  or  king,  I  lead  a  singleton 
or  doubletou  lor  a  ruff  Failing  in  that, 
I  lead  trumps  and  trust  to  fortune. — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  O.]. 

Don'ts.— P.  J.  Tormey,  the  well- 
known  Pacific  coast  whist  enthu- 
siast, in  1896  issued  a  small  booklet, 
entitled  "  Whist  Don'ts,"  in  which 
he  formulates  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  bits  of  advice,  or  maxims, 
in  the  following  vein: 


Don't  ever  try  to  undo  a  play  at  whist. 

Don't  try  to  establish  two  suits  in  one 
deal. 

Don't  touch  a  card  while  the  deal  is 
going  on. 

Don't  ever  compare  scores  during  a 
match  game. 

Don't  bother  your  head  how  the  last 
deal  worked. 

Don't  guess  at  a  signal;  it  is  better  to 
be  sure  than  sorry. 

Don't  ever  lead  until  the  preceding  trick 
is  turned  and  quitted. 

Don't  jump  at  every  fad  the  "whist 
wind"  blows  your  way. 

Don't  ever  draw  a  card  out  of  your  hand 
until  it  is  your  turn  to  play. 

Don't  try  to  tell  all  you  know  every  time 
you  sit  down  at  a  whist-table. 

Don't  hesitate  to  false  card  in  trumps 
on  your  adversaries'  lead  of  same. 

Don't  think  you  can  ever  get  a  trick 
back  that  is  once  lost;  so  don't  worry 
over  it. 

Don't  forget  that  a  poor  hand  requires 
greater  whist  skill  to  play  well,  than  a 
good  one. 

Don't  hold  "post-mortems"  except  in 
the  "morgue;"  every  whist  club  should 
have  one. 

Don't  forget  we  are  all  human  and 
liable  to  err  in  whist  as  well  as  in  other 
walks  of  life. 

Don't  look  at  the  bottom  or  trump  card 
before  the  deal  is  completed;  if  you  do,  a 
new  deal  can  be  had. 

Don't  cut  unless  you  take  off  at  least 
four  cards  or  leave  at  least  four.  If  you 
do,  you  have  to  cut  again. 

Don't  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  you 
should  make  tricks  in  your  partner's 
hand  as  well  as  your  own. 

Don't  forget  that  a  card  led  out  of  turn 
must  betaken  back  into  the  hand,  and  is 
not  a  "  card  liable  to  be  called." 

Don't  discourage  your  partner  if  he  is  a 
beginner:  if  he  is  willing  to  learn,  assist 
him.  We  were  all  beginners  once. 

Don't  accustom  yourself  to  saying,  "It 
made  no  difference  my  playing  so  and 
so; "  the  reverse  is  generally  nearer  the 
mark. 

Double. — In  the  English  game, 
scoring  five  points  before  your  op- 
ponents win  three,  is  called  a 
double. 

The  winners  gain  *  *  *  a  double,  or 
game  of  two  points,  when  their  adver- 
saries have  scored  less  than  three. — 
Laws  of  Whist  (English  Code).  Section  8. 

Double-Dummy. — Whist  played 
by  two  players  each  having  a 
dummy,  or  exposed  hand,  for  his 


DOUBLE-DUMMY 


120     DOUBLE-DUMMY  PUZZLE 


partner.  It  is  governed  by  the 
same  laws  as  dummy  (q.  v.),  ex- 
cept there  is  no  misdeal,  the  deal 
being  a  disadvantage.  The  player 
•who  cuts  lowest  deals  first,  for  his 
dummy.  He  also  has  the  privilege  of 
selecting  his  own  seat,  and  usually 
takes  the  position  on  the  right 
of  the  living  player,  as  it  is  better, 
in  case  doubt  should  arise  as  to 
whether  certain  cards  have  been 
played  or  not,  to  lead  up  to  an  ex- 
posed hand  than  up  to  a  concealed 
one. 

Some  players  go  so  far  as  to  ex- 
pose all  four  hands  upon  the  table, 
in  which  case  the  play  is  simply  an 
analytical  problem  like  a  game  of 
chess.  While  not  in  high  favor 
with  the  average  whist-player, 
double-dummy  is  very  useful  for 
purposes  of  study,  and  especially 
in  working  out  problems  like  the 
grand)  Vienna  coup,  the  Whitfeld 
problem,  and  many  other  whist 
puzzles.  One  of  the  finest  double- 
dummy  players,  and  constructor  of 
double-dummy  problems,  was  the 
late  F.  H.  Lewis,  who  contributed 
a  large  number  to  the  Westminster 
Papers  during  its  eleven  years  of 
existence.  W.  H.  Whitfeld  is  the 
best  we  now  have. 

Double-dummy  is  not  whist,  nor  any- 
thing like  it;  it  much  more  closely  resem- 
bles chess;  one  is  a  game  of  inference, 
the  other  is  an  exact  science,  where  the 
position  of  every  card  is  known. — "Pern- 
bridge"  [L+O.]. 

Neither  dummy  can  revoke,  and  there 
are  no  such  things  as  exposed  cards,  or 
cards  played  in  error.  It  is  very  common 
for  one  player  to  claim  that  he  will  win  a 
certain  number  of  tricks,  and  for  his  ad- 
versary to  admit  it,  and  allow  him  to 
score  them  without  playing  the  handout. 
— K.  F.  Foster  [S.  0.1  "'Complete  Hoyle." 

There  is  nothing  in  the  game  beyond 
the  skillful  use  of  the  tenace  position,  dis- 
carding, and  establishing  cross-ruffs. 
Analysis  is  the  mental  power  chiefly  en- 
gaged. *  *  *  The  practice  of  the  game 
is  totally  different  from  any  other  form 
of  whist,  and  much  more  closely  resem- 
bles chess.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Compute 
ffoyle." 


The  best  preliminary  practice  is  double- 
dummy,  for  which  no  advice,  rules,  or 
judgment  are  necessary,  which  requires 
less  memory  than  the  ordinary  game,  but 
exercises  greater  analytical  skill — ap- 
proximating to  chess,though  more  charm- 
ing, through  the  variety  of  chance,  and 
with  the  same  advantage  of  having  no 
partner  to  abuse. — Clement  Dairies  [L. 
A  +1 , ' 'Modern  Whist." 

The  player  should  first  carefully  ex- 
amine the  exposed  hands,  and  by  com- 
paring them  with  his  own,  suit  by  suit, 
should  fix  in  his  mind  the  cards  held  by 
his  living  adversary.  This  takes  time, 
and  in  many  places  it  is  the  custom  to 
expose  the  four  hands  upon  the  table. 
Players  who  have  better  memories  than 
their  opponents  object  to  this,  for  the 
same  reason  that  they  prefer  sitting  on 
the  right  of  the  living  player  [i.  e.,  in 
case  they  forget  whether  certain  cards 
have  been  played,  they  prefer  to  lead  up 
to  an  exposed  hand  rather  than  one  of 
whose  contents  they  are  doubtful].  *  *  * 
The  hands  once  fixed  in  the  mind,  some 
time  should  be  given  for  a  careful  consid- 
eration of  the  best  course  to  pursue;  after 
which  the  play  should  proceed  pretty 
rapidly  until  the  last  few  tricks,  when 
another  problem  may  present  itself. — R. 
F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  " Complete  Hoyle." 

Double-Dummy  Puzzle. — Gen- 
eral A.  W.  Dray  son  is  the  origina- 
tor of  the  following  ingenious  little 
double-dummy  puzzle:  Give  the 
adversaries  four  by  honors  in  every 
suit;  give  yourself  and  partner  any 
of  the  other  cards  you  choose;  and 
win  five  by  cards  against  them,  you 
to  have  the  lead.  Two  solutions 
may  be  found  in  Proctor's  "  How  to 
Play  Whist,"  as  follows: 

First  Solution. — A  holds  nine, 
seven,  five,  two  of  diamonds;  ten, 
nine,  eight,  seven,  six,  five,  four, 
three,  two  of  clubs;  no  spades  and 
no  hearts.  B  holds  ten,  eight,  six, 
four,  three  of  diamonds;  ten,  nine, 
eight,  seven  of  spades;  ten,  nine, 
eight,  seven  of  hearts;  no  clubs. 
Y  holds  king  and  jack  of  diamonds; 
king  and  jack  of  spades;  king, 
jack,  six,  five,  four,  three,  two  of 
hearts,  and  king  and  jack  of  clubs. 
Z  holds  ace,  queen  of  diamonds; 
ace,  queen,  six,  five,  four,  three, 
two  of  spades;  ace,  queen  of  hearts; 


DOUBLE-DUMMY  PUZZLB     12 1 


DOUBTFUL  CARD 


and  ace,  queen  of  clubs.     Z  deals; 
diamonds  are  trumps,  and  A  leads: 


<n 

1 

*H 
1 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

*  2 
2  0 
5  0 

*  J 

J  0 
J   4> 
*  K 
KO 
V  J 

3  0 

*Q 

QO 

40 
7  4 
6  0 

2  + 
*  A 

AO 

*3 

7  0 
9  0 

8  0 

V  7 

<9  A 

A  then  brings  in  his  clubs,  Y  and 
Z  playing  any  cards  they  please, 
and  B  retains  his  long  trump  until 
the  thirteenth  trick.  Proctor  adds: 
"It  is  obvious  that  Y  and  Z  are 
powerless.  If  Z  leads  diamond  ace 
at  trick  three,  the  order  of  tricks 
three,  four,  and  five  is  simply 
changed,  but  the  result  is  the  same. 

Second  Solution.  —  Clubs  are 
trumps.  A  holds  ten,  six,  five,  four 
of  clubs;  ten,  nine,  eight,  seven, 
six,  five,  four,  three,  two  of  dia- 
monds; no  hearts  or  spades.  B 
holds  nine,  eight,  seven,  three,  two 
of  clubs;  ten,  nine,  eight,  seven, 
six,  five,  four,  three  of  hearts;  no 
diamonds  or  spades.  Y  holds  ace, 
king  of  clubs;  queen,  jack  of  hearts; 
ace,  queen  of  diamonds;  king,  jack, 
ten,  nine,  eight,  six,  five  of  spades. 
Z  holds  the  queen,  jack  of  clubs; 
ace,  king,  two  of  hearts;  ace,  queen, 
seven,  four,  three,  two  of  spades; 
and  king,  jack  of  diamonds.  Z 
deals,  and  A  leads  as  follows: 


1 

£ 
i 

2 
3 
4 
5 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

20 
*  4 
+  6 

QO 
*  K 

*  2 

J  0 
*  J 

<?  2 
KO 
*Q 

*  3 

<9  3 

*  7 

<?  J 
AO 
*  A 

3  0 
*  5 

*  8 

Whether  Y  leads  a  heart  or 
spade,  A  is  bound  to  bring  in  his 
diamonds.  Beginning  with  trick 
three,  Proctor  also  gives  the  fol- 
lowing alternative  play  : 


M 

1 

H 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 

30 
*  5 
*  6 

6  * 

*  A 

*  7 

2  * 
*  Q 
3  * 
KO 
<?  2 

*  8 
£>  3 
*  9 

8  * 

AO 
<9  J 

40 
*10 

V  4 

It  does  not  matter,  at  trick  five, 
what  Y  plays. 

Double  Echo. — An  echo  which 
indicates  more  than  four  trumps  in 
the  hand  of  the  player  making  it. 
It  is  made  by  echoing  twice  after 
partner's  signal  for  trumps  or  lead 
of  trumps.  (See,  also,  "  Four  Sig- 
nal.") 

Commence  a  trump  signal  or  echo  in 
every  suit  until  completed  ill  one,  but  do 
not  begin  a  second  signal  or  echo,  if  one 
was  completed,  unless  to  show  great 
strength.  This  is  called  a  double  signal, 
or  double  echo. — Kate  Wheelock  \L.  A.], 
"WAtsttfules." 

Doubleton. — An  original  two- 
card  suit. 

Having  no  ace  or  king,  I  lead  a  single- 
ton or  doubleton  for  a  ruff. — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

Doubtful  Card. — A  card  led  by 
the  opponent  on  your  right  which 
your  partner  may  or  may  not  be 
able  to  take.  It  may  have  been  led 
from  strength  or  weakness.  It  is 
well  to  take  it,  second  hand,  unless 
there  be  a  good  reason  for  passing 
it.  (See,  also,  ' '  Doubtful  Trick. " ) 

Passing  a  doubtful  card  is  not  a  call  for 
trumps,  but  it  implies  either  four  trumps 
or  three  good  ones  that  had  best  not  be 
broken,  and  is  a  direct  intimation  to  part- 
ner to  lead  them,  if  he  has  any  assist- 
ance.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  \L.  A.]. 


DOUBTFUL  TRICK 


122        DRAYSON,  ALFRED  W. 


Doubtful  Trick. — A  trick  which 
your  partner  may  or  may  not  be 
able  to  take;  a  trick  in  which  the 
card  first  led  is  a  doubtful  one,  and 
you,  having  none  of  the  suit,  second 
hand,  must  decide  whether  to 
trump  or  discard.  This  depends 
upon  the  trump  strength  or  weak- 
ness in  your  hand.  If  strong  (i.e., 
possessing  at  least  four),  you  pass 
the  trick,  and  thereby  convey  in- 
formation to  your  partner  which 
may  cause  him  to  lead  trumps  at 
the  first  opportunity. 

Passing  doubtful  tricks  is  usually  con- 
sidered an  indication  of  at  least  four 
trumps.—/?.  F,  Foster  [S.  O.},  "Whist 
Strategy.'"'' 

If  you  are  weak  in  trumps  they  are 
only  good  for  trumping,  and  you  may  use 
them  unhesitatingly  for  that  purpose. 
But  if  you  are  numerically  strong  in 
trumps,  they  are  so  valuable  that  you 
ought  not  to  waste  any  on  the  chance  of 
its  being  an  unnecessary  sacrifice;  in  this 
case,  too,  your  discard  from  a  plain  suit 
may  be  advantageous  to  you  hereafter, 
and  may  give  valuable  information  to 
your  partner: — William  Pole  [L.  A+], 
*' Philosophy  of  WAist." 

Doubt,  In. — An  uncomfortable 
frame  of  mind  in  which  a  player 
sometimes  finds  himself  when  he 
has  not  paid  strict  attention  to  the 
game,  or  when  for  some  other 
reason  he  does  not  remember  the 
fall  of  the  cards.  Hoyle's  advice 
is:  "  When  in  doubt,  win  the 
trick." 

Draw  of  Cards. — Players  draw 
their  cards  from  the  centre  of  the 
table,  and  place  them  in  front  of 
themselves,  to  indicate  how  they 
were  played,  if  for  any  reason  this 
becomes  necessary  and  is  demanded 
during  the  play  of  a  round  or  trick. 

It  is  not  allowed  to  draw  your  cards  for 
your  partner,  unless  he  request  it.  The 
cause  of  this  prohibition  is  evident;  here 
Is  the  boundary  within  which  intimations 
are  confined.— Deschapelles  [O.],  "Laws." 

Any  one  during  the  play  of  a  trick,  and 
before  the  cards  have  been  touched  for 


the  purpose  of  gathering  them  together, 
may  demand  that  the  players  draw  their 
cards. — Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code), 
Section  34. 

Any  one  during  the  play  of  a  trick,  or 
after  the  four  cards  are  played,  and  be- 
fore, but  not  after,  they  are  touched  for 
the  purpose  of  gathering  them  together, 
may  demand  that  the  cards  be  placed  be- 
fore their  respective  players.— Laws  of 
Whist  (English  Code),  Section  85. 

Each  person  in  playing  ought  to  lay  his 
card  before  him;  after  he  has  done  so,  if 
either  of  the  adverse  parties  mix  their 
cards  with  his,  his  partner  is  entitled  to 
demand  each  person  to  lay  his  card  before 
him;  but  not  to  inquire  who  played  any 
particular  card. — Edmond  Hoyle  [O.]. 

Any  player,before  the  cards  are  touched 
for  the  purpose  of  being  gathered,  can 
require  each  player's  card  to  be  named  or 
placed  before  them.  In  former  times,  it 
is  supposed  that  each  player  put  his  card 
in  front.of  him  instead  of  throwing  them, 
as  we  do  now,  in  the  middle  of  the  table. 
—Charles  Mossop  [L+O.],  Westminster 
Papers,  April  j,  1879. 

Drayson,       Alfred       Wilkes. — 

Among  the  many  eminent  men 
who  have  brought  genius  and 
scholarship  to  bear  upon  the  eluci- 
dation of  whist,  and  who  have 
helped  to  make  the  game  a  delight- 
ful study,  General  Drayson  must 
ever  be  held  in  high  and  honored 
remembrance.  He  was  born  at 
Waltham  Abbey,  Essex,  England, 
April  17,  1827,  and  now  lives  in 
quiet  retirement  at  Southsea. 

General  Dray  son's  life  has  been 
an  eventful  one.  His  education 
was  obtained  in  part  at  the  Roches- 
ter Grammar  School,  to  which  he 
was  sent  at  the  age  of  eleven.  After 
two  years  he  was  obliged  to  discon- 
tinue his  attendance  owing  to  a  se- 
vere attack  of  scarlet  fever.  He 
was  then  taken  in  charge  by  an 
elder  brother,  a  civil  engineer,  and 
with  him  he  went  on  surveying  ex- 
peditions, which  afforded  healthful 
outdoor  exercise,  returning  strength 
and  useful  knowledge.  After  this 
we  find  him  taking  a  three-years' 
course  as  a  cadet  at  the  Royal  Mili- 
tary Academy,  Woolwich,  where, 


DRAYSON,  ALFRED  W.   123    DRAYSON,  ALFRED  W. 


on  his  examination,  he  duly  passed, 
receiving  a  commission  in  the  Royal 
Artillery.  Shortly  afterward  he  was 
ordered  to  Africa,  where  he  arrived 
just  in  time  to  participate  in  a 
Kaffir  war.  He  served  ten  months 
on  the  frontier,  and  saw  much  rough 
service.  He  was  then  ordered  to 
the  new  colony  of  Natal,  where  he 
lived  three  years  with  the  Zulus 
and  Natal  Kaffirs,  and  gained  those 
experiences  which  enabled  him  to 
write  several  interesting  and  suc- 
cessful books  about  South  Africa. 

Upon  the  young  soldier's  return  to 
England  he  was  promoted  to  a  cap- 
taincy, and  made  adjutant  at  Wool- 
wich. He  was  next  appointed 
instructor  in  surveying  and  practi- 
cal astronomy  at  the  Royal  Military 
Academy,  and  soon  after  became 
professor  at  the  same  institution. 
In  addition  he  took  charge  of  the 
Royal  Artillery  Observatory,  and 
instructed  the  officers  in  the  various 
branches  of  astronomy.  He  was 
twice  re-appointed,  and  served  fif- 
teen years  in  these  positions. 

In  1876  he  served  in  India>  as 
president  of  two  committees  for 
the  improvement  and  re-armament 
of  the  various  forts  in  Bengal,  and 
for  his  valuable  services  he  received 
the  thanks  of  the  government. 
Upon  his  return  home  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  Royal 
Artillery  in  British  North  America, 
with  headquarters  at  Halifax,  Nova 
Scotia,  where  he  resided  nearly  five 
years.  In  1882  he  retired  on  a  pen- 
sion, with  the  rank  of  major-gen- 
eral, after  thirty-eight  years  of 
service. 

General  Drayson's  books,  other 
than  those  on  whist,  are:  "Sport- 
ing Scenes  Among  the  Kaffres, " 
which  was  published  in  1858  and 
passed  through  several  editions; 
"Tales  at  the  Outspan,"  "Among 
the  Zulus,"  "TheWoolwich  Cadet," 
"  Experiences  of  a  Woolwich  Pro- 


fessor," "From  Keeper  to  Cap- 
tain," "The  Diamond  Hunters," 
"The  White  Chief  of  the  Umzim- 
vubu,"  etc.  Among  his  scientific 
works  are:  "  Practical  Military  Sur- 
veying, ' '  for  many  years  a  text-book 
in  military  colleges;  "Common 
Sights  in  the  Heavens,"  "The 
Cause  of  the  Glacial  Epoch,"  "  Un- 
trodden Ground  in  Astronomy," 
etc.  He  has  also  been  a  frequent 
contributor  to  the  magazines  and 
scientific  journals.  His  discovery 
of  the  second  rotation  of  the  earth, 
and  the  true  cause  of  the  ice  age, 
was  received  with  incredulity 
twenty-five  years  ago,  but  Ameri- 
can scientists  first  admitted  its 
correctness,  and  to-day  General 
Drayson's  position  is  vindicated. 

We  think  we  have  said  enough 
to  show  that  he  was  by  his  training, 
intellect,  and  achievements  superb- 
ly equipped  for  the  study  and  im- 
provement of  whist,  a  science  in 
which  he  is  universally  admitted  to 
be  one  of  the  masters.  When  men 
of  his  calibre  and  attainments  seri- 
ously devote  themselves  to  its  ad- 
vancement, lovers  of  the  game  may 
well  rejoice.  He  began  his  whist 
studies  when  a  child  of  six  years. 
His  father,  a  good,  old-fashioned 
whist-player,  considered  that  whist 
was  a  good  training  for  the  intel- 
lect, and  frequently  indulged  the 
lad  with  a  game  of  double-dummy 
as  a  treat.  This  early  exercise  in- 
duced a  love  for  the  game,  and  dur- 
ing his  long  residence  at  Woolwich 
whist  of  an  afternoon  was  a  fre- 
quent attraction  at  the  Royal  Artil- 
lery mess.  When  in  India  his 
proficiency  as  a  player  soon  became 
known,  and  he  was  asked  to  write 
some  articles  on  whist  for  the 
Pioneer.  This  led  to  the  produc- 
tion of  his  splendid  book,  "  The 
Art  of  Practical  Whist,"  which  in 
1897  had  passed  through  five  edi- 
tions, and  which  contains,  among 


DRAYSON,  ALFRED  W.    124   DRAYSON,  ALFRED  W. 


other  original  suggestions,  the  pro- 
posed lead  of  the  antepenultimate 
from  suits  of  six,  supplementing 
"  Cavendish's  "  penultimate  lead 
from  five.  General  Drayson's  im- 
provement found  favor  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  where  N.  B.  Trist,  in 
collaboration  with  "Cavendish," 
subsequently  rounded  out  the  idea 
by  the  establishment  of  the  fourth- 
best  principle,  counting  from  the 
top  of  the  suit  down,  instead  of 
from  the  bottom,  and  showing  be- 
sides number  in  suit  also  the  pos- 
session of  exactly  three  cards 
higher  than  the  one  led. 

The  "Art  of  Practical  Whist" 
was  published  in  1879,  and  con- 
tained the  first  announcement  of 
the  antepenultimate  lead.  In  the 
second  edition  General  Draysou 
added  some  interesting  suggestions 
on  the  subject  of  drawing  the  last 
trump.  In  an  appendix  to  the 
third  edition  he  announced  and 
discussed  his  well-known  develop- 
ment of  the  ask  for  trumps,  which 
he  named  the  " change  the  suit" 
signal  (q.  v.).  In  the  appendix  to 
the  fourth  edition,  published  in 
1885,  he  added  a  number  of  sug- 
gestions for  the  simplification  of 
the  discard,  and  also  a  very  clever 
and  humorous  description  of 
twenty-six  types  of  whist-players. 
In  the  fifth  edition  ( 1886),  he  pays 
attention  also  to  the  American 
leads,  which,  he  personally  assures 
us,  he  considers  good  in  most 
cases.  He  is  an  advocate  of  the 
original  lead  from  long  suits,  as  a 
rule,  but  says  there  are  exceptions. 
He  adopts  no  cast-iron  rules  for 
leads,  but  is  guided  by  the  score, 
and  by  his  partner's  and  adver- 
saries' skill  and  perception. 

Of  the  "Art  of  Practical  Whist" 
it  has  been  well  said:  "  It  is  a  safe 
guide  to  the  beginner,  and  an  in- 
structive companion  and  sagacious 
counselor  to  the  more  expert.  It 


is  the  science  of  common  sense." 
His  next  work,  "Whist  Laws  and 
Whist  Decisions, "  appeared  in  1896, 
and  is  admirably  adapted  for  the 
inculcation  of  an  accurate  under- 
standing of  the  laws  of  the  game, 
and  their  proper  construction  and 
application. 

General  Drayson  was  elected  an 
honorary  member  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  at  its  second  con- 
gress, in  1892,  and  although  he  has 
not  been  able  to  attend  any  of  the 
annual  gatherings,  he  takes  a  warm 
and  sympathetic  interest  in  the 
League  and  American  whist  in  gen- 
eral, as  witness  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  written  by  him 
to  R.  H.  Weems,  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  organization,  under 
date  of  May  25,  1896:  "I  am 
much  gratified  to  know  that  sys- 
tems of  play  which  I  adopted 
twenty-five  years  ago,  and  which 
fell  flat  in  England,  except  among 
personal  friends,  have  in  America 
been  lately  appreciated.  It  seems 
to  me  that  in  England,  when  any 
novelty  is  brought  forward,  people 
ask,  '  Who  has  brought  this  for- 
ward ?'  If  the  '  who '  is  not  an  ad- 
mitted authority,  the  novelty  is 
ignored.  In  America  it  is  asked, 
'  What  is  the  novelty  ?'  and  it  is  ex- 
amined, and,  if  found  to  be  sound, 
is  adopted.  It  is  progress  versus 
stick-in-the-mud.  I  can  assure  you 
it  is  a  very  great  disappointment  to 
me  to  feel  that  in  spite  of  all  your 
kind  suggestions,  I  dare  not  ven- 
ture on  a  trip  to  Brooklyn.  Rough 
service  in  South  Africa  and  in  India 
have  taken  a  great  deal  out  of  me; 
thus  having  passed  three-score 
years  and  ten,  I  am  obliged  to  be 
careful.  Any  disturbance  of  my 
usual  quiet  habits  sets  me  wrong. " 

General  Drayson  has  played 
whist  for  more  than  sixty  years,  in 
England,  France,  Spain,  South 
Africa,  India,  and  Canada.  It  will 


DRIVE  WHIST 


125 


DUFFER 


always  be  a  regret  to  American 
players  that  he  could  not  have 
added  to  his  record  the  United 
States. 

D  rive  Wh  ist.  — A  method  by  which 
straight  whist  is  played  at  social 
parties  by  a  large  number  of  per- 
sons, somewhat  after  the  manner 
of  progressive  euchre.  As  many 
tables  as  possible  are  filled  by  the 
players,  who  select  their  partners 
for  the  first  hand,  unless  the  hostess 
prefers  to  do  so  by  some  other 
means,  such  as  drawing  lots.  A 
stated  number  of  hands  are  played, 
or  a  time  is  set  for  play  to  cease. 
The  cards  are  shuffled  and  cut  for 
every  hand,  which  constitutes  a 
game.  Both  winners  and  losers 
score  all  the  tricks  which  they  take, 
the  hands  being  played  out.  The 
winners  at  each  table  drive  the 
losers  to  another  table.  In  some 
cases,  partners  play  with  each  other 
during  the  entire  evening;  in  other 
cases,  the  arrangement  is  preferred 
•whereby  partners  change  at  the 
end  of  each  hand.  Prizes  are 
given  to  the  lady  and  gentleman 
making  the  highest  score  during 
the  evening.  Refreshments  also 
form  a  feature  of  the  evening's 
entertainment. 

Whist  parties  where  "  drive  "  whist  is 
played,  are  apt  to  be  "bumblepuppy  " 
parties  instead,  for  when  a  lot  of  women 
meet  as  guests  of  another  woman,  there 
are  sure  to  be  some  who  only  play  for 
fun,  and  who  seem  to  think  that  that  pre- 
cludes any  knowledge  of  systematic  play, 
and  the  great  necessity  of  whist,  silent 
attention.  The  volume  of  talk  that  conies 
from  a  whist-party  would  (generally)  put 
to  shame  a  fair  or  a  sewing  society.  But 
for  the  present  it  is  a  society  fad,  and  un- 
til society  drops  that  and  takes  up  some- 
thing else,  whist-lovers  suffer  and  wait 
•with  what  patience  they  may, — Harriet 
Allen  Anderson  [L.  A.],  Home  Maga- 
zine, 1895. 

Duffer. — A  player  who  is  all  at 
sea  concerning  the  principles  of 
the  game  which  he  is  attempting, 


but  who  thinks  he  knows  it  all;  a 
bumblepuppist  (q.  v.).  "Caven- 
dish" has  formulated  the  follow- 
ing amusing  satire,  which  he  calls 
"  The  Duffer's  Whist  Maxims  "  : 

1.  Do  not  confuse  your  mind  by 
reading  a  parcel  of  books.     Surely, 
you've  a  right  to  play  your  own 
game,   if  you  like.     Who  are  the 
people    that    wrote    these    books? 
What  business  have  they  to  set  up 
their  views  as  superior  to  yours? 
Many  of   these   writers   lay   down 
this  rule:  "  Lead  originally  from 
your    strongest    suit;"    don't    you 
do   it,  unless  it  suits  your  hand. 
It  may   be  good    in   some  hands, 
but  it  doesn't  follow  that  it  should 
be    in    all.     Lead    a    single   card 
sometimes,  or,    at   any  rate,  from 
your  weakest  suit,  so  as  to  make 
your  little   trumps  when  the  suit 
is    returned.      By     following   this 
course    in    leads    you   will,    nine 
times  out  of  ten,  ruin  both   your 
own    and    your    partner's    hands; 
but  the  tenth  time  you  will  per- 
haps make   several    little  trumps, 
which  would    have    been    useless 
otherwise.     In  addition  to  this,  if 
sometimes    you    lead    from    your 
strongest  suit,  and  sometimes  from 
your  weakest,  it  puzzles  the  adver- 
saries, and  they  never  can  tell  what 
you  have  led  from. 

2.  Seldom  return  your  partner's 
lead;  you  have  as  many  cards  in 
your  hands  as  he  has;  it  is  a  free 
country,  and  why  should  you  sub- 
mit to  his  dictation?     Play  the  suit 
you  deem  best,  without  regard  to 
any  preconceived  theories. 

It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  lead  out 
first  one  suit  and  then  another.  This 
mode  of  play  is  extremely  perplex- 
ing to  the  whole  table.  If  you 
have  a  fancy  for  books,  you  will 
find  this  system  approved  bv  "J. 
C."  He  says:  "  You  mystify  alike 
your  adversaries  and  your  partner, 
you  turn  the  game  upside  down, 


DUFFER 


126 


DUFFER 


reduce  it  to  one  of  chance,  and,  in 
the  scramble,  may  have  as  good  a 
chance  as  your  neighbors." 

3.  Especially  do  not  return  your 
partner's  lead  in  trumps,  for  not 
doing  so  now  and  theii  turns  out  to 
be  advantageous.     Who  knows  but 
you  may  make  a  trump  by  holding 
it  up,  which  you  certainly  cannot 
do  if   your    trumps   are    all    out. 
Never  mind  the  fact  that  you  will 
generally  lose  tricks  by  refusing  to 
play  your  partner's  game. 

Whenever  you  succeed  in  making 
a  trump  by  your  refusal,  be  sure  to 
point  out  to  your  partner  how  for- 
tunate it  was  that  you  played  as 
you  did. 

Perhaps  your  partner  is  a  much 
better  player  than  you,  and  he  may 
on  some  former  occasion,  with  an 
exceptional  hand,  have  declined  to 
return  your  lead  of  trumps.  Make 
a  note  of  this.  Remind  him  of  it 
if  he  complains  of  your  neglecting 
to  return  his  lead.  It  is  an  unan- 
swerable argument. 

4.  There  are   a  lot  of  rules — to 
which,  however,  you  need  pay  no 
attention — about   leading   from  se- 
quences.    What  can  it  matter  which 
card  of  a  sequence  you  lead  ?    The 
sequence  cards  are  all  of  the  same 
value,  and  one  of  them  is  as  likely 
to  win  the  trick  as  another.     Be- 
sides,   if    you   look  at  the  books, 
you'll  find  the  writers  don't  even 
know  their  own  minds.     They  ad- 
vise in  some  cases  that  you  should 
lead  the  highest,  in  others  the  low- 
est, of  the  sequence;  and  in  leading 
from  ace,  king,  queen,  they  actually 
recommend  you  to  begin  with  the 
middle  card.     Any  person  of  com- 
mon  sense  must  infer   from  this 
that  it  don't  matter  which  card  of 
a  sequence  you  lead. 

5.  There  are  also  a  number  of 
rules  about  the  play  of  the  second, 
third,  and  fourth  hands,  but  they 
are  quite  unworthy  serious  consid- 


eration. The  exceptions  are  almost 
as  numerous  as  the  rules,  so  if  you 
play  by  no  rule  at  all  you  are  about 
as  likely  to  be  right  as  wrong. 

6.  Before  leading  trumps,  always 
first  get  rid  of  all  the  winning  cards 
in  your  plain  suit.     You  will  not 
then  be  bothered  by  the  lead  after 
trumps  are  out,  and  you  thus  shift 
all  the  responsibility  of  mistakes 
on  your  partner.     But  if  your  part- 
ner has  led  a  suit,  be  careful  when 
you  lead  trumps  to  keep  in  your 
hand  the  best  card  of  his  lead.    By 
this  means,  if  he  goes  on  with  his 
suit,  you  are  more  likely  to  get  the 
lead   after  trumps  are  out,  which, 
the  books  say,  is  a  great  advantage. 

7.  Take    every    opportunity    of 
playing  false  cards,  both  high  and 
low.     For  by  deceiving  all  round, 
you  will  now  and  then  win  an  extra 
trick.     It  is  often  said,  "Oh,  but 
you  deceive  your  partner."     That 
is  very  true.      But,    then,    as  you 
have  two  adversaries  and  only  one 
partner,  it  is  obvious  that  by  run- 
ning dark  you  play  two  to  one  in 
your  own  favor.     Besides  this,  it  is 
very   gratifying,  when  your   trick 
succeeds.to  have  taken  in  your  oppo- 
nents, and  to  have  won  the  applause 
of   an    ignorant    gallery.     If  you 
play  in  a  commonplace  way,  even 
your  partner  scarcely  thanks  you. 
Anybody    could    have     done    the 
same. 

8.  Whatever  you  do,  never  attend 
to  the  score,  and  don't  watch  the 
fall    of  the    cards.      There    is    no 
earthly  reason  for  doing  either  of 
these.     As  for  the  score,  your  ob- 
ject  is   to   make  as  many  as  you 
can.     The  game  is  five,  but  if  you 
play  to  the  score  six  or  seven,  small 
blame  to  you.  Never  mind  running 
the    risk   of   not    getting  another 
chance  of  making  even  five.    Keep 
as  many  pictures  and  winning  cards 
as  you  can  in  your  hand.    They  are 
pretty  to  look  at,  and  if  you  remain 


DUGGAN,  GEORGE  E.    127   DUKE  OF  CUMBERLAND 


with  the  best  of  each  suit  you  ef- 
fectually prevent  the  adversaries 
from  bringing  in  a  lot  of  small 
cards  at  the  end  of  the  hand.  As 
to  the  fall  of  the  cards,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  it  is  of  no  use  to  watch 
them,  for  if  everybody  at  the  table 
is  trying  to  deceive  you,  in  accord- 
ance with  maxim  7,  the  less  you 
notice  the  cards  they  play  the  less 
you  will  be  taken  in. 

9.  Whenever    you    have   ruined 
your  hand  and  your  partner's  by 
playing   in   the   way   here   recom- 
mended,   you    should    always   say 
that  it  "  made  no  difference." 

It  sometimes  happens  that  it  has 
made  no  difference,  and  then  your 
excuse  is  clearly  valid.  And  it  will 
often  happen  that  your  partner  does 
not  care  to  argue  the  point  with 
you,  in  which  case  your  remark 
will  make  it  clear  to  everybody 
that  you  have  a  profound  insight 
into  the  game.  If,  however,  your 
partner  chooses  to  be  disagreeable, 
and  succeeds  in  proving  you  to  be 
utterly  ignorant  of  the  first  ele- 
ments of  whist,  stick  to  it  that  you 
played  right,  that  good  play  will 
sometimes  turn  out  unfortunately, 
and  accuse  your  partner  of  judging 
by  results.  This  will  generally 
silence  him. 

10.  Invariably  blow  up  your  part- 
ner at  the  end  of  every  hand.    It  is 
not  only  a  most  gentlemanlike  em- 
ployment of  spare  time,  but  it  gains 
you  the  reputation  of  being  a  first- 
rate  player. 

Duggan,  George  E. — An  emi- 
nently successful  teacher  of  whist, 
born  in  Hamilton,  Ontario,  Can- 
ada, in  1845.  He  played  whist  as  a 
boy  of  eighteen,  and  in  social  circles 
was  for  many  years  considered  a 

food  player.    In  1882,  however,  he 
egan  to  seriously  study  the  game, 
and  in  1890  began  his  work  as  an 
instructor,  in  New  York  City.     He 


went  to  Chicago  during  the  World's 
Fair,  and  liked  the  city  so  well  that 
he  remained  permanently.  Many 
of  the  best  whisters  have  been  since 
numbered  among  his  pupils  there, 
both  men  and  women.  "  I  am  sat- 
isfied," he  says,  "  from  a  long  and 
varied  personal  experience,  and  a 
study  of  the  various  systems  that 
have  of  late  sprung  up  like  mush- 
rooms (some  points  in  each,  like  an 
extra  course  at  dinner,  being  occa- 
sionally desirable),  that  there  is 
only  one  system  for  regular  daily 
diet,  that  of  the  'master,'  '  Caven- 
dish.' So  I  teach  it,  with  the  oc- 
casional other  pointers,  as  oppor- 
tunity presents." 

Duke  of  Cumberland's  Famous 
Hand. — One  of  the  most  widely 
quoted  and  astonishing  hands  at 
whist  is  the  famous  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland hand.  Proctor  uses  it  as 
a  frontispiece  to  his  book,  "How 
to  Play  Whist,"  and  quotes  from 
The  Kaleidoscope  (evidently  a  jour- 
nal published  in  England)  a  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  the  hand 
"was  dealt  to  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland, as  he  was  playing  whist  at 
the  rooms  at  Bath,"  a  great  resort 
in  its  day  for  whist-players  who 
played  for  heavy  stakes.  "Port- 
land," in  his  volume  of  whist  lore, 
entitled  "The  Whist  Table,"  gives 
the  hand  as  a  striking  example  of 
how  "  good  cards  "  may  be  "  beaten 
by  sheer  bad  luck. "  It  is  a  veritable 
whist  curiosity,  but  despite  the  gen- 
eral acceptance  of  the  story  con- 
nected with  it,  we  seriously  doubt 
whether  the  cards  were  dealt  in 
actual  play.  We  believe,  with 
Fisher  Ames,  that  while  the  bet 
may  have  been  made,  and  the 
money  lost,  the  hand  itself  was 
prepared  beforehand.  This  does 
not  detract  from  its  interest,  how- 
ever, as  a  whist  puzzle.  The  duke, 
it  is  said,  lost  ^"20,000  on  the  play. 


DUKE  OF  CUMBERLAND       128 


DUMMY 


The  following  diagram  will  show 
the  play  of  the  hand  in  detail.  A 
is  the  hand  played  by  the  duke. 
The  underscored  card  wins  the 
trick,  and  the  card  under  it  is  the 
next  one  led : 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
1  1 
12 
13 

*  7 
KO 
*  9 
AO 
*  J 
*  K 
<?  J 
V  Q 
Q  * 
V  K 
K  + 
V  A 
A  * 

*  8 

<?  6 
J  0 
6  * 
QO 
<3  7 
7  + 
V  8 
8  * 
V  9 
9  * 
<31O 
10* 

J  * 

*  2 
*  3 

*  4 
+  5 

3  0 
*10 

2  0 
*Q 

*  6 
2  * 

9  2 
3  » 

<?  3 
4  * 
<?  4 
5  * 
<?  5 

*  A 

100 

9  0 

8  0 

7  0 

6  0 

5  0 

4  0 

Score  :  A-B,  o;  Y-Z,  13. 

Dr.  Pole  gives  the  hand  (although 
with  a  different  suit  for  trumps, 
etc.)  in  his  "Theory  of  Whist,"  as 
an  example  "  to  show  how  singu- 
larly, under  extreme  circumstances, 
the  bringing  in  of  a  long  suit  may 
annihilate  the  most  magnificent  of 
cards,"  and  adds:  "  The  hand  is  a 
very  remarkable  whist  curiosity." 
Of  the  opening  lead  he  says: 
"  There  can  be  no  doubt  about  this 
being  the  proper  lead."  Of  Z's 
lead  on  the  third  round  he  has  this 
to  say:  "  The  propriety  of  this  lead 
is  often  questioned,  but  it  is  de- 
fended by  the  impolicy  of  leading 
either  of  the  extremely  weak  plain 
suits,  and  by  the  lead  of  trumps 
being  up  to  a  renouncing  hand, 
and  therefore  the  most  favorable 
possible.  Also,  by  giving  Y  the  lead 


again,  it  enables  him  to  continue 
the  diamond,  for  Z  to  make  his 
small  trumps  upon." 

The  hand  was  probably  made  up,  and 
one  hand  given  to  the  duke,  and  on  his 
being  asked  what  he  would  lead  from  it, 
and  replying  that  he  should  lead  trumps, 
he  was  offered  a  heavy  bet  that  he  could 
not  make  a  trick  if  he  did  so;  and  having 
accepted  the  wager,  he  lost  accordingly. 
Some  such  story  is  probably  connected 
with  it,  as  the  hand  is  so  evidently  a 
manufactured  one. — fisher  Ames  [L.  A.], 
Whist,  May,  1893. 

Dummy.  —  Dummy  is  whist 
played  by  three  players,  one  of 
whom  has  for  partner  an  exposed 
hand  known  as  the  dummy.  There 
are  several  varieties  of  dummy, 
chief  among  which  may  be  men- 
tioned the  English  game  for  three 
players;  the  French  game,  known 
as  "mart"  (q.  v.),  for  three  or 
four  players;  and  the  recently  im- 
ported game  of  "  bridge  "  (q.  v.}. 

Ordinary,  or  English,  dummy  is 
governed  by  the  same  laws  as  whist, 
with  the  following  exceptions: 

1.  Dummy    deals    at    the    com- 
mencement of  each  rubber. 

2.  Dummy  is  not  liable  for  the 
penalty    of    a   revoke,    as   his   ad- 
versaries see  his  hand;  should  he 
revoke,  and  the  error  not  be  discov- 
ered until  the  trick  is  turned  and 
quitted,    it  stands  good    (and  the 
hand  proceeds  as  though  the  revoke 
had     not     been     discovered).      It 
should   be   remembered,    however, 
that    it    is    dummy's  hand    alone 
which  is  exempt  from  the  penalty 
of  the  revoke.     If  this  partner  re- 
vokes,  he  is  liable  to  the   usual 
penalties. 

3.  Dummy  being  blind  and  deaf, 
his    partner  is  not  liable  to  any 
penalty  for  an  error  whence  he  can 
gain  no  advantage.     Thus,  he  may 
expose  some  or  all  of  his  cards,  or 
may  declare  that  he  has  the  game, 
or    trick,    etc.,    without  incurring 
any  penalty;  if,  however,  he  lead 


DUMMY 


129 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


from  dummy's  hand  when  he 
should  lead  from  his  own,  or  vice 
versa,  a  suit  may  be  called  from 
the  hand  which  ought  to  have  led. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
dummy  has  been  most  popular  in 
France,  in  its  French  form.  Des- 
chapelles  says  that  in  playing  the 
game  decisive  strokes  are  in  favor 
of  the  defense  (*.  e.t  dummy)  in 
the  first  rounds,  after  which  the 
advantage  gradually  leans  to  the 
assailants.  He  therefore  recom- 
mends that  the  defender  should 
act  with  energy  in  the  commence- 
ment, having  little  or  nothing  to 
hope  for  when  the  play  assumes  its 
regular  course. 

It  is  sometimes  agreed  that  each 
player  shall  take  his  turn  in  play- 
ing with  the  dummy,  a  change 
being  made  at  the  end  of  each 
game.  This  is  especially  well 
adapted  to  the  American  game  of 
seven  points,  honors  not  counting. 
Others  play  three  rubbers,  or  a 
tournee,  each  player  having  dum- 
my for  a  partner  during  one  rub- 
ber. Others  again  agree  that  one 
player  shall  play  with  dummy  con- 
tinuously throughout  the  sitting, 
in  which  case  it  is  usual  for  him  to 
allow  his  adversaries  one  point  per 
rubber  for  the  advantage  of  play- 
ing with  the  exposed  hand,  which 
enables  dummy's  partner  to  ascer- 
tain the  cards  held  collectively  by 
the  two  adversaries. 

Dummy  is  not  considered  the  same 
thing  as  whist. — A .  W.  Drayson  [L+A  +] , 
"  Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 

Frenchmen  do  not  play  whist.  When 
they  play  what  they  call  whist,  it  is  nearly 
alw'ays  dummy.  Four  form  a  table  and 
one  sits  out. — "Cavendish''1  [L.  A.],  Letter 
to  Foster,  1802. 

Dummy's  partner  can  play  his  cards  as 
irregularly  as  he  pleases,  with  no  fear  of 
deceiving'dunimy,  and  this  is  a  great  ad- 
vantage in  itself,  but  it  is  about  offset  by 
the  advantage  afforded  the  adversaries  for 
shaping  their  play  with  regard  to  dum- 
my's weakness. — Cast/us  M.  Paine  [L. 
A.],  Whist,  November,  1892. 


It  is  much  played  in  France  under  the 
name  of  "fe  mart,"  and  in  Germany  un- 
der the  name  of  " der  Blinde"  [the 
blind] ;  in  fact,  in  the  latter  country,  more 
especially  in  private  society,  it  is  prefer- 
red to  whist;  and  it  is  no  uncommon 
thing  to  find  a  fourth  player  cutting  in  in 
his  turn,  one  of  the  players  at  the  table, 
of  course,  being  cut  out  for  the  time. — 
Frederick  H.  Lewis  [(?.],  The  Field,  Febru- 
ary if,  1879. 

This  [dummy  whist]  as  played  in  Eng- 
land is  to  me  a  dull  game,  especially  so 
to  dummy's  opponents.  The  game  is 
frequently  over,  and  the  cards  thrown 
down,  before  the  hand  is  half  played  out; 
and  as  the  player  with  the  dummy  can- 
not deceive  his  partner,  it  is  his  interest 
always  to  play  false  cards,  whereby  the 
ordinary  calculations  of  whist  become  of 
little use.— -James  Clay  [L.  O+],  "Treatise 
on  the  Game." 

Writers  on  whist  pay  little  or  no  atten- 
tion to  dummy.  The  English  authors 
mention  it  only  in  connection  with  laws 
and  decisions.  No  American  text-book 
makes  any  allusion  to  the  game,  and 
there  is  no  reference  to  it  in  the  American 
Whist  League's  code  of  laws.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  believed  by  many  that  the  day 
is  not  far  distant  when  dummy  will  super- 
sede all  other  varieties  of  whist  among 
the  most  expert  players. — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  0.]," Complete  ffoyle,"  1807. 

The  advantage  or  disadvantage  of  play- 
ing with  a  dummy  depends  largely  upon 
the  cards  in  the  exposed  hand  and  the 
relative  positions  of  the  other  cards.  We 
think,  however,  that  it  is  quite  generally 
considered  to  be  an  advantage  to  play 
with  the  dummy;  in  fact,  so  great  an  ad- 
vantage that  when  stakes  are  played  for 
the  players  rotate  regularly  in  taking 
the  dummy.  The  advantage  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  dummy's  partner  knows 
absolutely  every  card  held  by  his  side, 
and  in  the  majority  of  cases  he  will  be 
able  to  use  the  information  to  the  fullest 
advantage.  *  *  *  If  there  is  any  time 
when  the  adversaries  have  an  advantage 
it  is  when  dummy's  hand  is  very  weak, 
for  they  then  know  that  they  have  only 
one  opponent  to  contend  with,  and 
keep  leading  up  to  the  weak  hand  at 
every  opportunity. —  Whist  [L.A.]. 

Dummy  "Bridge."  — See, 
"  Bridge." 

Duplicate  Play. — See,  "Over- 
play." 

Duplicate  Whist.  —  Duplicate 
whist  is  ordinary  whist,  with  this 
exception:  The  hands  are  kept  sep- 
arate as  played,  and  are  then  played 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


130 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


again,  each  side  in  the  overplay 
receiving  the  hands  previously 
held  by  their  opponents.  The  idea 
is  to  place  all  the  players  on  an 
equality,  so  far  as  the  distribution 
of  the  cards  is  concerned,  the  ele- 
ment of  chance  being  eliminated 
as  far  as  possible,  and  the  element 
of  skill  correspondingly  increased. 
It  now  becomes  a  contest  to  see 
which  side  can  make  the  most 
tricks  out  of  the  same  hands,  the 
losses  or  gains  made  by  each  being 
indicated  on  a  score  card  or  sheet 
provided  for  that  purpose. 

A  separate  pack  of  cards  is  used 
for  each  hand  played,  and  each 
player's  cards  are  kept  apart  by 
means  of  trays.  At  first,  envelopes 
were  used  for  this  purpose,  but 
this  method  was  crude  and  unsatis- 
factory. Since  then  many  different 
devices  have  been  invented  and 
put  upon  the  market  (see,  "Tray, 
Whist"),  but  the  one  based  upon 
the  fundamental  and  controlling 
patent  is  known  as  the  Kalamazoo 
whist  tray.  The  object  of  the 
whist  tray  is  to  keep  each  player's 
hand  separate  for  the  duplicate  or 
overplay;  to  indicate  the  hands 
which  each  player  at  a  table  shall 
have  in  the  overplay,  and  to  show 
who  is  the  leader,  each  hand. 

The  tray  is  each  time  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  table,  with  the 
side  marked  by  two  stars,  or  some 
other  device,  turned  toward  some 
particular  player,  say,  north.  In 
this  position  an  index  hand  in  the 
centre  of  the  tray  points  to  the 
player  who  is  to  lead,  the  preceding 
player  being,  of  course,  the  dealer. 
Care  is  taken  to  give  each  player 
the  same  number  of  deals  or  leads, 
by  varying  the  direction  in  which 
the  hand  points  on  the  various 
trays  belonging  to  each  set. 

There  are  two  methods  of  keep- 
ing count  of  the  tricks  won  by  each 
side  during  the  play  of  a  hand. 


One  is  by  means  of  thirteen  chips 
or  checks,  which  are  placed  upon 
or  next  to  the  tray,  one  chip  being 
taken  for  each  trick  won  by  the 
side  winning  it.  This  method  of 
keeping  count  is  not  as  satisfactory, 
in  our  estimation,  as  the  following, 
originally  used  by  James  Allison 
(q.  v.),  in  his  improvement  of  the 
game:  Each  player  places  in  a 
horizontal  position  before  him  his 
cards  in  all  tricks  won  by  himself 
and  partner,  and  places  crosswise 
the  cards  belonging  to  those  tricks 
which  are  won  by  the  adversaries. 
The  cards  are  made  to  slightly 
overlap  each  other,  after  the  usual 
manner.  When  all  four  players 
thus  keep  the  count,  which  is  soon 
learned  and  practiced  without  ef- 
fort, they  act  as  a  check  upon  each 
other,  and  errors,  should  such  be 
made  by  any  player,  are  easily  rec- 
tified. 

According  to  the  laws  of  the 
game,  the  trump  is  turned  for  every 
original  deal,  as  in  straight  whist. 
For  the  overplay  the  trump  in  each 
hand  is  the  same  as  it  was  in  the 
original,  and  a  low  card  of  the 
trump  suit  is  generally  placed  face 
up  in  the  dealer's  hand.  Many 
players,  however,  prefer  to  declare 
one  suit  trump  for  the  evening 
(see,  "Declared  Trump"),  and 
some  have  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
advocate  a  permanent  trump  suit, 
which  undoubtedly  would  simplify 
the  play  by  removing  an  annoy- 
ance frequently  inflicted  upon 
others  by  players  who  have  short 
memories.  The  declared  trump  is 
permitted  under  the  laws  for 
mnemonic,  or  single-table,  dupli- 
cate, but  in  other  forms  of  dupli- 
cate the  American  Whist  League 
favors  the  turning  of  trump  each 
deal. 

After  the  cards  have  been  dealt, 
the  first  player  places  the  card  he 
wishes  to  lead  before  him,  face  up- 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


ward,  usually  toward  the  centre  of 
the  table,  next  to  the  tray.  On 
completion  of  the  round  (the  others 
having  played  likewise),  he  takes 
his  card  and  places  it  face  down- 
ward, and  nearer  to  himself,  on  the 
edge  of  the  table.  After  the  entire 
deal  has  been  played,  and  the  re- 
sults have  been  scored,  each  player 
takes  up  his  cards,  shuffles  them 
slightly  and  then  slips  them,  face 
down,  into  his  side  of  the  tray,  un- 
der the  rubber  band  or  aperture 
provided  for  the  purpose.  The  tray 
is  then  laid  aside  and  another  is 
placed  on  the  table,  with  the  stars 
pointing  the  same  as  before.  The 
hand  pointing  to  the  leader  shows 
which  player  is  to  deal  this  time, 
and  the  latter  takes  another  deck 
of  cards  and  distributes  them  as  in 
ordinary  whist.  The  cards  are  then 
played  and  put  away,  as  previously; 
and  thus  any  desired  number  of 
hands  are  played,  and  placed  in 
as  many  trays.  Each  tray  is  num- 
bered on  the  iinder  side,  for  con- 
venience in  keeping  the  score, 
and  in  comparing  corresponding 
results  of  the  original  and  dupli- 
cate play. 

Any  number  of  tables  that  can  be 
accommodated  may  play  duplicate 
whist,  the  trays  being  passed  from 
table  to  table,  and  played  by  each 
in  turn;  or  both  players  and  trays 
may  be  made  to  go  from  table  to 
table,  sometimes  in  opposite  direc- 
tions. Many  ingenious  systems  of 
moving  have  been  devised  for  this 
purpose.  (See,  "  Duplicate  Whist 
Schedules.")  When  only  one  table 
is  played  it  is  known  as  single-table 
or  mnemonic  duplicate  (q.  v.)t  in 
which  each  pair  replays  the  hands 
previously  played  by  the  other 
side.  This  is  the  simplest  and 
most  obvious  form  of  the  game,  but 
so  great  is  the  chance  of  remember- 
ing particular  hands  (even  though 
the  trays  are  mixed  for  the  over- 


play, and  the  overplay  itself  post- 
poned for  a  time),  that  many  good 
players  refuse  to  play  it,  and  in 
some  clubs  it  is  entirely  prohibited. 
John  T.  Mitchell  endorses  the  re- 
mark of  the  late  George  W.  Pettes, 
that  it  is  not  duplicate  whist,  but 
whist  in  duplicate;  just  as  "  Caven- 
dish" and  Drayson  declare  that 
dummy  is  not  whist. 

All  whist  matches  in  this  country 
are  now  decided  by  duplicate  play. 
The  oldest  form  of  such  contests  is, 
no  doubt,  that  of  team  against 
team.  Four  players  are  usually 
selected  to  represent  a  club,  and 
they  play  against  a  similar  number 
or  team  from  another  club.  It  is 
also  customary  to  form  teams  of 
this  kind  in  clubs,  under  respective 
captains.  Other  contests  at  dupli- 
cate are:  club  against  club,  pair 
against  pair,  and  individual 
matches. 

In  private,  duplicate  whist  is  also 
largely  played  at  parties,  where  the 
host  or  hostess  usually  performs  the 
duty  of  passing  and  caring  for  the 
trays,  or  looking  after  the  players, 
to  see  that  they  move  correctly 
from  table  to  table.  Prizes  are 
usually  awarded  at  such  gatherings 
to  the  couple  making  the  highest 
score.  Refreshments  are  generally 
served  after  the  play  of  the  original 
hands,  the  duplicate  play  following 
after  the  intermission.  (See,  also, 
"Duplicate  Whist,  History  of," 
"Laws  of,"  etc.) 

The  object  of  duplicate  whist  is  to  sup- 
plement the  general  game  of  whist  by 
distributing  equal  strength  in  cards  to 
each  side  engaged  in  play.— Cassius  M. 
Paine  [L.  A.],  Whist,  October,  1892. 

Duplicate  whist,  as  ordinarily  plajyed, 
greatly  reduces,  but  does  not  entirely 
eliminate,  the  element  of  luck.  In  pairs 
and  teams,  the  chance  of  cutting  in  with 
good  or  poor  partners,  or  against  good  or 
poor  opponents,  is  ever  present.  As  the 
strength  of  a  chain  is  its  weakest  link,  so 
the  strength  of  any  pair  or  team  is  the 
play  of  its  weakest  member,  and  the 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


132 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


score  of  any  game  cannot  be  a  fair  test  of 
the  skill  of  all  the  players.— C.  E.  Coffin 
\L.  A.}. 

We  read  with  pride  that  the  most  in- 
tense interest  in  the  game,  and  especially 
in  the  American  game  of  whist,  the  du- 
plicate system — which  every  year  elimi- 
nates more  and  more  the  luck  of  hands, 
and  reduces  it  more  and  more  to  a  sci- 
ence— is  extending  to  the  remotest 
regions  of  our  country,  even  into  the 
mining  camps,  where  once  other  games 
were  the  favorite;  in  the  loggers'  camps, 
"where  rolls  the  Oregon;"  and  on  the 
Sierra  Nevadas,  and  into  far-off  Alaska, 
as  far  westward  of  San  Francisco  as  the 
latter  is  of  Boston.— G.  W.  Morse  [L.  A.], 
Speech  at  Seventh  Congress  of  the  A .  IV.  L., 
1897. 

Every  whist-player  knows  that  when 
the  high  cards  are  against  him  it  is  im- 
possible for  him  to  take  a  majority  of  the 
tricks;  and  while  there  may  be  some- 
thing in  keeping  down  the  majority  of 
his  opponents,  it  is  nothing  compared 
with  the  certainty  that  before  the  close 
of  the  game  the  chances  will  be  evened  up, 
and  both  sides  given  the  same  oppor- 
tunities. This  certainty  adds  zest  to  the 
contest,  and  makes  every  player  bend  all 
his  energies  to  the  game,  knowing  full 
well  that  if  he  lets  opportunities  slip  there 
is  no  way  to  recover  them;  for  there  is 
practically  no  luck  in  duplicate  whist,  and 
therefore  no  going  behind  the  returns. — 
John  T.  Mitchell  [L.  A.},  "Duplicate 
Whist." 

So  far  as  is  possible,  all  influence  of 
luck  is  eliminated.  It  is  impossible,  how- 
ever, to  take  out  this  element  entirely, 
and  luck  or  chance  has  much  to  do  with 
the  result  of  any  one  match,  or  series  of 
a  few  matches,  at  duplicate  whist.  The 
way  the  lead  happens  to  come,  the  success 
or  failure  of  a  finesse,  whether  justifiable 
or  not,  the  choice  of  one  suit  rather  than 
another  equally  good  to  open,  and  other 
plays  which  are  pood  in  principle  and 
judgment,  may  result  in  great  differences 
in  the  result.  A  case  came  to  the  author's 
knowledge  where  the  selection  of  one  suit 
instead  of  another  of  equal  or  slightly 
higher  value  resulted  in  a  gain  of  four 
tricks,  the  other  suit  being  led  on  the 
overplay.— Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.]. 

I  am  often  asked,  "  Does  rejout  (dupli- 
cate whist)  entirely  eliminate  luck  ?  "  and 
I  must  say  that  it  does  not.  I  am  confi- 
dent that  in  a  series  of  matches,  or  sit- 
tings, the  best  player  will  come  out  ahead 
in  the  end;  but  I  should  be  very  sorry  to 
guarantee  his  winning  every  time  he  sat 
down  to  play,  even  under  absolutely 
equal  conditions  as  to  partners  and  ad- 
versaries. The  cards  may  not  favor  his 
style  of  game,  however  good  it  may  be  on 
general  principles.  I  once  played  twelve 


hands  up  and  back  at  the  club,  and  held 
what  I  thought  very  good  cards;  but 
somehow  my  partner  had  nothing  to  sup- 
port me,  *  *  *  and  hand  after  hand 
•was  butchered.  When  the  hands  were 
played  at  the  other  table,  the  same  fate 
might  be  supposed  to  await  them; but  the 
players  at  the  other  table  did  not  believe 
in  long  suits,  and  never  led  trumps  unless 
in  doubt.  The  cards  just  suited  a  ruffing 
game,  and  I  lost  eleven  points  on  the 
series.  *  *  *  You  may  have  a  bad  part- 
ner for  a  particular  hand,  while  the 
player  to  whom  you  are  opposed — that  is, 
the  one  with  whom  you  are  compared — 
has  a  very  good  one.  Of  course,  you  will 
have  the  good  and  he  the  bad  one  after  a 
while,  but  the  bad  one  may  be  with  you 
when  you  have  a  critical  hand,  in  which 
some  little  detail  of  finesse  or  of  unblock- 
ing may  make  a  difference  of  three  or 
four  tricks;  whereas,  when  you  g^et  the 
good  partner,  the  hand  he  plays  with  you 
may  not  be  capable  of  the  difference  of 
more  than  one  trick,  however  badly 
played.  *  *  *  I  have  seen  a  bad  part- 
ner's neglect  to  play  ace  on  ten  led,  when 
holding  only  ace  and  queen,  to  make  a 
difference  of  five  tricks.  *  *  *  One  of 
the  three  players  left  in  on  the  final  round 
for  the  diamond  medal,  at  Milwaukee, 
would  have  won  in  the  first  round  but  for 
his  supposing  that  a  very  good  player  on 
his  right  hand  had  no  trumps,  because  he 
did  not  answer  a  call  for  them  which  he 
had  not  seen.  Of  the  two  elements  of 
luck — good  cards  and  good  partners — 
rejoui  certainly  does  eliminate  the  first, 
but  I  do  not  think  that  any  arrangement 
of  the  players  would  entirely  do  away 
with  the  last.—/?.  F.Foster  [S.  0.],  "Du- 
plicate Whist,"  1894. 


Duplicate  Whist,  History  of.— 

Duplicate  whist  marks  the  latest 
and  most  important  phase  in  the 
great  evolution  by  which  whist  has 
become  more  and  more  a  game  of 
skill,  and  less  a  game  of  chance. 
The  first  marked  step  in  this  direc- 
tion was  the  introduction  of  the 
signal  for  trumps,  in  England. 
This  was  strongly  objected  to  at 
first,  because  it  would  "increase 
the  power  of  good  players  over 
poor  ones,  already  too  great."  If 
this  signal  was  allowed,  what  was 
there  to  prevent  the  introduction 
of  others  which  would  enable  an 
expert  player  "  to  determine  all 
the  more  important  features  of  his 


WH  1ST  1  32  DUPLICATE  WHIST 

•••:!.*  i  f»>«-  test  of        haaris  up  and  back  at  the  clnb,  and  held 

T.  A.'.  CuJR*        what    I    thought    very    good    cards;  but 

.»>vneliyw  my  partner  had  nothing  to  sup- 

-u^l  io-        uort  me,    *    *    *    and  baud  after  baud 

WB.«  butchered.    "When   tbe  bands  were 

i-'«ye<l  at  the  other  table,  the  same  fate 

:  -;..,;.•  x"  I  to  await  them;  but  the 

-  .-si  U'-c  ot!)ci    table  did  not  believe 

jci.       n,  font  su:iv  R::  i  '.^'vrr  "ed  trump*  unless 

V    .-»*n    <nio  tb*  #*"!>••  and   I  lost   v'.rven   points  on   the 

V.j  se/ries.    *   *    '    Vov.  tauy  have  a  bad  part- 

's  "*:     f"T    si    particular    hand,    while    the 

i  r.J   on   the  i-laj-cr  to  whom  you  are  oppo*<.*^—  that  is, 

A  .islvA  t  b<  one  wii'j  whom  you  are  coaipareil  — 

i*  tr,e  f"-a*  a  very  gixxi  otte.     Of  course,  you  will 

if.'  'v/,»,  •".-  <  I  '  4  \  have  thi-  pnoi  and  br  the  bnd  -jue  after  a 

'if  A    H'  L  '.'  while,  hiitti)ij  1;.-i    fitir    rnur  br  with  you 

when     ou  t.-«v.        -r.:>  .•>     h.-in-''   in  wh'ich 


K«ieTv  whis*-v«JT«  ko<-w«  twit  when        *°m*  1:tt'e  °'  ;'  '>' 

.,1  h:;r.   it  i*   im- 

Opponents  of  the  "Cavendish"  School. 

t>ared        more    tbAii    one    trlrk     1  '*i  *«..-    badly 

>**ri  •*  ixid  part- 
uer'<  nriflrvt  -     ;•!•••     ••        •  •  !jr»  Jed,  when 

Pembridge."  ,  Mogul..1',;, 

fo<   t.T    "v-.,  •  :  .;    Milwsiikee, 

n     c»    t-.^v« 

R.  F.  Foster. 

prortiallynoluok  in  duplicate  wbi«.*«d        h<"  -:V>'  >  ;«  trumps,  because  lie 

therefore  i.Q  -/  ^sisf  ^  ':':  tht  '  W  < 

^O^Mossop  E.  C,Howeli.r 

jg  errt£i.s  ,?r!^  -  !^r.        iY-^r^v^^sj^s^t 

•'   '  .:•    t»layr:»    •->•.!.<•!   -i;tir«-!v   do  away 
':  ''        '  '  "  "  :*  '  "• 


HUtoryof.— 


M'  •.•••••«  ••.-.<;.•.»•..•.  -  S.V*  m  the 
'•»r  .':'••:«»••  •  » ~  ••**  *'v'  '•"'••"•  >  hist  has 

[i  tb' •  1 11'  !•  •  •  '*  ••:?"•  i '.'•"•.:''!  •*  •  "•  ;  2-'T71C  of 

-Jri'-i.  a^r*.  I..-V-  H  |:.'-.M^  ->f  chance. 
'jfaMi  of  -i;  .'•  '  *  !!r<>t-  in.->rke<!  ttf  an  this  direc- 
f  le-i  oii'th?  Mor  was  the  in'.-^-»iic'>on  of  the 

M^nil    fiv    tr*;ii:t'>      i  J     Kn gland. 

rffJ*/   (dup'-i-  TiT5*    W    s      .-,'.  r-   •'  '   i-^'ft-d"  to    at 

*fti'^s  T?  '•"•-%  r  * j    <increa?e 

•  tchM  or  »'t-       tin-  IK^%»."  .  ifi-rs    over 

;,c    -,1-htAd        p,..r     .fivv  If 

V''1(V'";rr-y»"'i  ''•'"  *'•*'"  -i'> -twaa 

', -i  'r-,^.,1', ;'»  ti-.< -r  t<-  ••:  '.':v.  { Action 

-.<•:*  AI»-I  v.  ,••'  Mh<-t-  •'.  -.-nible  an 

1i'tt!Bi»\the^Ii  •- <]'-' r*  •  -v-rinint:  rill 

L^JV.!.'--».  'h-  n  .r-  .  -;:rH!sofhis 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


133 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


partner's  hand,  as  if  it  was  before 
him  ?" — prophetic  words!  The  next 
movement  in  reducing  the  game  to 
a  more  scientific  basis  was  the  elim- 
ination from  the  American  play  of 
that  element  of  luck  known  as 
honors.  Then  came  the  American 
leads,  to  enable  the  partners  to  do 
the  thing  so  dreaded  by  the  English 
luck-players — to  thoroughly  know 
the  value  of  each  other's  hands,  and 
play  them  practically  as  one.  Fi- 
nally comes  duplicate  whist,  to 
crown  all,  by  eliminating  the  large 
element  of  chance  which  in  the 
ordinary  game  attaches  to  the  draw- 
ing of  cards.  Although  there  is 
still  the  luck  of  the  lead  (whether 
one  suit  be  opened  or  another),  as 
well  as  some  other  matters  in  which 
one  side  or  another  may  be  favored, 
duplicate  whist  may  be  said  to 
practically  afford  a  fair  test  as  to  the 
relative  merits  of  whist  play,  and, 
in  the  long  run,  of  the  relative 
merits  of  the  players  themselves. 

The  principle  of  duplicate  whist 
— that  of  placing  the  players  on  an 
equality  so  far  as  the  hands  are 
concerned — is  very  old.  General 
Drayson  states  that  in  his  boyhood, 
in  playing  double-dummy  with  his 
father,  after  the  hands  were  dealt 
the  distribution  of  the  cards  was 
recorded  on  a  sheet  of  paper.  After 
the  hand  was  played  and  the  result 
scored,  the  cards  were  sorted  out 
and  re-distributed  according  to  the 
memorandum  previously  made,  and 
young  Drayson  then  took  the  hand 
first  played  by  his  father,  and  saw 
what  he  could  make  out  of  it. 
General  Drayson  does  not  mention 
this  as  at  all  original  with  his  father. 
A  primitive  form  of  duplicate 
is  also  said  to  have  been  played  in 
Berlin  and  Paris,  and  is  mentioned 
by  John  T.  Mitchell  in  his  book  on 
"Duplicate  Whist."  Foster  and 
"Cavendish,"  however,  after  due 
investigation,  fail  to  find  any  basis 


for  the  assertion.  Certain  it  is  that 
the  first  authentic  record  which  we 
have  of  the  employment  of  what 
may  be  fairly  called  duplicate  whist 
is  the  match  which  was  described 
by  "  Cavendish"  in  Bell's  Life, 
London,  March  6,  1857,  over  the 
signature  of  "  Experto  Credo."  It 
was  also  noteworthy  as  his  first 
contribution  to  whist  literature.  In 
his  account  "  Cavendish"  tells  of 
an  experiment  made  by  the  stu- 
dents of  the  ' 'Little  Whist  School, ' ' 
to  determine  the  value  of  skill  at 
whist.  In  the  course  of  his  com- 
munication, he  says:  "The  scheme, 
besides  possessing  the  greatest  sim- 
plicity, almost  entirely  eliminates 
luck.  *  *  *  In  each  of  two  sepa- 
rate apartments  a  whist-table  is 
formed,  each  table  being  composed 
of  two  good  players  against  two 
confessedly  inferior  ones.  A  hand 
is  played  at  one  table;  the  same 
cards  are  then  conveyed  to  the 
other  table,  and  the  hand  is  played 
over  again,  the  inferior  players  now 
having  the  cards  which  the  good 
players  held,  the  order  of  the  hands 
of  course  being  preserved.  The 
difference  in  the  score  will  mani- 
festly be  twice  the  advantage  due  to 
play  in  that  hand.  It  is  necessary, 
however,  to  bear  in  mind  that 
chance  is  not  entirely  eliminated, 
inasmuch  as  bad  play  might,  and 
frequently  does,  succeed;  again, 
some  hands  offer  a  greater  scope 
than  others  for  the  exercise  of  tal- 
ent. Still,  all  that  portion  of  luck 
(by  far  the  largest)  arising  from 
good  and  bad  cards,  is  by  this 
method  done  away  with. ' ' 

The  four  good  players  in  the 
historic  contest  were:  "  Caven- 
dish," "  Mogul"  (Matthias  Boyce), 
Daniel  Jones  (brother  of  "  Caven- 
dish"), and  E.  Wilson.  The  con- 
fessedly poor  players  were:  Messrs. 
Bullock,  Izard,  Chinery  (afterwards 
editor  of  the  London  Times),  and 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


134 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


John  D.  Lewis  (subsequently  mem- 
ber of  Parliament).  Thirty -three 
hands  were  played  in  each  room. 
"In  room  A,"  says  "Cavendish," 
in  his  "  Card-Table  Talk,"  "the 
good  players  held  very  good  cards, 
and  won  four  rubbers  out  of  six; 
in  points,  a  balance  of  eighteen. 
In  room  B,  the  good  players  had, 
of  course,  the  bad  cards.  They 
played  seven  rubbers  with  the 
same  number  of  hands  that  in  the 
other  room  had  played  six,  and 
they  won  three  out  of  the  seven, 
losing  seven  points  on  the  balance. 
The  difference,  therefore,  was 
eleven  points,  or  nearly  a  point  a 
rubber,  in  favor  of  skill. "  "  Caven- 
dish" also  gives  the  arrangement 
of  the  players  at  the  tables,  as 
follows: 

Daniel  Jones. 


Table  i. 


Edward  Wilson. 


Bullock. 


Table  2. 


Izard. 


"In   this  match,"  says  Foster, 
"  most  of  the  principles  still  in  use 


were  introduced.  Two  of  the  four 
representing  system  sat  north  and 
south  in  one  room,  and  their  part- 
ners sat  east  and  west  in  the  other. 
The  hands  were  dealt  in  one  room 
only,  and  the  cards  were  not  re- 
corded, but  were  kept  in  front  of 
the  player  holding  them,  instead 
of  gathering  them  into  tricks. 
They  were  then  carried  into  the 
adjoining  room  on  little  trays,  and 
there  overplayed." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
was  the  true  beginning  of  dupli- 
cate whist,  even  though  the  imme- 
diate object  was  to  find  the  differ- 
ence between  good  and  inferior 
play  generally,  rather  than  to  test 
the  comparative  skill  of  players 
of  equal,  or  nearly  equal,  merit,  as 
is  generally  the  case  in  duplicate 
whist  nowadays.  The  experiment 
was  commented  upon  by  Dr.  Pole, 
in  his  ''Philosophy  of  Whist,"  in 
1883,  and  subsequently  also  given 
space  in  the  London  Field,  so  that 
soon  the  attention  of  the  entire 
whist  world  was  obtained  for  it. 

In  this  country,  E.  H.  Sadler, 
now  of  Kansas  City,  played  a  du- 
plicate game  away  back  in  the 
'6o's,  but  it  was  duplicate  double- 
dummy,  like  that  enjoyed  by  Gen- 
eral Drayson  and  his  father.  Mr. 
Sadler's  method  was  for  the  leader 
to  announce  in  advance  how  many 
tricks  he  could  take;  and  if  the 
dealer  thought  he  could  do  better, 
he  overbid  the  leader,  something 
after  the  manner  of  "  solo  whist." 
The  hands  were  then  played  accord- 
ing to  the  leader's  ideas,  and  were 
afterwards  replayed,  the  dealer 
taking  the  leader's  hand  to  see 
whether  he  could  make  more  out 
of  it.  Another  claim  for  early  ex- 
periments in  duplicate  is  made 
by  F.  Sanderson,  of  Chicago,  who 
states  that  he  played  it,  in  1880, 
with  George  E.  Smith,  E.  Wauk- 
lin,  and  others,  employing  the  en- 


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135 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


velope  method,  each  hand  being 
placed  in  a  receptacle,  properly 
marked,  numbered,  and  tied  up  in 
packages.  Chips  were  used  in 
counting  the  tricks  during  play. 

In  1882,  N.  B.  Trist,  of  New 
Orleans,  having  read  about  "  Cav- 
endish's" famous  experiment,  in- 
troduced duplicate  play  into  the 
New  Orleans  Chess,  Checker,  and 
Whist  Club.  It  came  about  in  this 
way:  The  club  appropriated  every 
year  a  certain  sum  for  prizes  to  be 
played  for  in  tournaments.  After 
one  of  these  tournaments,  the  de- 
feated contestants  complained  of 
their  ill  luck  in  the  distribution  of 
the  cards,  and  thought  their  defeat 
was  due  to  this  fact.  Mr.  Trist, 
who  was  among  the  winners,  pro- 
posed that  the  three  other  success- 
ful contestants  should  join  him  in 
challenging  any  four  members  of 
the  club  to  play,  for  a  special  prize, 
twenty-four  hands,  which  were  to 
be  overplayed.  The  match  was 
played  during  the  month  of  July, 
and  the  result  was  that  Mr.  Trist's 
team  scored  321  tricks,  and  their 
opponents  303. 

We  come  now  to  the  first  inter- 
club  duplicate  match  in  America, 
of  which  there  is  any  record.  It 
was  played  in  West  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  in  the  spring  of  1883,  at  the 
residence  of  Captain  John  P.  Green, 
vice-president  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  It  was  a  match  game 
between  a  team  from  the  Saturday 
Night  Whist  Club  and  a  team  from 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  former  consisted  of  Messrs. 
J.  P.  Green,  E.  P.  Townsend,  J.  C. 
Pinkerton,  and  Dr.  Jones;  the  latter 
of  Messrs.  Gustavus  Remak,  Jr., 
Milton  C.  Work,  E.  A.  Ballard,  and 
J.  P.  Cowperthwaite.  (The  first 
three  players  on  the  University 
team,  it  may  be  mentioned  in  pass- 
ing, are  now  members  of  the  famous 
Hamilton  Whist  Club  team. )  The 


University  team  won  the  match  by 
seventeen  tricks. 

Going  back  to  the  old  world  once 
more,  to  note  in  chronological 
order  the  events  connected  with 
the  game,  we  find  that  on  April  16, 
1888,  a  duplicate  match  was  played 
at  Glasgow,  Scotland,  between 
teams  from  the  Carleton  and  Wan- 
derers' clubs.  An  account  of  this 
important  contest  appeared  in  the 
London  Field,  which  stated  that 
on  this  occasion  "  a  new  system  of 
duplicate  play,"  the  invention  of 
Mr.  James  Allison,  was  tested.  The 
cards,  at  the  commencement  of 
each  hand,  were  dealt  in  the  usual 
manner,  but  in  the  course  of  play 
were  not  formed  into  tricks.  Each 
player  kept  his  thirteen  cards 
before  him  till  the  finish  of  the 
hand,  and  after  playing  to  each 
trick  he  placed  his  card  either  long- 
wise or  shortwise,  to  show  by  which 
side  the  trick  had  been  won.  This 
arrangement  prevailed  at  two 
tables,  the  hands  being  simulta- 
neously played.  The  hands,  as 
soon  as  finished,  were  gathered  up 
by  each  player  and  placed,  backs 
up,  on  the  table,  the  dealer  leaving 
the  trump  card,  face  up,  on  top  of 
his  pack.  The  players  then  changed 
tables  and  re-played  the  hand,  the 
players  being  reversed.  A  deal  was 
only  necessary  every  two  hands, 
and  but  little  more  time,  after  some 
practice,  was  taken  than  in  playing 
one  hand  in  the  ordinary  way. 

This  certainly  marked  a  distinct 
advance  in  the  history  of  duplicate 
whist,  doing  away  with  the  task  of 
noting  down  or  registering  the 
various  cards  originally  held  by 
each  player,  and  of  re-sorting  them 
according  to  the  register,  for  the 
overplay.  The  true  rise  and  popu- 
larity of  duplicate  in  America  also 
dates  from  the  year  of  the  Glas- 
gow match,  for  among  the  whist 
enthusiasts  in  the  city  of  Chicago 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


136 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


who  read  the  account  in  the  London 
Field)  and  were  charmed  with  it, 
was  John  T.  Mitchell,  who  soon  set 
about  and  organized  a  match  to  be 
played  in  the  same  manner.  It 
took  place  at  the  residence  of  Dr. 
Camp,  in  the  spring  of  1888, 
and  is  the  first  match  of  the  kind 
on  record  in  the  West.  The  eight 
players  participating  were:  John  T. 
Mitchell,  Harry  and  Ezra  Booth, 
G.  K.  Mitchell,  J.  W.  Mitchell, 
Frank  Huntress,  George  Owen, 
and  G.  C.  Aldrich.  The  play  was 
so  satisfactory  that  it  resulted  in 
the  organization  of  the  Chicago 
Duplicate  Whist  Club,  which  cre- 
ated a  great  furore  by  successively 
defeating  half  a  dozen  other  organi- 
zations at  duplicate.  The  matches 
attracted  wide  attention.  On  one 
occasion  there  were  forty  players 
on  a  side  (at  Milwaukee),  and  at 
another  sitting  as  high  as  two  hun- 
dred took  part.  Mr.  Mitchell  be- 
came the  leading  spirit  in  the  du- 
plicate whist  movement,  and  soon 
his  quick  perception  and  ingenuity 
suggested  notable  improvements  in 
the  play,  which  he  published  in 
the  Chicago  Globe  of  December  2, 
1888,  and  in  the  Chicago  Tribune 
of  January  20,  1889.  This  brought 
him  a  flood  of  letters  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  kept  him  more 
than  ever  busy  answering  inqui- 
ries. He  also  continued  to  lead  his 
club  to  victory,  and  to  advocate  the 
new  style  of  game  until  its  popu- 
larity was  assured.  This  popularity 
was  so  largely  due  to  his  efforts 
that  his  admirers  named  him  the 
father  of  duplicate  whist.  The  Al- 
lison system  was  generally  adopted 
in  this  country,  with  the  following 
improvements:  The  players  were 
reversed  prior  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  game,  the  players  of 
one  team  sitting  north  and  south 
at  the  first  table  and  east  and  west 
at  the  second  table,  while  the  op- 


posing four  were  placed  east  and 
west  at  the  first  table  and  north 
and  south  at  the  second;  the  hands 
being  passed  from  one  table  to  the 
other  by  means  of  trays  or  boards 
specially  designed  to  hold  the 
hands. 

The  invention  of  these  trays 
formed  still  another  important  step 
in  the  progress  of  duplicate  whist. 
The  credit  for  this  improvement 
largely  belongs  to  Cassius  M.  Paine, 
to  whom,  jointly  with  James  L. 
Sebring,  a  patent  was  granted  on 
November  3,  1891,  for  the  device 
which  to-day  is  in  universal  use, 
and  which  assured  the  success  and 
permanent  popularity  of  the  new 
form  of  whist. 

In  1892,  Mr.  Mitchell  published 
the  first  text-book  of  the  game, 
containing  a  description  of  the 
various  methods  of  play  in  vogue, 
including  his  own.  The  title  of  the 
book  is  "  Duplicate  Whist,"  and  in 
1897  a  second,  revised  and  greatly 
enlarged,  edition,  was  published. 
Another  volume,  entitled  "  Dupli- 
cate Whist  and  Whist  Strategy," 
by  R.  F.  Foster,  made  its  appear- 
ance in  1894.  In  the  same  year  the 
American  Whist  League  adopted 
special  laws  for  the  play  of  dupli- 
cate (revised  at  the  seventh  whist 
congress,  1897),  and  the  game  has 
received  a  large  share  of  attention 
in  every  book  on  whist  published 
since.  It  is  now  also  played  to 
some  extent  in  conservative  Eng- 
land, in  Scotland,  in  Australia,  m 
Canada,  in  India,  and  in  other 
countries,  and  bids  fair  before  long 
to  conquer  the  entire  whist  world. 

There  are  four  varieties  of  competition 
now  in  common  use:  Club  against  club, 
team  against  team,  pair  against  pair, 
man  against  man.  The  first  is  possible 
only  where  clubs  are  within  easy  reach 
of  each  other.  It  consists  of  the  smaller 
club  putting  every  available  member  into 
the  field,  and  the  larger  selecting  enough 
of  its  members  to  match  them.  I  think 


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137 


DUPLICATE^WHIST 


this  system  may  be  credited  to  the  Mil- 
waukee Whist  Club,  whose  greatest 
achievement  has  been  putting  fifty-two 
of  its  own  players  into  the  field  against 
fifty-two  delegates  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  defeating  them  handsomely 
after  three  hours'  play.  The  team-against- 
team  method  is  the  oldest,  and  consists 
in  picking  out  four  players  from  one 
club  to  play  against  four  from  another; 
or  it  may  be  that  four  players  with  a  cer- 
tain theory  agree  to  try  their  strength 
against  four  holding  contrary  views.  In 
some  clubs  it  is  a  popular  plan  to  elect 
two  captains  and  allow  them  alternately 
to  choose  from  the  members  until  each  has 
a  team.  The  Commonwealth  Club,  of 
Worcester,  Mass.,  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  to  try  this  at  duplicate  whist,  in  1890. 
The  pair-against-pair  method  was  prob- 
ably first  suggested  by  J.  T.  Mitchell,  of 
Chicago,  and  it  is  probably  the  mostcom- 
jiion  form  of  the  game  now.  as  it  requires 
only  the  same  number  of  players  that 
would  be  necessary  to  make  up  an  ordi- 
nary whist-table.  The  man-against-man 
game  is  my  own  idea,  and  although, 
when  I  first  proposed  it  several  writers 
tried  to  show  that  it  was  not  a  fair  test, 
time  has  proved  that  it  is  probably  the 
best  of  all,  as  it  is  the  only  one  in  which 
the  possibilities  of  combinations  of  plav- 
ers  is  exhausted.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O^\, 
"Duplicate  Whist  and  Whist  Strategy]' 
2894. 

Duplicate  Whist,  Inter-Club.— 

Inter-club  duplicate  whist  is  the 
form  adopted  by  the  American 
Whist  League  for  final  play  in 
team-of-four  matches,  the  prelimi- 
nary play  being  regulated  by  the 
Mitchell  progressive  system. 

In  inter-club  duplicate,  the  dupli- 
cate, or  overplay,  of  the  hands  is 
not  made  at  the  same  table  nor  by 
the  same  players  who  played  the 
original  hands,  but  by  co-partners 
at  another  table;  hence,  it  is  known 
as  the  team-of-four  game.  Two 
players  of  one  four  sit  north  and 
south  at  the  first  table;  the  other 
two  take  positions  east  and  west  at 
the  second  table.  The  east  and 
west  positions  at  the  first  table,  and 
the  north  and  south  positions  at 
the  second  table,  are  filled  by  the 
opposing  team  of  four.  Thus  when 
the  duplicate,  or  overplay,  is  com- 
pleted, both  teams  have  held  all 


the  hands  at  both  tables,  and  each 
side  should  have  taken  thirteen 
tricks  for  every  hand.  The  differ- 
ence between  that  and  the  number 
actually  taken  shows  the  loss  or 
gain.  A  diagram  showing  the  po- 
sition of  the  players  in  the  forty- 
eight  deals  of  the  final  play  of 
team-of-four  matches  will  be  found 
in  the  article  on  "Challenge 
Trophy." 

When  the  system  is  used  for  a 
larger  number  of  players  or  teams 
from  each  club,  the  trays  containing 
the  hands  are  passed  from  table  to 
table,  so  that  all  the  players  play 
the  same  deals,  an  average  being 
struck  for  the  north  and  south  and 
east  and  west  players,  thus  giving 
a  basis  from  which  to  count  indi- 
vidual gains  and  losses  to  the  re- 
spective halves  of  each  team  of 
four. 

The  inter-club  game  may  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage within  clubs  for  tournaments 
between  individuals,  pairs,  or  fours.  It 
has  been  the  style  of  game  played  at  the 
Chicago  Whist  Club  almost  since  its  very 
organization;  and  as  this  club  is  where 
the  writer  has  gained  most  of  his  experi- 
ence in  such  matters,  the  game  which  it 
has  adopted  naturally  suggests  itself  to 
him  as  the  best  that  has  been  so  far  de- 
vised. From  eighty  to  one  hundred  play- 
ers have  taken  part'in  the  weekly  tourney 
of  the  Chicago  Whist  Club  for  more  than 
four  years,  and  there  is  no  demand  for  a 
change  of  style  yet.  When  everybody 
wanted  to  play  the  individual  game,  the 
players  had  to  be  divided  into  sections  in 
order  to  accommodate  the  schedules 
which  it  was  necessary  to  play  by;  and 
when  there  were  entries  for  pairs,  teams 
of  four,  and  individuals  all  at  the  same 
time,  all  were  allowed  to  play  according 
to  their  inclinations;  but  the  game  was 
always  inter-club  duplicate  whist,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  mouths  at  the 
start,  before  this  satisfactory  game  had 
developed.- John  T.  Mitchell  [L.  A.]. 
"Duplicate  Whist,"  1897. 

Duplicate  Whist,  Laws  of.— The 

laws  of  duplicate  whist  were 
adopted  at  the  fourth  congress  of 
the  American  Whist  League,  which 
was  held  at  Philadelphia,  May  22- 


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138 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


26,  1894.  Before  this  there  existed 
no  regular  code  of  rules  and  regu- 
lations. Since  1894  the  necessity 
for  further  legislation  manifested 
itself  from  time  to  time,  and  ac- 
cordingly the  laws  underwent  a 
thorough  revision  at  the  seventh 
congress,  held  at  Put-in-Bay,  in 
1897.  (See,  "American  Whist 
League.")  The  laws,  as  now  per- 
fected and  in  force,  are  as  follows: 

Duplicate  whist  is  governed  by 
the  laws  of  whist,  except  in  so  far 
as  they  are  modified  by  the  follow- 
ing special  laws: 

Law  A — The  Game  and  the 
Score. — A  game  or  match  consists 
of  any  agreed  number  of  deals, 
each  of  which  is  played  once  only 
by  each  player. 

The  contesting  teams  must  be  of 
the  same  number,  but  may  each 
consist  of  any  agreed  number  of 
pairs,  one-half  of  which,  or  as  near 
thereto  as  possible,  sit  north  and 
south;  the  other  half,  east  and  west. 

Every  trick  taken  is  scored,  and 
the  match  is  determined  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  aggregate  scores  won 
by  the  competing  teams.  In  case 
the  teams  consist  of  an  odd  number 
of  pairs,  each  team,  in  making  up 
such  aggregate,  adds,  as  though 
won  by  it,  the  average  score  of  all 
the  pairs  seated  in  the  positions  op- 
posite to  its  odd  pair. 

Each  side  shall  keep  its  own 
score;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
players  at  each  table  to  compare 
the  scores  there  made,  and  see  that 
they  correspond. 

In  a  match  between  two  teams, 
the  total  number  of  tricks  shall  be 
divided  by  two,  and  the  team  whose 
score  of  tricks  taken  exceeds  such 
dividend  wins  the  match  by  the 
number  of  tricks  in  excess  thereof. 

In  a  match  between  more  than 
two  teams,  each  team  wins  or  loses, 
as  the  case  may  be,  by  the  number 
of  tricks  which  its  aggregate  score 


exceeds  or  falls  short  of  the  average 
score  of  all  of  the  competing 
teams. 

In  taking  averages,  fractions  are 
disregarded,  and  the  nearest  whole 
number  taken,  one-half  counting  as 
a  whole,  unless  it  is  necessary  to 
take  the  fraction  into  account  to 
avoid  a  tie,  in  which  case  the  match 
is  scored  as  won  by  ' '  the  fraction 
of  a  trick." 

Law  B — Forming  the  Table. — 
Tables  may  be  formed  by  cutting 
or  by  agreement. 

In  two-table  duplicate,  if  the 
tables  are  formed  by  cutting,  the 
four  having  the  preference  play  at 
one  table,  and  the  next  four  at  the 
other.  The  highest  two  at  one  table 
are  partners  with  the  lowest  two  at 
the  other.  The  highest  two  at  each 
table  sit  north  and  south;  the  low- 
est two,  east  and  west. 

Law  C — Dealing  and  Misdeal- 
ing.— The  deal  is  never  lost;  in  case 
of  a  misdeal,  or  of  the  exposure  of 
a  card  during  the  deal,  the  cards 
must  be  redealt  by  the  same  player. 

Law  D — The  Trump  Card. — The 
trump  card  must  be  recorded,  be- 
fore the  play  begins,  on  a  slip 
provided  for  that  purpose.  When 
the  deal  has  been  played,  the  slip 
on  which  the  trump  card  has  been 
recorded  must  be  placed,  face  up- 
wards, by  the  dealer,  on  the  top  of 
his  cards;  but  the  trutnp  card  must 
not  be  again  turned  until  the  hands 
are  taken  up  for  the  purpose  of 
overplaying  them,  at  which  time  it 
must  be  turned  and  left  face  up- 
wards on  the  tray  until  it  is  the 
dealer's  turn  to  play  to  the  first 
trick.  The  slip  on  which  the  trump 
card  is  recorded  must  be  turned 
face  downwards,  as  soon  as  the 
trump  card  is  taken  up  by  the 
dealer;  if  the  trump  card  has  been 
otherwise  recorded,  such  record 
must  also  be  then  turned  face  down- 
wards. 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


139 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


The  dealer  must  leave  the  trump 
card  face  upwards  on  the  tray  until 
it  is  his  turn  to  play  to  the  first 
trick,  when  it  should  be  taken  into 
his  hand.  If  it  is  not  taken  into 
the  hand  until  after  the  second 
trick  has  been  turned  and  quitted, 
it  is  liable  to  be  called. 

After  it  has  been  lawfully  taken 
up,  it  must  not  be  named;  and  any 
player  thereafter  naming  it,  or 
looking  at  the  trump-slip  or  other 
record  of  the  trump,  is  liable  to 
have  his  highest  or  lowest  trump 
called  by  his  right-hand  adversary 
at  any  time  during  the  play  of  that 
deal,  before  such  adversary  has 
played  to  any  current  trick,  or  be- 
fore the  preceding  trick  is  turned 
and  quitted,  in  case  it  is  the  offend- 
er's turn  to  lead.  The  call  may  be 
repeated  until  the  card  is  played, 
but  it  cannot  be  changed. 

Law  E  Irregularities  in  the 
Hands.—  If  a  player  is  found  to 
have  either  more  or  less  than  his 
correct  number  of  cards,  the  course 
to  be  pursued  is  determined  by  the 
time  at  which  the  irregularity  is 
discovered. 

1.  Where  the  irregularity  is  dis- 
covered before  or  during  the  orig- 
inal play  of  a  hand: 

There  must  be  a  new  deal. 

2.  Where  the  irregularity  is  dis- 
covered when  the  hand  is  taken  up 
for  overplay,  and  before  such  over- 
play has  begun: 

The  hand  in  which  the  irregular- 
ity is  so  discovered  must  be  sent 
back  to  the  table  from  which  it  was 
last  received,  and  the  error  be  there 
rectified. 

3.  Where  such  irregularity  is  not 
discovered  until  after  the  overplay 
has  begun : 

In  two-table  duplicate,  there  must 
be  a  new  deal;  but,  in  a  game  in 
•which  the  same  hands  are  played 
at  more  than  two  tables,  the  hands 
must  be  rectified  as  above,  and 


then  passed  to  the  next  table  with- 
out overplay  at  the  table  at  which 
the  error  was  discovered,  in  which 
case,  if  a  player  had  a  deficiency 
and  his  adversary  the  corresponding 
surplus,  each  team  takes  the  aver- 
age score  for  that  deal;  if,  however, 
his  partner  had  the  corresponding 
surplus,  his  team  is  given  the  low- 
est score  made  at  any  table  for  that 
deal. 

In  the  overplay  of  a  deal,  if  a 
trump  is  turned  other  than  that 
recorded  on  the  trump  slip,  in  a 
game  of  three  or  more  tables,  the 
player  at  fault  shall  be  given  the 
low  score  for  that  deal;  and,  in 
single  or  two-table  duplicate,  there 
must  be  a  new  deal. 

Law  F— Playing  the  Cards. — 
Each  player,  when  it  is  his  turn  to 
play,  must  place  his  card,  face  up- 
wards, before  him  and  towards  the 
centre  of  the  table,  and  allow  it  to 
remain  upon  the  table  in  this  posi- 
tion until  all  have  played  to  the 
trick,  when  he  must  turn  it  over 
and  place  it  face  downwards,  and 
nearer  to  himself,  placing  each  suc- 
cessive card,  as  he  turns  it,  on  top 
of  the  last  card  previously  turned 
by  him.  After  he  has  played  his 
card,  and  also  after  he  has  turned 
it,  he  must  quit  it  by  removing  his 
hand. 

A  trick  is  turned  and  quitted 
when  all  four  players  have  turned 
and  quitted  their  respective  cards. 

The  cards  must  be  left  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  played 
until  the  scores  for  the  deal  are 
recorded. 

Law  G — Revoking. — A  revoke 
may  be  claimed  at  any  time  before 
the  last  trick  of  the  deal  in  which 
it  occurs  has  been  turned  and 
quitted  and  the  scores  of  that  deal 
recorded,  but  not  thereafter. 

A  player  may  ask  his  adversaries 
if  they  have  any  of  the  suit  re- 
nounced; but  the  question  estab- 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


140 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


lishes  the  revoke,  if  it  is  his  part- 
ner who  has  renounced  in  error. 

Law  H— Cards  Liable  to  be 
Called.—  The  holder  of  a  card  liable 
to  be  called  can  be  required  to  play 
it  only  by  his  right-hand  adver- 
sary; if  such  adversary  plays  with- 
out calling  it,  the  holder  may  play 
as  he  pleases;  if  it  is  the  holder's 
turn  to  lead,  the  card  must  be 
called  before  the  preceding  trick  is 
turned  and  quitted,  or  the  holder 
may  lead  as  he  pleases. 

The  unseen  cards  of  a  hand  faced 
upon  the  table  are  not  liable  to  be 
called. 

Law  I — Enforcing  Penalties. — 
A  player  having  the  right  to  call  a 
suit  loses  such  right  unless  he  an- 
nounces to  the  adversary  first  win- 
ning a  trick,  before  the  trick  so 
won  by  such  adversary  is  turned 
and  quitted,  what  particular  suit  he 
desires  led. 

A  player  has  the  right  to  remind 
his  partner  that  it  is  his  privilege 
to  enforce  a  penalty,  and  also  to 
inform  him  of  the  penalty  he  can 
enforce. 

A  player  has  the  right  to  prevent 
his  partner  from  committing  any 
irregularity,  except  renouncing  in 
error. 

Single-  Table  or  Mnemonic  Du- 
plicate.— The  laws  of  duplicate 
whist  govern,  where  applicable,  ex- 
cept as  follows: 

Each  player  plays  each  deal 
twice,  the  second  time  playing  a 
hand  previously  played  by  an  ad- 
versary. 

Instead  of  turning  the  trump,  a 
single  suit  may  be  declared  trumps 
for  the  game. 

On  the  overplay,  the  cards  may 
be  gathered  into  tricks  instead 
of  playing  them  as  required  by 
Law  F. 

In  case  of  the  discovery  of  an 
irregularity  in  the  hands,  there 
must  always  be  a  new  deal. 


Duplicate  Whist,  Luck  at.— 
While  luck  is  eliminated  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  cards  at  duplicate 
whist  (the  first  and  greatest  con- 
sideration), it  still  figures  in  the 
matter  of  playing  against  good  or 
bad  opponents,  when  reaching 
critical  hands,  at  certain  tables;  in 
cutting  in  with  good  or  bad  part- 
ners; in  opening  one  suit  or  an- 
other when  both  are  equally  strong 
in  your  own  hand;  and  in  the  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  a  finesse  or  other 
special  play  at  any  stage  of  the 
game.  The  luck  of  the  lead  may 
be  aptly  illustrated  by  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  number  of  hands  from 
actual  play.  Here  is  one  which 
was  dealt  in  the  Providence  ( R.  I. ) 
Whist  Club  in  1895.  A  held  two 
five-card  suits  of  precisely  equal 
strength,  and  it  was  purely  a  mat- 
ter of  chance  which  he  would  make 
his  original  lead  from;  but,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  overplay,  a  differ- 
ence of  six  tricks  was  involved. 
Hearts  are  trumps;  the  under- 
scored card  takes  the  trick,  and  the 
card  under  it  is  the  next  one  led: 


J3 

i 

i 

2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

80 
6  0 
V  5 
V  6 
V  J 
*  6 
4  8 
*  9 
90 
J  0 
KO 
*  J 
4  K 

100 

3  0 

5  0 
£>  2 

<y  3 

V  8 
V  9 
2  4 
3  4 
4  4 
5  4 
6  4 
7  0 
7  4 

410 
4  7 

Q?  Q 

AO 

V  7 
4  2 
*  3 
*  4 

A  4 

V  A 

<?  K 

V  1O 

J  4 
104 

9  4 
4  5 
2  0 
4  0 
AQ 
QO 

K  4 

Q4 

8  4 

4  A 

V  4- 

Score,  A-B,  o;  Y-Z,  13. 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


141 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


In  the  overplay,  the  player  hold- 
ing the  A  hand  opened  from  the 
club  instead  of  the  diamond  suit, 
and  the  result  was  quite  different: 


1 

s 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

*  8 
V  5 

*  2 
9  * 
4  3 
A  * 
*  4 
2  0 

100 

<9  3 

*10 
10* 
*  7 
8  * 
*  A 
J  * 
Q* 
<?10 

4  * 
V  2 

*  6 

<y  e 

*  9 
V  J 

3  + 
<?  8 

2  4 
30 
<9  9 
5  0 
5  * 
6  « 
7  0 
7  * 

8  0 
6  0 
9  0 
*  J 
J  0 
*  K 
KO 

<?  7 
40 
*  5 
QO 
A  Q 
AO 

<9  A 

<3>  K 

<3  Q 

Q?  4 

K  * 

Score:  A-B,  6;  Y-Z,  7. 

Clinton  Collins,  in  Whist  for 
March,  1895,  describes  another  in- 
teresting example,  as  follows: 
"  North,  the  original  leader,  had 
in  his  hand  three  clubs,  with  the 
queen  at  the  head,  which  were 
trumps;  the  jack  and  deuce  of 
hearts;  the  ace,  jack,  eight,  and 
three  of  spades;  and  four  dia- 
monds, including  the  ace  and 
queen.  His  partner,  although 
north  did  not  know  it,  had  the 
king  and  queen  of  spades;  the 
king  of  diamonds,  with  others, 
and  also  the  king  of  hearts,  as  the 
four  good  cards  of  his  hand.  North 
had  a  vague  feeling  that  on  the 
original  play  the  hand  for  their 
side  had  some  way  gone  wrong. 
This,  combined  with  the  fact  that 
he  preferred  not  to  lead  from  his 
ace-jack  and  ace-queen  tenaces  in 
spades  and  diamonds,  induced  him 


to  make  an  irregular  lead  from  the 
heart  suit,  which  proved  to  be  the 
worst  thing  he  could  possibly  have 
done. 

"  North  leads  the  jack  of  hearts; 
east,  next,  has  but  the  queen  and 
trey,  and  plays  the  queen;  south 
has  but  the  king  and  four,  and 
covers  the  queen  with  the  king; 
west  finally  takes  the  trick  with 
the  ace,  and  has  left  in  his  hand 
the  ten,  nine,  eight,  seven,  six,  and 
five,  the  six  best  that  remain.  The 
temptation  was  great  to  lead  trumps, 
of  which  he  had  three,  headed  by 
the  king.  He  does  so  with  a  small 
one,  and  hits  upon  a  partner  with 
six  trumps  in  his  hand,  headed  by 
ace  and  jack,  who  finesses  with  the 
jack;  leads  the  ace;  leads  a  third 
time,  west  taking  with  the  king; 
and  now,  having  the  lead  in  his 
hand,  he  takes  successively  with 
hearts,  the  ten,  nine,  eight,  seven, 
six,  and  five,  his  partner  discarding 
all  the  cards  in  his  hand  except  the 
three  trumps  which  he  lays  down. 
The  result  for  east  and  west  is  a 
slam. 

"  Of  course,  north  was  greatly 
upbraided  by  his  partner  for  the 
jack  of  hearts  lead,  but  his  reason- 
ing, that  he  wanted  his  other  suits 
led  up  to,  was  not  so  bad  when  ex- 
plained. Combined  with  this  un- 
fortunate lead,  it  required  the 
lucky  lead  of  trumps  on  the  part 
of  west,  and  the  finesse  of  the  ace- 
jack  by  east  to  fill  up  the  cup  of 
woe  for  the  unfortunate  ones.  The 
gain,  if  I  remember,  was  four  or 
five  on  the  hand." 

The  following  hand,  showing  a 
difference  of  seven  tricks,  is  re- 
ported by  Fisher  Ames  as  having 
been  dealt  at  the  Newton  Club, 
with  the  exception  of  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  queen  of  clubs  for  a  low 
one  in  B's  hand,  in  order  to  make 
it  a  little  more  pointed.  Hearts  are 
trumps,  and  A  leads: 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


142 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 

V  2 

<?  4 

V  K 

Q?  6 

2 

V  7 

<?  8 

V  A 

V  9 

3 
4 

5 

<y  Q 

A 
K 

<?  J 
2  * 
8  4 

<?  3 
5  4 

6  4 

tflO 
*  2 
*  4 

6 

Q 

9  4 

7  4 

*  6 

7 
8 

_J  

4 

10* 
3  0 

2  0 

7  0 

4  7 
*  9 

9 

3 

6  0 

KO 

40 

IO 

*  8 

8  0 

4Q 

410 

11 

4-3 

100 

*  A 

4  J 

12 

4  5 

J  0 

4  K 

5  0 

13 

90 

AO 

tf  5 

QO 

ence  of  six  tricks  on  the  overplay. 
Clubs  are  trumps,  and  A,  as  usual, 
is  the  leader: 


Score:  A-B,  13;  Y-Z,  o. 

"The  proper  lead  from  A's 
hand,"  says  Mr.  Ames,  "by  all  the 
canons  of  whist,  is  the  jack  of 
spades."  On  the  overplay,  this 
lead  was  made,  with  the  following 
result: 


J3 
Z 

H 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
0 

7 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

J  4 
4  3 
3  4 

4  5 
4  4 
4  8 
9  0 

2  4 

V  2 

5  4 
4Q 
7  4 
4  K 
6  4 
4  A 
7  0 

V  6 

4  7 
V  9 

8  4 

V  7 

4  2 

910 

9  4 

<?  J 

4  9 
2  0 

AO 

The  rest  are  taken  by  A-B,  who 
score  6  to  7  for  Y-Z.  This  hand 
cost  a  good  pair  of  players  a  match 
against  inferior  antagonists. 

Here  is  a  hand,  played  at  the 
American  Whist  Club  in  Boston,  in 
which  the  play  of  a  single  card 
(the  ten  of  spades)  made  a  differ- 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1  1 
12 
13 

<9  J 
7  4 
K  4 

<9  3 
9  4 
5  4 
9  4 
4  K 
5  0 
6  0 
AQ 
8  0 
V  8 
4  3 
4  7 
<9  9 

V  5 
A  4 

V  A 

6  4 
J  4 
Q4 

2  4 
3  4 
4  4 
2  0 
100 
QO 
4  5 
4  2 

104 
4Q 
3  0 
7  0 
90 
V  2 
<910 
4  9 
<?  Q 
<?  K 

8  4 
J  0 

KQ 
40 
410 

V  7 
44 
4  6 

v  e 

4  A 

4  J 

4  8 

Score:  A-B,  6;  Y-Z,  7. 

The  overplay  of  the  hand  resulted 
more  favorably  to  another  set  of 
players,  who  managed  it  as  follows: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
IO 
11 
12 
13 

V  J 
104 

V  3 
5  4 
V  4- 
V  8 
4  3 
4  7 
4  K 
9  4 
9  9 
5  0 
6  0 
80 
AO 

V  5 
3  4 

100 

2  0 
4  5 
4  J 

V  A 

6  4 
9  6 
9  7 
4  4 
4  6 
410 
J  4 
40 
8  4 
Q  4 
J  0 
KO 

<?  K 

V  Q 

4Q 

4  9 
3  0 
K  4 

4  A 

2  4 
QO 
4  4 
A  4 
4  8 

910 

9  2 

7  4 
7  0 
9  0 

4  2 

Score:  A-B,  12;  Y-Z,  i. 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


"At  trick  two,  A's  play  of  the 
ten  of  spades,  instead  of  seven  of 
spades,  makes  the  difference,  or  a 
great  part  of  the  difference,  in  the 
result,"  says  Fisher  Ames.  "Al- 
though somewhat  peculiar  play,  it 
was  founded  on  a  good  and  valid 
reason,  to  wit,  a  desire  to  win  the 
'trick,  if  possible,  and  continue  the 
hearts.  At  trick  three,  B's  play  of 
ten  of  diamonds,  instead  of  com- 
pleting his  call  in  spades,  was  good. 
The  discard  of  the  ten  was  as  good 
as  a  call,  and  it  was  worth  while  to 
get  rid  of  diamonds.  At  trick  five, 
Y  should  have  covered  queen  of 
clubs." 

Duplicate  Whist,  Progressive. 

— A  system  of  duplicate  whist  in 
which  the  trays  containing  the 
hands  are  passed  in  one  direction, 
while  the  east  and  west  players 
move  in  the  other  direction  from 
table  to  table;  sometimes  also  called 
"compass  whist"  (g.  v.).  It  is 
the  invention  of  John  T.  Mitchell, 
of  Chicago,  and  the  best  descrip- 
tion of  both  the  system  and  its 
modifications  is  contained  in  the 
new  edition  of  Mr.  Mitchell's  "  Du- 
plicate Whist,"  published  in  1897 
by  Ihling  Bros.  &  Everard,  at  Kala- 
mazoo,  Mich.  Says  Mr.  Mitchell: 
"The  form  of  the  progressive 
game  introduced  by  the  writer  into 
the  Chicago  Whist  Club  in  1892 
was  adopted  by  the  American  Whist 
League  for  the  preliminary  play  for 
the  Hamilton  Trophy  at  the  con- 
gress of  1893,  and  has  been  a  feat- 
ure of  all  succeeding  congresses. 
The  number  of  hands  to  be  played 
are  divided  equally  among  the  num- 
ber of  tables,  and  the  quota  at  each 
table  is  played  before  any  pro- 
gression takes  place.  When  a  set 
has  been  played,  the  east  and  west 
players  move  to  the  next  higher 
numbered  table,  while  the  hands 
are  passed  to  the  next  lower  num- 


bered table,  and  another  set  is 
played.  Then  the  east  and  west 
players  move  again  in  the  same 
direction  as  before,  and  the  hands 
are  passed  in  the  opposite  direction 
as  before,  and  so  on  until  a  com- 
plete round  of  the  tables  has  been 
made.  The  hands  are  passed  from 
the  first  to  the  last  table,  while  the 
east-west  players  move  from  the 
last  table  to  the  first.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  game,  every  east  and 
west  pair  has  played  against  every 
north  and  south  pair,  and  every 
pair  has  played  all  the  hands.  The 
gain  or  loss  to  each  team  is  com- 
puted by  the  average  for  the  respec- 
tive hands,  which  is  figured  by 
dividing  the  aggregate  score  by  the 
number  of  tables. 

' '  The  above  directions  apply  only 
to  games  in  which  the  number  of 
tables  is  odd.  If  the  number  of 
tables  is  even,  after  the  east  and  west 
players  have  made  half  the  circuit 
they  strike  the  same  hands  that 
they  started  with.  This  difficulty 
has  been  very  cleverly  overcome  by 
the  invention  of  Professor  A.  Had- 
lock,  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  whose 
method  is  as  follows:  'Divide  the 
total  number  of  hands  to  be  played 
into  two  equal  parts,  and  finish 
one-half  before  starting  the  other. 
When  the  east  and  west  players 
get  half-way  round  in  the  pro- 
gression they  remain  for  another 
hand,  or  set  of  hands,  at  the  table 
at  which  they  find  themselves,  and 
then  pass  on  to  the  next  table. 
This  makes  them  finish  the  first 
half  with  one  table  yet  to  plaj-. 
When  the  second  half  of  the  game 
begins,  the  east  and  west  players 
move  back  to  the  table  next  follow- 
ing the  one  at  which  they  played 
the  double  set,  and  proceed  as  be- 
fore. When  they  get  half-way 
round  the  second  time,  they  find 
themselves  at  the  table  at  which 
they  did  not  play  at  all  the  first 


144 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


time;  and  as  that  is  where  they  now 
play  a  double  set  of  hands  before 
passing  to  the  next  table,  when 
they  get  around  the  second  time 
they  have  played  an  equal  number 
of  hands  at  each  table.'  Profes- 
sor Hadlock's  game  will  apply  to 
any  number  of  even  tables;  and  in 
the  case  of  four  tables,  it  may  be 
remarked,  there  is  no  change  of 
positions  between  the  first  and 
second  halves  of  the  game,  as  at 
the  third  change  the  east  and  west 
players  finish  the  first  half,  and  are 
seated  at  the  proper  tables  for  com- 
mencing the  second. 

"  If  the  number  of  tables  is  an 
even  number  not  divisible  by  three 
(such  as  four,  eight,  ten,  fourteen, 
etc.),  there  is  another  way,  the  in- 
vention of  the  writer,  to  get  around 
the  difficulty,  as  follows:  Start  the 
game  exactly  as  described  in  the 
directions  for  odd  tables,  but  di- 
vide the  quota  to  be  played  at  each 
table  into  two  equal  portions,  and 
let  the  east  and  west  players  move 
after  every  half  set  of  hands  has 
been  played,  and  go  the  round  of 
the  tables  twice.  The  hands,  how- 
ever, only  make  the  round  once, 
and  are  played  in  exact  succession 
by  the  north  and  south  players, 
who  play  the  unplayed  halt  of  the 
first  set  against  the  next  comers; 
then  the  first  half  of  the  next  set, 
and  so  on.  If  the  number  of  tables 
is  so  great  that  only  one  deal  can 
be  started  at  each  table,  neither  of 
the  above  methods  of  getting 
around  the  even-table  difficulty 
can  be  adopted,  in  which  case  the 
skipping-one-table  game  invented 
by  E.  T.  Baker,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
comes  into  play.  This  is  as  fol- 
lows: '  After  the  east  and  west 
players  have  gone  half-way  around, 
they  skip  one  table  and  continue 
the  progression.  This  brings  them 
to  the  table  at  which  they  started, 
with  one  hand  to  play,  and  they 


play  that  hand  against  their  origi- 
nal opponents. ' 

"  There  are  two  progressive  'four' 
games.  One,  also  the  invention 
of  the  writer,  is  applicable  to  any 
number  of  tables  which  divided 
by  two  brings  an  odd  result,  such 
as  six,  ten,  fourteen,  etc.  In  this 
game,  half  the  north  and  south 
players  move,  and  half  the  east 
and  west  players  sit  still.  The 
four  players  move  as  a  unit,  or 
remain  seated  as  a  unit,  the  north- 
south  players  at  the  odd-numbered 
tables  and  the  east  and  west  at  the 
even  being  the  sitting  fours,  while 
the  east  and  west  at  the  odd  and 
the  north  and  south  at  the  even  are 
the  moving  fours.  The  hands  are 
passed  back  and  forth  between  the 
odd-numbered  tables  and  the  next 
higher,  and  between  the  even-num- 
bered tables  and  the  next  lower 
(thus  completing  a  match  between 
the  two  fours  at  contiguous  tables), 
and  are  then  passed  in  blocks  of 
two  to  the  next  lower  two  tables, 
while  the  moving  fours  go  to  the 
next  higher  two  tables.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  game  all  the 
moving  fours  have  played  all  the 
sitting  fours,  and  they  have  both 
played  all  the  hands. 

"  If  the  number  of  tables  divided 
by  two  is  even,  the  quota  of  hands 
to  be  played  against  each  four  may 
be  halved,  and  the  moving  fours  go 
the  round  of  the  tables  twice,  ac- 
cording to  directions  in  the  pair 
game.  This  would  not  do,  how- 
ever, in  the  case  of  twelve  or 
twenty-four  tables,  as  the  halves  of 
these  numbers  divide  evenly  by 
three. 

"The  other  progressive  'four' 
game  is  the  invention  of  Mr.  E.  C. 
Howell,  of  Boston,  and  was  called 
in  the  programme  of  the  fifth 
American  whist  congress,  held  at 
Minneapolis  in  1895,  '  Howell's 
modification  of  the  John  T.  Mitchell 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


145 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


progressive  system.'  It  provides 
for  the  playing  of  every  four  against 
every  other  four,  and  also  for  com- 
plete matches  between  them.  In 
the  writer's  pair  game  no  attempt 
is  made  to  have  the  east  and  west 
co- partners  of  any  north-south  team 
play  the  same  hands  in  duplicate 
against  the  north  and  south  co- 
partners of  the  east-west  team  that 
started  them.  This  is  accomplished 
in  the  Howell  method  by  the  fol- 
lowing process:  '  The  players  move 
as  in  Mitchell's  system,  but  the 
trays  are  carried,  not  to  the  next 
table,  but  from  the  middle  to  the 
head,  with  the  others  in  natural 
order.  With  only  three  tables  in 
play,  the  two  systems  are  identical. 
With  five  tables,  Howell  moves  the 
trays  up  two  tables;  with  seven 
tables,  three;  with  nine  tables, 
four,  and  so  on.' 

"When  the  number  of  players 
engaged  make  an  even  number  of 
tables,  an  extra  table  is  put  in ,  and 
during  the  play  there  are  always 
two  tables  which  are  idle;  but  the 
hands  are  passed  back  and  forth 
just  the  same  as  though  the  tables 
were  fully  occupied. 

"  The  effect  of  this  scheme  is  to 
bring  about  the  overplay  of  the 
same  deals  by  the  same  teams,  and 
the  score  is  usually  counted  by 
matches  won  instead  of  tricks 
gained.  In  case  of  a  tie,  the  tricks 
decide. 

' '  When  both  sexes  participate  in 
the  game,  and  one  sex  is  not  op- 
posed to  the  other,  the  ladies  may 
sit  north  and  east,  the  gentlemen 
west  and  south;  and  if  tie  gentle- 
men move  in  one  direction  while 
the  boards  are  passed  in  the  other, 
each  lady  will  meet  every  gentle- 
man, either  as  partner  or  opponent. 
When  there  is  time  for  a  number 
of  sittings,  both  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  may  change  opponents 
at  successive  games,  using  the  in- 

xo 


dividual  schedules  for  multiples  of 
four,  and  the  pair  schedules  for 
other  numbers,  as  guides  in  seat- 
ing themselves  at  the  commence- 
ment of  each  game.  If  one  sex  is 
opposed  to  the  other,  and  the  num- 
ber of  tables  engaged  divided  by 
two  brings  an  odd  result,  such  as 
six,  ten,  fourteen,  eighteen,  etc., 
the  game  in  which  the  sitting  fours 
and  moving  fours  oppose  each 
other  may  be  played,  the  ladies,  of 
course,  being  the  sitting  fours. ' ' 

Progressive  duplicate  whist  is  the  gen- 
eric name  by  which  those  systems  of  du- 
plicate are  known  in  which  the  purpose 
is  to  have  as  many  as  possible  of  the 
players  meet  one  another  during  the  prog- 
ress of  the  match.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.J, 
' '  Complete  Hoyle. ' ' 

John  T.  Mitchell,  of  Chicago,  some 
years  ago  invented  a  system  of  play 
which  is  especially  attractive  for  club  or 
social  purposes  when  twelve  or  more 
players  get  together  for  a  whist  sitting,  or 
series  of  sittings.  Mr.  Mitchell  gave  his 
system  a  very  appropriate  name,  viz.: 
p'rogressive  [duplicate]  whist,  as  it  con- 
sists of  the  east  and  west  pairs  all  pro- 
gressing, while  the  north  and  south  pairs 
remain  seated.— Milton  C.  Work  \L.  A. 
H.},  "Whist  of  To-day." 

Duplicate  Whist,  Schedules 
for  Playing. — A  great  deal  of  in- 
genuity and  hard  study  has  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  subject 
of  arranging  and  moving  the  play- 
ers and  trays  at  the  tables  for  du- 
plicate whist.  Among  the  first  to 
labor  in  this  direction  was  Thomas 
C.  Orndorff  (q.  v.},  and  although 
his  efforts  were  mainly  devoted  to 
improving  the  manner  of  engaging 
two  teams  of  four  in  matches,  the 
results  of  his  labors  were  valuable, 
as  was  attested  by  all  who  saw  his 
method  used  at  the  first  congress 
of  the  American  Whist  League 
(Milwaukee,  1891). 

Others  whose  arrangements  of 
schedules  for  duplicate  play  have 
been  especially  noteworthy  are  W. 
H.  Whitfeld,  of  Cambridge,  Eng- 
land, the  noted  whist  analyst;  Pro- 
fessor E.  H.  Moore,  of  the  University 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


146 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


of  Chicago,  a  mathematician  of  fine 
ability;  A.  G.  Safford,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  a  pioneer  in  this  line  of 
whist  development;  Professor  Had- 
lock,  of  Kalatnazoo,  Mich.;  E.  C. 
Howell,  of  Boston,  the  short-suit 
expert;  Charles  E.  Coffin,  author 
of  "  The  Gist  of  Whist,"  and  John 
T.  Mitchell,  who  brought  duplicate 
whist  to  the  front  in  America.  Mr. 
Mitchell  says: 

"  Formulas  for  eight,  twelve,  and 
sixteen  players  were  published  in 
Whist  of  January,  1892,  by  Mr.  A. 
G.  Safford,  of  Washington,  D.  C., 
who  was  the  first  in  the  field  with 
solutions  of  problems  of  this  nature; 
but  until  Mr.  W.  H.  Whitfeld  came 
to  the  rescue,  in  1895,  I  was  unable 
to  obtain  a  formula  for  any  number 
higher  than  sixteen,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  thirty-two.  The  latter 
I  obtained  in  the  following  manner: 
Mr.  Safford  had  told  me  if  I  num- 
bered the  players  from  one  up, 
placing  one  and  two  against  three 
and  four,  five  and  six  against  seven 
and  eight,  nine  and  ten  against 
eleven  and  twelve,  at  successive 
tables  for  the  first  game,  and  for 
the  second  game  placed  them  in 
numerical  order  down  the  north 
seats  at  the  successive  tables,  back 
along  the  south  seats,  down  again 
along  the  east  or  west  seats,  and 
back  again  to  the  first  table  along 
the  west  or  east  seats,  and  made 
the  players  take  a  similar  course 
after  every  change,  I  could  work 
out  a  formula.  I  went  to  work  on 
the  idea,  but  after  countless  experi- 
ments found  that  it  would  only 
work  for  eight,  sixteen,  and  thirty- 
two,  and  it  is  because  I  found  it  to 
work  for  thirty-two  that  Mr.  Whit- 
feld has  not  given  us  a  solution  for 
that  number." 

Mr.  Whitfeld,  although  without 
practical  experience  in  duplicate 
whist,  took  the  matter  of  arranging 
progressive  duplicate  schedules  up 


as  an  interesting  mathematical 
puzzle.  For  individuals,  he  pro- 
duced schedules  for  twelve,  twenty, 
twenty-four,  twenty-eight,  thirty- 
six,  forty,  forty-eight,  fifty -two,  fifty- 
six,  and  sixty-four  players.  For 
teams,  he  produced  schedules  for 
eight,  twelve,  fourteen,  sixteen, 
eighteen,  and  twenty,  and  the 
same  are  published  in  Mitchell's 
"Duplicate  Whist."  Other  team 
schedules  for  four,  six,  and  ten 
will  be  found  therein,  as  well 
as  additional  schedules  covering 
the  same  ground  as  those  of 
Mr.  Whitfeld.  Professor  Moore, 
of  Chicago  University,  published 
some  elaborate  and  highly  original 
calculations  on  the  subject  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Mathematics 
(volume  18,  pp.  264-303,  1896,  Bal- 
timore), and  his  labors  are  also 
utilized  by  Mr.  Mitchell.  Professor 
Moore  originated  what  he  calls  a 
"  lrip/e-\vhist  tournament  arrange- 
ment," by  means  of  which,  in  com- 
bination with  known  arrangements, 
he  is  able  to  construct  other  ar- 
rangements. "Thus,"  says  he, 
"  from  the  known  arrangement  of 
four  and  sixteen  players  I  con- 
structed for  the  Denver  Whist  Club 
an  arrangement  for  sixty-four 
players.  Again,  using  Mr.  Whit- 
feld's  ordinary  arrangement  for  one 
hundred  players,  and  my  triple  ar- 
rangement for  sixteen  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  players,  we  can 
construct  two  ordinary  arrange- 
ments for  sixteen  by  one  hundred, 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty  by  one 
hundred  players,  and  one  triple 
arrangement  for  sixteen  by  one 
hundred  and  sixty  players." 

Mr.  Howell  is  the  discoverer  of 
Howell's  law  for  writing  schedules, 
by  means  of  which  it  is  possible  to 
arrange  the  players  in  tournaments 
in  a  few  minutes,  even  though 
there  should  be  a  large  number. 
His  method  of  duplicate  whist  for 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


147 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


pairs,  lately  completed,  provides 
schedules  for  pairs  from  seven  pairs 
to  twenty-eight  pairs  inclusive,  and 
any  number  of  pairs  can  be  pro- 
vided for.  Every  pair  is  made  to 
meet  every  other  pair,  and  to  over- 
play an  equal  number  of  hands 
with  every  other  pair.  Many  re- 
gard the  pair-against-pair  play  the 
most  interesting  form  of  compe- 
tition . 

Mr.  Safford  has  been  for  several 
years  at  work  upon  a  complete  set 
of  schedules  covering  what  he  calls 
the  comparative  system.  It  in- 
cludes all  methods  of  play  and  any 
number  of  players.  Among  other 
things,  he  has  arranged  a  schedule 
for  eight  married  couples,  where- 
by no  husband  or  wife  is  ever 
in  the  same  set  at  the  same  time, 
and  yet  they  overplay  the  same 
hands. 

Schedule  for  Single-Table  {or 
Mnemonic)  Duplicate.  —  In  the 
single-table  game,  each  player  plays 
each  deal  twice,  the  second  time 
playing  a  hand  previously  played 
by  an  adversary;  a  single  suit 
may  be  declared  trump  for  the 
game,  and  on  the  overplay  the 
cards  may  be  gathered  into  tricks. 
(See,  "Laws  of  Duplicate  Whist.") 
Single-table  duplicate  is  played  by 
providing  a  pack  of  cards  and  a 
tray  for  every  original  deal.  When 
the  agreed  number  of  hands  have 
been  played,  the  trays  are  turned 
quarter  way  around.  If  the  play- 
ers wish  to  avoid  the  part  which 
the  memory  may  play  in  the  game, 
the  second  half,  or  overplay,  may 
be  postponed  until  a  future  sitting, 
and  another  game  begun.  If  it 
is  desired  to  show  a  record  for 
individual  play,  the  players  may 
change  partners  after  every  four, 
six,  or  eight  hands.  This  is  done 
in  accordance  with  the  following 
schedule  formulated  by  Mr.  Mit- 
chell: 


N.  S.  E.  W. 

Deals  i  to  4,  6,  or  8 12     3     4 

Deals  5  to  8,  7  to  12,  or  9  to  16    i    3     4     2 
Deals  9  to  12,  13  to  18,  or  17  to 
24 14     2     3 

Mitchell  says:  "  Players  should 
not  try  to  memorize  the  location  of 
cards  so  as  to  take  advantage  of 
their  mnemonic  ability  in  the  play- 
off. It  may  help  them  to  win 
mnemonic  games,  but  it  will  not 
improve  their  whist-playing." 

Coffin's  Three-Table  Schedule, — 
Charles  E.  Coffin  has  devised,  and 
the  American  Whist  Club  of  In- 
dianapolis, Ind.,  has  adopted,  what 
Mr.  Coffin  calls  the  "Individual 
Merit  Score  Card,"  which  is  so 
arranged  that  each  player  will  have 
each  of  the  other  players  for  a 
partner  in  one-third,  and  for  an 
opponent  in  two-thirds,  of  the 
deals.  The  result  of  their  play  in 
a  series  of  sittings  must  nearly,  if 
not  entirely,  eliminate  the  element 
of  luck,  and  show  the  true  indi- 
vidual merit  of  all. 

The  deals  are  divided  into  three 
equal  parts,  and  designated  as  series 
A,  B,  and  C. 

In  series  A— N.  and  S.  are  partners 
against  E.  and  W. 

In  series  B — N.  and  E.  are  partners 
against  S.  and  W. 

In  series  C— N.  and  W.  are  partners 
against  S.  and  E. 

North  remains  seated,  and  keeps 
the  score.  Let  the  score  card  re- 
main on  the  table  all  the  time,  to 
avoid  errors. 

"Any  number  of  deals  divisible 
by  three  may  be  played,"  says  Mr. 
Coffin.  ' '  Seven  in  each  series  is 
the  usual  number  for  one  sitting. 
The  average  time  for  each  deal, 
forward  and  back,  is  ten  minutes. 
It  will  require  three  and  a  half 
hours,  therefore,  to  play  the  twenty- 
one  deals.  If  more  or  less  are  de- 
sired, change  the  figures  on  the 
margin  of  the  card  to  correspond 
with  number  used. 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


148 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


"  Play  the  original  of  all  deals 
before  commencing  the  duplicate; 
then  resume  the  original  positions, 
and  overplay  in  same  order.  The 
deals  in  each  series  should  be  in  ir- 
regular order. 

"  In  clubs,  or  matches  of  more 
than  one  table,  the  method  of 
'  Individual  Merit'  may  be  used  in 
a  progressive  way.  Let  all  players 
take  precedence  in  order  of  rank  in 
the  score.  The  four  highest  take 
table  No.  i ;  the  next  four,  table  No. 
2,  and  so  on  to  the  foot  table.  In 
case  of  an  odd  number  being  pres- 
ent, the  lowest  players  cut  in  with 
the  last  table  according  to  the  laws 
of  whist.  This  order  of  seating 
the  players  is  now  used  in  many 
clubs,  and  is  an  extra  incentive  to 
study  the  game. ' ' 

Mr.  Coffin's  score  card  is  here- 
with reproduced,  slightly  reduced 
in  size: 

INDIVIDUAL  MERIT  SCORE  CARD. 


Table  No._ 


Deals  are  equally  divided  into  Series  A, 
B.  C.  Players  change  partners  after  each 
series. 


N 

E 

S 

W 

In  Original,  score  tricks  taken  by  N. 
and  S.  players  only.  In  Duplicate,  score 
tricks  taken  by  E.  and  W.  players  only. 


S 

•£* 

to 
I 

NORTH 
AND  SOUTH. 

EAST 
AND  WEST. 

tn 

u 

•5* 

CO 

Tricks. 

Gain. 

j  Tricks. 

Gain. 

I 

2 
3 

4 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

5 
6 

7 

7 

N.  S. 
Gain. 

]•:.  w. 

Gain. 

B 

~~8~ 

Players  Sitting  S.  and  E. 
Change  Seats. 

B 

8 

9 

10 

9 

10 

ii 

II 

12 

^3~ 

12 
13 

14 

14 

N.  E. 
Gain. 

S.  W. 
Gain. 

C 

"IT 

Players  Sitting  S.  and  W. 
Change  Seats. 

C 

~ 
16 

16 

17 

'7 

18 
19 

18 

19 

20 

20 

21 

21 



N.  W. 
Gain. 

S.  E. 
Gain. 

_z8g Resume  Original  Positions  for  Overplay. 


INDIVIDUAL  RECORD. 


The  gain  of  one  side  is  the  loss  of  the 
other.  Score  the  net  gain  or  loss  of  each 
player  at  the  end  of  each  series. 


00 

North. 

South. 

East. 

West. 

•c 

•>. 

a 
o 

£ 

tn 

3 

a 

o 

£ 

1 
a 

a 
o 

fS 

i 

a 

o 

'tn 

3 

A 

B 

C 









3 

t- 

Net 

Do  not  compare  scores  with  other  tables. 

Schedules  for  Large  Numbers  of 
Individuals.  — Several  ingenious 
methods  have  been  devised  for 
handling  large  numbers  of  players, 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


149 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


especially  in  domestic  parties, 
where  duplicate  whist  is  also  con- 
stantly growing  in  favor.  "  Safford 
and  Mitchell  have  both  distin- 
guished themselves  in  this  line," 
says  Foster.  "The  simplest  form 
has  been  suggested  by  Mitchell,  and 
is  especially  adapted  for  social  gath- 
erings of  ladies  and  gentlemen." 

According  to  Mitchell's  arrange- 
ment (it  may  again  be  explained 
here),  when  both  sexes  participate, 
and  one  sex  is  not  opposed  to  the 
other,  the  ladies  may  sit  north  and 
east,  the  gentlemen  west  and 
south;  and  if  the  gentlemen  move 
in  one  direction  while  the  boards 
are  passed  in  the  other,  each  lady 
will  meet  every  gentleman,  either 
as  partner  or  opponent.  When 
there  is  time  for  a  number  of  sit- 
tings, both  the  ladies  and  gentle- 
men may  change  opponents  at  suc- 
cessive games,  using  the  individual 
schedules  for  multiples  of  four,  and 
the  pair  schedules  for  other  num- 
bers, as  guides  in  seating  them- 
selves at  the  commencement  of 
each  game.  If  one  sex  is  opposed 
to  the  other,  and  the  number  of 
tables  engaged  divided  by  two 
brings  an  odd  result,  as  six,  ten, 
fourteen,  eighteen,  etc.,  the  game 
in  which  the  sitting  fours  and  mov- 
ing fours  oppose  each  other  may  be 
played,  the  ladies,  of  course,  being 
the  sitting  fours." 

Here  are  Mr.  Mitchell's  sched- 
ules for  four  ladies  and  four  gentle- 
men; six  ladies  and  six  gentlemen; 
eight  ladies  and  eight  gentlemen; 
and  sixteen  ladies  and  sixteen  gen- 
tlemen, in  which  ladies  play  once 
with  each  gentleman,  and  once 
against  each  lady;  gentlemen  once 
with  each  lady,  and  once  against 
each  gentleman.  The  ladies  sit 
north  and  east;  the  gentlemen, 
south  and  west. 

Schedule  for  four  ladies  and  four 
gentlemen: 


Table  i .          Table  2. 

GAME.  N.  S.  E.W.  N.  S.  E.w. 

First 1423       3241 

Second 1234  4321 

Third 1342       2431 

Fourth 1122  3344 

Schedule  for  six  ladies  and  six 
gentlemen:  "If  it  is  not  desired 
to  have  the  ladies  play  with  the 
ladies,  nor  the  gentlemen  with  the 
gentlemen,  it  takes  but  six  even- 
ings to  make  a  complete  circuit. 
Number  the  ladies  from  one  to  six, 
the  gentlemen  from  seven  to  twelve, 
and  play  on  the  successive  evenings 
by  the  following  formula: 

Table  i.  Table  2.  Table  3. 
GAME.  N.S.E.W.  N.S.E.W.  N.S.E.W. 
First  .  . 
Second 
Third 
Fourth  . 
Fifth  .  , 
Sixth  . 


10  2  ii  6  9  3  12  5  8  4 

11  3  12  2  10  4  8  6  9  5 

12  4  8  3  ii  5  9  2  10  6 
85  94  12  6  10  311 


9  6  10    5    8  2  ii    4   12    3      7 


7  2 


3  9  4  10  5  ii  6  12 


"  The  above  is  not  a  perfect  for- 
mula, but  it  answers  for  the  ladies' 
and  gentlemen's  progressive  games. 

"  The  following  is  a  formula,  for 
eight  ladies  and  eight  gentlemen, 
which  will  answer  for  either  the 
ladies'  and  gentlemen's  progressive 
game  or  for  the  inter-club  game,  the 
changes  in  the  latter  case  being 
made  on  successive  rounds  or 
games,  and  no  movement  of  players 
taking  place  during  any  one  round 
or  game. 


Table  i. 

Table 

2. 

GAME.                 N.S.E.W. 

N. 

S.  E.W. 

First  

7 

3 

6 

5 

4 

3 

S 

Second    

8 

3 

7 

6 

5 

4 

2 

Third       

2 

4 

8 

7 

f> 

5 

3 

Fourth     

3 

5 

3 

s 

7 

6 

4 

Fifth     

4 

6 

3 

2 

8 

7 

5 

Sixth     

7 

4 

3 

2 

S 

6 

Seventh  

6 

8 

S 

4 

5 

2 

7 

Eighth     

i 

a 

2 

3 

3 

4 

4 

Table  3. 

Table 

4- 

First  8    3 

4 

5 

6 

2 

7 

Second     2    4 

5 

6 

7 

3 

S 

Third    3    5 

6 

7 

8 

4 

a 

Fourth     4    6 

7 

8 

2 

5 

3 

Fifth     5    7 

8 

2 

3 

6 

4 

Sixth     6    8 

a 

3 

4 

7 

5 

Seventh  7    2 

« 

4 

5 

S 

6 

Eighth     55 

0 

6 

7 

7 

S 

S 

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150 


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"The  last  line  is  not  in  the 
schedule,  but  is  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  circuit.  This  is  Safford's 
formula  for  eight  players  extended 
to  suit  the  requirements. 

"The  ladies  sit  north  and  east,  and 
the  gentlemen  south  and  west,  or 
vice  versa,  each  lady  plays  once  with 
and  once  against  every  gentleman, 
once  against  every  lady,  the  gentle- 
men contra.'" 

Formula  for  sixteen  ladies  and 
sixteen  gentlemen  on  the  same 
basis: 

Tables  i  &  2.  Tables  3  &  4. 


GAME. 

N.  S.  E-  W.     N.  S.  E.  W. 

First  .  .  .  . 

7     2   12 

9  15  ii    8 

Second      .  . 

8    3  13 

10  16  12    9 

Third     .  .  . 

9    4  14 

ii     2  13  10 

Fourth  .  .  . 

10    5  15 

12    3  14  ii 

Fifth  .  .  .  . 

ii    6  16 

13      4    15   12 

Sixth  .... 

12    7    2 

H    5  16  13 

Seventh    .  . 

13    8    3 

15    6    2  14 

Eighth 

14    9    4 

16    7    3  15 

Ninth 

15  i°    5 

2    8    4  16 

Tenth 

16  ii    6 

3952 

Eleventh  .   . 

2   12     7 

4  1°    6    3 

Twelfth    .  . 

3  13    8 

5  ii    7    4 

Thirteenth  . 

4  14    9 

6  12    8    5 

Fourteenth 

5  15  10 

7  13    9    6 

Fifteenth  .  . 

6  16  II 

8  14  10    7 

Tables  5  &  6. 

Tables  7  &  8. 

GAME. 

N.  S.  E.  W 

N.  S.  E.  W. 

First  .... 

.  .  16  14    5  13 

3    4    6  10 

Second  .  .  . 

.   .    2  15    6  H 

4    5    7  « 

Third 

.   .    3  16    7  15 

5    6    8  12 

Fourth 

4    2    8  16 

6    7    9  13 

Fifth  .  .  .  . 

-•5392 

7    8  10  14 

Sixth  .... 

.   .    6    4  10    3 

8    9  ii  15 

Seventh    .  . 

•   •    7    5  "    4 

9  10  12  16 

Kighth  .  .   . 

.   .    8    6  12    5 

10  ii  13    2 

Ninth 

•   •    9    7  13    6 

II  12  14    3 

Tenth    , 

.   .  10    8  14    7 

12  13  >5    4 

Kleventh  .   . 

.  .  ii    9  15    8 

13  14  16    5 

Twelfth    .   . 

.  .  12  10  16    9 

14  15    a    6 

Thirteenth  . 

.   .  13  ii     2  10 

IS  16    3    7 

Fourteenth 

.  .  14  12    3  II 

16    2    4    8 

Fifteenth     . 

.   .  15  13    4  12 

2359 

"To  complete  the  circuit  the  two 
I's  play  against  the  two  2's,  the  3*5 
against  the  4's,  and  so  on.  Only 
half  the  figures  are  given,  as  the 
second  half  is  only  a  repetition  of 
the  first,  except  that  the  figures  are 
reversed.  Table  r,  for  instance,  is 
just  as  above,  while  table  2  would 
read  12,  2,  7,  i.  The  ladies  sit 


north  and  east,  the  gentlemen 
south  and  west,  or  vice  versa. 

"  In  regard  to  figuring  the  '  aver- 
age,' that  is  done  simply  by  adding 
all  the  north  and  south  scores  to- 
gether, and  dividing  the  total  by 
the  number  of  tables  in  the  game; 
and  adding  all  the  east  and  west 
scores,  and  dividing  in  the  same 
manner.  Of  course  there  can  be 
no  'average'  unless  there  are  at 
least  three  tables  in  the  game. ' ' 

Here  is  Mr.  Safford's  ingenious 
schedule  for  eight  married  couples, 
so  arranged  in  two  sets  that  no 
husband  and  wife  are  ever  in  the 
same  set  at  the  same  time.  When 
seven  sets  have  been  played  every 
lady  will  have  overplayed  four 
hands  against  every  other  lady  and 
gentleman,  including  four  held  by 
her  husband.  The  same  will  be 
true  of  every  man.  Indicators  are 
placed  on  the  tables  to  show  play- 
ers their  successive  positions.  The 
numbers  represent  the  husbands, 
and  the  letters  the  wives,  the 
couples  being  a-i,  b-2,  etc.  The 
couples  a-i  always  sit  still;  the 
ladies  go  to  the  next  higher  letter 
of  the  alphabet,  and  the  men  to  the 
next  higher  number;  h  going  to  b, 
as  a  sits  still,  and  8  to  2. 


\v 


One  hand  is  dealt  at  each  table, 
and    overplayed    at    each   of   the 


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others.     A  different  point  of  the 

EIGHT  PLAYERS. 

compass  should  deal  at  each  table, 

Table  i.          Table  2. 

in  order  to  equalize  the  lead.  *  *  * 

GAME.          N.  S.  E.W.      N.  S.  E.W. 
First  2    5    3       8467 

The  score  of  each  four  hands  should 

Second    .             .         i,    6    A.        2^78 

be  added  up  by   each   individual 

Third   475       3682 

olaver  and  the  results  tabulated  at 

Fourth     586       4723 

Fifth  627       5834 

the  end  of  every  four  hands.    *  *  * 

Sixth       ....            738       6245 

The  winner  is  the  player  who  loses 

Seventh  842        7    3    5    6 

the  fewest  tricks.      "This,"   says 

Foster,  "  is  the  only  known  system. 

TWELVE  PLAYERS. 

for  deciding  whether  or  not  a  man 

Table  i.      Table  2.       Table  3. 

can  pi  ay  whist  better  than  his  wife.  '  ' 

GAME.    N.S.E.W.   N.S.E.W.  N.S.E.W. 
First     ..       263    12  1179    10584 

Charles  S.  Carter,  in  1893,  pub- 

Second          374      a  12   8  10    n    6   9   5 

lished  an  arrangement  for  ten  ladies 
and  ten  gentlemen  seated  at  five 

Third  .          485      3    2   9  ii    12    7  10   6 
Fourth           596      4    3  10  12      2   8  ii    7 
Fifth    .          6107      54112      39128 

tables,   the  ladies  north  and  east, 

Sixth    .          7  ii    8      6   5  12   3      4  10    2   9 

and  the  gentlemen  south  and  west, 
north  and   south    playing   against 

Seventh         8  12   9      7624      5  ii    3  10 
Eighth          9    2  10      8735      6  12   4  ii 
Ninth  .         10   3  ii      9846      7    2   5  12 

east  and  west.     "By  this    plan," 

Tenth  .         n    4  12     10   9    5    7      8362 

said  Mr.  Carter,  "each  lady  plays 

Eleventh     1252111068      9473 

with   every   gentleman,    and   each 
gentleman  plaj's  with   every   lady 
during  the  progress  of  the  game; 

SIXTEEN  PLAYERS. 

Table  i.              Table  2. 
GAME.      N.    S.  E.  W.     N.    S.  E-  W. 

thus  giving  abundant  opportunity 

First  .  .                 2    12      7     16    15      9    13 

for    sociability,    and    for  strangers 

Second  .                 3    13      8       2    16    10    14 

to  become    acquainted   with  each 

Third    .                4    14      9       3      2    n    15 
Fourth  .                 5    15    10       4      3    12    16 

other." 

Fifth  .   .                  6    16     ii        5      4    13      2 

Sixth     .                  7      2     12       6      5    14      3 

Table  i.               Table  2. 

Seventh                 8      3    13       7      6    15      4 
Eighth  .                 9      4    14       8      7     16      5 

GAME.      N.    S.  E.  W.       N.    S.    E.  W. 

Ninth    .                 o      5    15       9      8      2      6 

First   ..       3241          718205 

Tenth    .                 i      6    16     10      9      3      7 

Second          7685        11249 

Eleventh               272111048 

Third            n     10    12      9        15      6      8    13 

Twelfth                  3      8      3      12     ii      5      9 

Fourth  .      15     14    16     13        19    10     12     17 

Thirteenth            4      9      4     13    12      6    10 

Fifth      .      19     18    20     17          3    14     16      i 

Fourteenth           5    10      5     14    13      7    ii 

Fifteenth    .          6    ii      6     i^    14      8    12 

Table  3.      Table  4.      Table  5. 

GAME.  N.  S.  E.W.    N.  S.  E.W.     N.S.E.W. 

Table  3.              Table  4. 

First      n  14  16    9    15  10  1213    19    6    8  17 

First  .  .         14      6      5      3       8    n      o      4 

Second  15  18  20  13    19  14  16  17      3  10  12     i 

Second           15      7      6      4       9    12      i      5 

Third   .  19    2    4  17     3  18  20    i      7  14  16    5 

Third   .         16      8      7      5      10    13      2      6 

Fourth.    3681      72451118209 

Fourth             2      9      8      6      ii     14      3      7 

Fifth   .    7  10  12    5    ii    6    8   9    15    2    4  13 

Fifth     .           3     10      9      7      12    15      4      8 

Sixth     .           4    II     10      8      13    16    15      9 

If  it  is  desired  that  the  ladies  and 

Seventh           5     12     n      9      14      2     16    10 
Eighth             6    13     12     10      15      3      2    n 

gentlemen  should   play  both  with 

Ninth   .           7     14     13     II      16      4      3     12 

and  against  each  other,  formulas  for 

Tenth   .          8    15    14    12       2      5      4    13 
Eleventh        9    16    15    13       3      6      5    14 

eight,  twelve,  and  sixteen  players 

Twelfth  .   .   10      2     16     14       4      7      6    15 

will  be  found  in  the  January,  1892, 
number    of    Whist,    in    an    article 

Thirteenth    113215       58716 
Fourteenth  12      4      3    16       6982 
Fifteenth    .13      542       7    *o      9      3 

written  by  A.  G.  Safford,  of  Wash- 

ington. 

A  seven-table    game,  for  ladies 

Mr.  Saflford's  schedules  were  as 

and    gentlemen,    is    described    in 

follows: 

Whist  for  March,    1896,  by  Harry 

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152 


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F.  Stafford,  of  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
as  follows:  "  I  had  seven  tables. 
After  playing  the  hand  placed  at 
each  table,  I  had  everybody  move, 
and  left  the  hand  at  the  table.  The 
gentlemen  play  north  and  east,  the 
ladies  south  and  west.  I  then 
moved  the  gentlemen  up,  the  north 
gentlemen  two  tables,  the  east  gen- 
tlemen one  table;  and  I  moved  the 
ladies  down,  the  south  lady  two 
tables,  and  the  west  lady  one  table. 
After  playing  the  seven  deals,  it  will 
be  seen  that  every  player  has 
played  every  deal.  Every  gentle- 
man has  had  half  of  the  ladies  for 
partners,  and  half  of  the  gentlemen 
for  opponents.  I  then  changed  east 
gentlemen  with  the  north  gentle- 
men, and  brought  on  a  new  set  of 
deals,  and  proceeded  as  before.  At 
the  end  of  fourteen  deals  each  gen- 
tleman has  played  partners  with 
each  lady,  and  against  one-half  of 
the  gentlemen  twice.  I  got  the 
comparative  standing  of  each  player 
by  the  averaging  method.  I  found 
this  method  quite  satisfactory,  and 
but  little  confusion  after  the  first 
move. ' ' 

"  E.  R.  D.,"  in  Whist  for  Febru- 
ary, 1897,  gives  the  following  ar- 
rangement of  twelve  players:  In 
eleven  sittings  each  player  will 
play  with  the  eleven  others,  once 
as  partner  and  exactly  twice  as  ad- 


versary. Number  the  players  from 
one  to  twelve.  The  first  and  second 
sittings  are  as  follows: 


w 


First  Sitting.             Second  Sitting. 

N                                     N 

12 

I 
6 

2 

E     W 

I 

2                7 
3 

8 

s 

N 

«     W 

S 

N 

E 
E 

7 

4 
9 
5 

4 
9               12 
II 

S                                   S 

N                                     N 

8 

3 

II 

10 

U    W 

5 
8              10 
6 

S                                   S 

W 


During  all  the  eleven  sittings  No. 
I  occupies  the  same  position.  Every 
other  number  increases  by  one  at 
each  successive  sitting,  No.  12  be- 
coming No.  2. 

Another  individual  schedule  for 
twelve,  arranged  by  Hugh  McDou- 
gall,  is  published  in  Whist  for 
April,  1897,  as  follows: 


First  Table. 

Second  Table. 

Third  Table. 

N.  S.          E.  W. 

N.  S.           E.  W. 

N.  S.           E.  W. 

—   2  vs.    3—  4 

5—   6  v 

7-   8 

9  —  10  vs  ii  —  12 

—   3  w.  10  —  8 

9  —  ii  v 

2—    6 

7  —   4  vs 

12—    5 

—  4  vs.    8  —  ii 

2—     5f 

IO  —  12 

3-lvs 

9—    7 

—  $vs.   9—   2 

6  —  10  v 

12—3 

II  —    7  vs 

A         a 

4           o 

—  6  w.  1  1  —  5 

10  —    7  V 

8-   9 

4  —  12  w 

2—    3 

—  7  vs.    2  —  10 

12  —    8  V 

9—   4 

5—    3vs 

6—  ii 

—   dvs.    6  —  12 

3—   9* 

4—    5 

10  —  II  VS 

7  —     2 

—  9  vs.    7  —   3 

II  —    4  f 

5  —  10 

12  —     2  VS 

8—   6 

—  10  vs    4  —   6 

7  —  12  r 

3—  II 

2  —   8  w.    5  —    9 

—  II  VS.  12  —    9 

4—    2» 

6-    7 

8  —    5  w.    3—10 

I  —  12  w.    5  —   7 

8—   3  w 

II  —    2 

6  —   9  vs.  10  —    4 

Note  I. — That  in  the  eleven  games 
each  player  plays  one  game  with 
each  of  the  other  eleven. 


Note2. — Thatintheeleven  rounds 
each  player  is  opposed  to  each  other 
player  (at  the  same  table)  twice. 


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153 


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Note  3. — That  after  the  tourna- 
ment is  completed,  each  player  has 
played  two  games  against  each 
other  player  (sitting  at  the  two 
other  tables),  whether  north,  east, 
south,  or  west,  in  the  same  position. 

Any  multiple  of  four  hands  may 
be  played  at  each  table  to  equalize 
the  deal  and  the  lead. 

Schedules  Showing  Team  Play, 
Howell  Plan. — A  writer  in  Whist 
of  January,  1895,  describes  the 
Howell  modification  of  the  Mitchell 
plan  for  progressive  play  for  teams 
of  four,  as  follows:  "A  new 
method  of  duplicate  play,  devised 
by  Edwin  C.  Howell,  was  tried  on 
this  occasion.  It  was  completely 
successful,  and  competent  judges 
pronounce  it  by  far  the  best  system 
ever  used  in  a  tournament  for  fours. 
It  is  a  modification  of  John  T.  Mit- 
chell's 'progressive'  method,  in 
which,  after  every  round,  the  north 
and  south  pairs  move  to  the  next 
table  in  one  direction,  and  the  trays 
to  the  next  table  in  the  opposite 
direction,  so  that  if  the  number  of 
teams  is  odd  every  team  eventually 
plays  all  the  deals. 

"  From  Mitchell's  plan,  however, 
the  element  of  match  play  between 
teams,  or  the  overplay  of  the  same 


deals  by  the  same  two  teams,  is 
absent.  For  instance,  with  five 
teams  competing,  if  the  north  and 
south  pair  of  team  No.  I  plays  the 
first  set  of  deals  against  the  east 
and  west  pair  of  team  No.  5,  the 
east  and  west  pair  of  team  No.  I 
plays  the  same  deals,  not  against  the 
north  and  south  pair  of  team  No.  5, 
as  it  would  in  match  play  between 
the  two  teams,  but  against  the 
north  and  south  pair  of  team 
No.  4. 

"  This  deficiency  Howell  has  sup- 
plied by  a  simple  change  in  the 
manner  of  moving  the  trays.  The 
players  move  as  in  Mitchell's  sys- 
tem, but  the  trays  are  carried,  not 
to  the  next  table,  but  from  the 
middle  table  to  the  head,  with  the 
others  in  natural  order.  With  only 
three  tables  in  play,  the  two  systems 
are  identical.  With  five  tables, 
Howell  moves  the  trays  up  two 
tables;  with  seven  tables,  three; 
with  nine  tables,  four,  and  so  on. 
The  effect  of  this  scheme  in  bring- 
ing out  the  overplay  of  the  same 
deals  by  the  same  teams,  as  well  as 
the  general  manner  of  using  the 
system,  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing illustrative  schedule  for  five 
teams: 


INITIAI,  POSITION. 
3 


This  position  is  merely  to  seat  the  plavers  by  teams.     There  is  no  play.     The  north 

in  sour  n  lift  ire  tir»T*r  w  ,-,1-^  «.«  *  —i A  _  ii •  __*-.i  T      * 


and  south  pairs  now  move  one  place  to  the  right. 


After  playing  the  deals  here  indicated,  the  north  and  south  pairs  again  move  one 
place  to  the  right,  and  the  trays  two  places  to  the  left. 


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154 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


SBCOND  PLAYING  POSITION. 


Move  players  and  trays  as  before. 


The  play  is  thus  completed. 

Examination  of  the  foregoing 
schedules  will  show  that  teams  I 
and  2  have  overplayed  deals  5-8; 
teams  i  and  3,  deals  17-20;  teams 
i  and  4,  deals  9-12;  teams  i  and  5, 
deals  1-4;  teams  2  and  3,  deals 
9-12;  teams  2  and  4,  deals  1-4; 
teams  2  and  5,  deals  13-16;  teams 
3  and  4,  deals  13-16;  teams  3  and 
5,  deals  5-8;  teams  4  and  5,  deals 
17-20.  In  short,  every  team  has 
played  a  match  of  four  deals  against 
every  other  team. 

By  repeating  the  schedule,  or  by 
playing  a  greater  number  of  deals 
at  each  table,  the  matches  between 


teams    may  be  made  as  long  as 
desired. 

If  the  number  of  teams  is  even,  a 
dummy  team  may  be  entered,  or, 
better,  an  extra  table  may  be 
added,  and  the  schedule  be  carried 
out  exactly  as  though  the  number 
of  teams  were  odd,  except  that  the 
north  and  south  pair  of  one  team, 
and  the  east  and  west  pair  of 
another,  sit  out  during  each  round. 
This  variation  of  Howell's  formula 
was  suggested  by  Walter  H.  Barney. 
It  adapts  the  system  to  an  even  quite 
as  well  as  to  an  odd  number  of  teams. 
For  example,  take  four  teams: 


Deals 
1—4 


2 

INIT 
2     3 

IAL  POSITION. 

3 

4 

Deals 
5-8 

Deals 

9—12 

3     4 

Deals 
13—16 

Deals 
17-20 


North  and  south  pairs  move  one  place  to  the  right. 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


155 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


FIRST  PLAYING  POSITION. 


Deals 
5-S 


2      3 


Deals 

9—12 


3     4 


Deals 
13—16 


Deals 
17—20 


The  east  and  west  pair  of  team  i  and  the  north  and  south  pair  of  team  4  sit  out,  and 
deals  1-4  and  17-20  are  not  in  play. 

SECOND  PLAYING  POSITION. 


Examinations  will  again  show 
that  every  team  has  here  overplayed 
four  deals  with  every  other  team, 
just  as  in  the  schedule  for  five 
teams. 

Schedules  of  Play  for  Pairs, 
Teams  of  Four,  etc. — A  most  im- 
portant system  is  described  in  the 
July,  1897,  number  of  Whist,  by 
Charles  M.  Clay  (q.  v.},  its  origi- 
nator. It  is  a  universal  system  for 
compass  matches  between  pairs,  for 
multiple  teams  of  four,  or  for  two 
teams  of  any  number,  and  with  any 
number  of  tables  whatever,  though 
its  practical  limit  is  probably  six- 
teen tables,  on  account  of  the  time 
required. 

When  the  match  is  between  fours, 
each  four  seat  themselves  together 
at  a  table,  then  the  east-west  pairs 


move  up  one  table  before  beginning 
play. 

After  each  round  the  east-west 
pairs  move  up  one  table. 

When  the  match  is  between  two 
teams  of  more  than  four  on  a  side, 
the  visiting  team  seat  themselves  at 
tables  i,  3,  5,  etc.,  and  the  home 
team  at  tables  2,  4,  6,  etc.,  then  the 
east-west  pairs  move  up  one  table 
before  beginning  play.  After  each 
round  the  home  pairs  move,  the 
visitors  sitting  still  throughout  the 
play. 

When  the  match  is  between  pairs, 
no  preliminary  arrangement  is 
necessary. 

The  system  of  play  consists  in 
placing  upon  each  table  more  than 
one  board,  and  playing,  each  round, 
only  one-half  the  boards,  or,  in 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


156 


DUPLICATE  WHIST 


case  of  five  boards,  say,  playing  only 
two  the  first  round,  and  the  remain- 
ing three  the  next  round.  This  sys- 
tem requires  that  the  moving  play- 
ers shall  make  the  circuit  of  the 
tables  twice,  so  that  there  are  always 
twice  as  many  rounds  as  tables. 

For  each  different  number  of 
tables  it  is  necessary  to  write  down 
in  advance  a  simple  schedule,  as 
follows:  Write  in  numerical  order 
the  number  of  rounds  to  be  played. 
Beneath,  in  vertical  lines,  write  the 
numbers  of  the  trays,  in  regular 
numerical  order,  which  are  to  be 
played  each  round.  For  six  tables, 
four  trays  at  a  table,  the  schedule 
would  be  written  thus: 

1*345   6   7   8   9   10   n   12 

1  3  5  7  9  »  13  15  17   19   21   23 

2  4  6  8  10  12  14  16  18   20   22   24 

Now  place  on  the  tables,  begin- 
ning with  table  I,  the  trays  under 
the  odd  numbers  first,  and  after- 
ward these  under  the  even  num- 
bers. That  is,  place  on  table  i, 
trays  I,  2,  5,  6;  on  table  2,  trays  9, 
10,  13,  14;  on  table  3,  trays  17,  18, 
21,  22;  on  table  4,  trays  3,  4,  7,  8; 
on  table  5,  trays  II,  12,  15,  16;  on 
table  6,  trays  19,  20,  23,  24. 

The  deals  are  to  be  played  in  reg- 
ular numerical  order,  except,  of 
course,  that  when  the  last  numbers 
occur  on  the  same  table  with  the 
first,  they  are  to  be  played  before 
the  first.  That  is,  deals  23,  24,  are 
to  be  played  before  deals  I,  2,  if 
they  come  on  the  same  table.  On 
the  first  round,  deals  i  and  2,  9  and 
10,  17  and  18,  3  and  4,  II  and  12, 
19  and  20,  are  to  be  played  at  the 
respective  tables. 

If  the  number  of  trays  on  a  table 
is  odd,  the  formula  varies  slightly. 
Thus,  for  five  tables,  five  trays  on  a 
table,  the  schedule  is: 


Here,  since  each  set  of  trays, 
being  five  in  number,  cannot  be 
divided  evenly,  it  is  divided  as 
nearly  as  possible  into  halves,  the 
parts  consisting  of  twos  and  threes. 

First  write  down  two,  then  three; 
then  three,  then  two,  and  so  on, 
every  time  alternating  the  order  of 
division.  The  trays  are  placed  on 
the  several  tables  thus:  Table  I. 
trays  I,  2,  6,  7,  8;  table  2,  trays  II, 
12,  16,  17,  18;  table  3,  trays  21,  22, 
3,  4,  5;  table  4,  trays  9,  10,  13,  14, 
15;  table  5,  trays  19,  20,  23,  24,  25. 

On  the  first  round,  the  first  two 
deals  at  each  table  are  to  be  played, 
then  the  next  three,  and  so  on.  On 
table  3,  of  course  deals  21,  22,  are 
to  be  played  first. 

After  each  round  the  players 
move  up  one  table,  always  taking 
with  them  the  deals  just  played, 
and  placing  them  beneath  the 
others  which  they  find  there.  Of 
course,  they  are  to  play  those 
which  they  have  not  played  before. 

In  matches  between  fours  the 
east-west  players  will  meet,  at  the 
end  of  the  first  circuit,  with  their 
north-south  partners.  They  should 
seat  themselves  at  the  table  with 
them  and  note  what  boards  should 
be  played  according  to  the  schedule. 
These  boards  they  may  play  against 
their  north-south  partners,  if  they 
wish  to,  but,  evidently,  they  will 
not  affect  the  result.  Therefore  it  is 
better  to  consider  these  boards  as 
played — that  is,  to  omit  playing 
them — and  to  pass  on  to  the  next 
table,  playing  there  the  next  boards 
in  order.  When  the  second  circuit 
is  completed,  it  will  be  foutid  that 
each  team  plays  and  overplays 
against  each  other  team  the  same 
boards;  also,  that  the  same  set  of 
boards  has  been  played  by  more 
than  two  teams. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  one  ex- 
ception to  the  universal  application 
of  this  system.  That  is,  in  matches 


EAST 


157 


ECHO 


between  multiple  teams  of  four,  it 
will  not  work  with  an  odd  number 
of  boards  upon  an  even  number  of 
tables.  The  only  cases  where  that 
would  be  likely  to  occur  are  eight 
or  ten  tables  of  three  boards  each. 

The  defect  is  that  it  makes  team  i 
play  only  two  boards  against  team  2, 
but  four  boards  against  team  3.  This 
can  be  obviated  in  either  of  two 
ways:  first,  by  using  a  dummy 
table,  as  in  the  Howell  system; 
second,  by  a  device  of  Walter  H. 
Barney,  of  putting  only  two  boards 
on  each  table  except  the  last,  and 
placing  upon  that  all  the  remaining 
boards.  This  necessitates,  how- 
ever, going  round  three  times. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  place  the 
trays  according  to  the  formulas 
given.  They  can  be  placed  in  their 
normal  order,  if  preferred.  The 
advantage  of  the  formula  is  that 
each  team  plays  against  each  other 
every  board  in  consecutive  order. 
The  advantage  of  placing  the  boards 
on  the  tables  in  their  normal  order 
is,  that  the  pairs  sitting  still  play  all 
the  boards  in  regular  numerical 
order,  while  those  moving  play 
them  in  reverse  order,  hence  it  is 
very  easy  to  detect  any  mistake. 

Mr.  Barney  has  given  the  system 
much  study,  and  has  done  much  to 
perfect  it,  and  is  fully  convinced  of 
its  superiority. 

After  the  first  circuit,  all  north 
players  should  exchange  places 
with  their  south  partners. 

East. — The  player  who,  in  part- 
nership with  west,  sits  in  opposition 
to  north  and  south  at  the  whist 
table.  This  designation  is  more 
especially  used  at  duplicate  whist. 
East  is  the  second  hand  when  north 
leads.  In  the  more  common  mode 
of  designating  the  players,  east  is 
represented  by  the  letter  Y. 

Echo. — A  response  to  partner's 
trump  signal  or  call  for  trumps. 


The  echo  is  made  by  repeating  the 
signal,  in  trumps  or  plain  suits.  In 
other  words,  your  partner  having 
called,  you  respond  by  playing  a 
higher  card,  followed  by  a  lower 
one.  The  echo  is  only  made  if  you 
hold  four  trumps  or  more,  and  is 
intended  to  convey  that  important 
information  to  partner.  If  you  do 
not  echo,  he  understands  that  you 
hold  three  trumps  or  less.  Several 
other  ways  of  echoing  to  partner's 
call  have  been  devised;  such  as, 
refusing  to  take  the  trick  when 
partner  leads  trumps,  trumping 
with  a  higher  card  than  necessary 
when  taking  a  force,  etc.  Some 
players  even  go  so  far  as  to  echo  on 
a  trump  lead  or  call  on  the  part  of 
the  adversaries;  but  (<  Cavendish," 
the  original  inventor  of  the  echo 
(who  announced  it  in  1874),  de- 
clares that  to  echo  on  the  adver- 
saries' lead  of  trumps  is  a  violation 
of  the  underlying  principle  of  the 
echo.  (See,  also,  "  Plain -Suit 
Echo.") 

It  is  important  that  the  echo  should  be 
made  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment. 
— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.]. 

By  the  "  echo"  in  a  plain  suit  you  may 
avoid  a  sacrifice  of  a  high  trump  card,  to 
make  it  in  trumps. — A.J.  Mclntosh  [L.A .], 
"Modern  Whist,"  1888. 

This  echo  is  a  most  powerful  aid,  as  it 
is  almost  certain  to  enable  you  to  win  an 
extra  trick.—  A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A  -)-], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

When  yott  have  four  or  more  trumps, 
and  your  partner  leads  them,  you  "echo" 
in  the  same  way,  if  you  do  not  trv  to  take 
the  trick.—  Val.  W.  Starnes  [S.  O.]. 

On  being  forced,  you  may  "echo"  by 
trumping  in  with  a  fiigher  card  than  you 
subsequently  play.  To  an  adverse  trump 
lead  or  "call,"  if  yourself  strong  enough 
to  "call"  originally,  you  may  likewise 
"echo." — Emery  Boardman  [L+A.], 
' '  Win  n  i  ng  Wh  ist. ' ' 

There  is  another  echo  which  is  made  to 
show  the  possession  of  four  trumps,  irre- 
spective of  partner's  lead  of  or  call  for 
trumps,  which  is  made  with  three  indif- 
ferent cards  of  a  plain  suit  by  playing  the 
middle  card  first,  the  hieher  next.and  the 
lower  last.— yoAw  T.  Mitchell  [L.  A.]. 


ECHO 


158 


ELEVEN  RULE 


The  echo  is  reported  to  be  an  extension 
of  the  signal,  and  is  the  most  innocuous 
of  tne  series;  it  does  very  little  harm,  and 
always  amuses  somebody.  When  the 
signal-man  holds  half  the  trumps  and  the 
echoer  the  remainder,  it  amuses  them, 
and  does  not  hurt  the  adversary,  for 
•weight  will  tell  wholly  irrespective  of 
conventions. — "Pembridgt"  [L+O.],  "De- 
cline and  Fall  of  Whist." 

The  "echo"  signal  has,  like  the  signal 
for  trumps,  its  negative  as  well  as  its  posi- 
tive aspect.  Just  as  not  signaling  for 
trumps,  when  you  have  the  opportunity, 
means  that  you  have  not  more  than  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  strength  in  trumps  and 
plain  suits  combined,  so,  not  to  echo  the 
signal,  if  you  have  the  chance,  means 
that  you  have  not  more  than  three 
trumps.—^.  A.  Proctor  [L.  0.]. 

When  your  partner  leads  a  trump  or 
asks  for  trumps,  if  you  have  numerical 
strength  in  trumps,  you  should  ask  at  the 
first  opportunity.  This  is  called  the 
echo  of  the  call,  though  it  is  made  use  of 
also  in  response  to  a  lead.  The  advan- 
tages of  the  echo  are  manifold.  Your 
partner,  being  strong  in  trumps,  may 
hesitate  to  take  a  force,  but  your  echo  en- 
ables him  to  do  so  without  fear,  and  to 
persevere  with  the  trump  lead. — "Caven- 
dish" \L.  A.].  "Laws  and  Principles  of 
Whist." 

The  advantages  of  the  echo  are  evident; 
if  partner  can  count  your  trumps,  he  does 
not  go  on  with  an  unnecessary  round. 
The  echo  is  usually  a  very  simple  thing, 
but  at  times  it  is  not  so  easily  accom- 
plished; it  should  be  made,  however, 
even  at  some  sacrifice  of  strength;  but 
situations  will  occur — holding  exactly 
four  trumps,  three  high  cards,  and  one 
small  one — when  you  will  lose  a  trick  if 
you  attempt  to  echo.  Of  course,  when  it 
is  evident  that  loss  will  result,  you  will 
not  echo. — C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [/..  A.], 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

"  Cavendish"  was  indefatigable  in  bring- 
ing into  use  the  new  svstem  of  improved 
communications.  He  introduced  a  fresh 
one,  affecting  in  an  important  way  the 
management  of  trumps.  When  a  player 
resolves  to  lead  them,  it  becomes  very  "de- 
sirable for  him  to  know  to  what  extent 
his  partner  is  able  to  support  him.  This 
may  be  seen,  to  some  extent,  by  the  card 
he  returns;  but  in  the  thirst  for  informa- 
tion in  the  present  day  it  cannot  be  waited 
for — it  is  wanted  at  once.  Suppose,  there- 
fore. I  either  lead  trumps,  or  call  for  them: 
the  moment  my  partner  sees  this,  if  he 
happens  to  hold  more  than  three  he  also 
calls  for  trumps,  which  is  to  be  under- 
stood to  communicate  that  fact  to  me. 
This  is  callfd  the  echo  of  the  trump  call. 
Of  course,  if  I  do  not  see  an  echo  1  under- 


stand he  holds  only  three,  or  less.  This 
was  published  by  "Cavendish,"  in  1874.-- 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

Eight-Spot. — A  low  card,  -which 
ranks  seventh  in  the  pack;  often 
spoken  of  as  the  middle  card,  as 
there  are  six  higher  and  six 
lower  ones  than  it.  It  is  led  only 
as  a  fourth-best  card  in  the  Ameri- 
can leads,  and  as  a  low  card  in  the 
old-leads  system.  In  the  Howell 
(short-suit)  system  the  lead  of  the 
eight,  seven,  or  six  indicates  the 
ruffing  game,  with  generally  not 
more  than  two  in  suit,  and  none 
higher  than  the  card  led. 

Eldest  Hand. — The  player  to  the 
left  of  the  dealer;  the  one  who 
makes  the  opening  lead. 

Eleven  Rule. — A  rule  formulated 
by  R.  F.  Foster,  and  first  published 
in  his  "Whist  Manual,"  in  1889. 
It  is  applicable  to  the  fourth -best 
lead,  and  shows  the  exact  number 
of  cards  in  the  suit  higher  than  the 
one  led.  This  is  done  by  deducting 
from  eleven  the  number  of  pips,  or 
spots,  on  the  card  led;  the  remain- 
der shows  the  number  of  cards  in 
the  suit  against  the  leader  higher 
than  the  one  led.  For  instance: 
The  seven  is  led;  if  the  pips  on  it 
are  deducted  from  eleven  the  re- 
mainder will  be  four,  which  is  the 
number  of  cards,  higher  than  the 
one  led,  which  are  out  against  the 
leader.  Those  not  in  his  partner's 
hand  must  be  held  by  the  adversa- 
ries. The  same  rule  may  be  ap- 
plied to  the  second  round  of  a  suit, 
if  the  leader  follows  a  high  card 
with  the  fourth  best. 

This  is  a  simple  and  useful  pile,  applica- 
ble when  a  fourth-best  card  is  led.— C".  D. 
P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.]. 

The  latest  whist  novelty  is  the  eleven 
rule,  the  object  of  which  is  to  give  a  sim- 
ple method  by  which  the  number  of  cards 
superior  to  the  fourth  best  led  that  are 


ELEVENTH  CARD 


159         ELLIOTT,  EUGENE  S. 


out  against  the  leader  may  be  quickly 
ascertained.  This  is  accomplished  by  de- 
ducting the  number  of  pips  on  the  fourth- 
best  card  from  eleven,  the  remainder  be- 
ing the  number  of  the  higher  cards.  This 
has  been  derisively  called  playing  whist 
by  arithmetic.  The  eleven  rule  was  first 
worked  out  by  Mr.  R.  F.  Foster,  of  New 
York,  who,  however,  did  not  divulge  it, 
except  to  his  pupils;  it  was  afterward  in- 
dependently discovered  by  Mr.  E.  F.  M. 
Benecke,  of  Oxford,  England,  and  given 
to  the  public  in  the  Field  of  January  4, 
1890.— ^V.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.] ,  Harper's  Maga- 
zine, March,  1891. 

In  the  natural  order  of  denominations 
the  ace,  or  one-spot,  would  be  low  and 
the  numeral  equivalents  [in  a  suit]  would 
range  from  one  to  thirteen,  but  the 
anomaly  of  regarding  the  ace  high  makes 
the  range  of  numeral  equivalents  two  to 
fourteen,  hence  fourteen  is  the  base 
number  [of  the  rule].  When  a  player 
leads  his  fourth-best  card,  the  numeral 
denomination  of  that  card  deducted  from 
fourteen  will  give  the  whole  number  of 
intervening  cards.  As  the  leader  is 
known  to  remain  with  three  of  the  inter- 
vening cards,  it  is  possible  to  determine 
at  once  how  many  are  held  by  the  re- 
maining players.  The  process  is  short- 
ened by  first  deducting  the  three  higher 
cards  known  to  be  in  the  leader's  hand 
from  fourteen,  and  then  using  elevn  as 
the  base.  The  difference  between  eleven 
and  the  denomination  of  the  card  led 
tells  at  once  how  many  intervening  cards 
are  held  by  the  three  other  players.— 
Whist  [L.  A .] ,  November,  1893. 


Eleventh  Card. — The  master  card 
of  three  remaining  ones  in  a  suit 
when  ten  have  been  played. 

The  eleventh,  so  called  because  it  is  the 
best  of  three  remaining  of  the  suit,  is 
sometimes  a  power,  if  you  know  that  the 
other  two  are  divided  between  the  oppo- 
nents.— G.  W.  Pettes\_L.  A. P.1,1" American 
Whist  Illustrated." 

The  eleventh  card  is  the  best  one  of  the 
remaining  three  of  a  suit,  and  can  be  led 
to  advantage  if  you  know  the  location  of 
the  other  two:  (a)  If  they  are  divided  be- 
tween the  two  opponents,  you  can  give 
your  partner  an  opportunity  to  trump  or 
discard  to  advantage.  (6)  If  the  two  are 
with  your  left  opponent,  you  can  force  a 
trump  from  right  opponent  and  make  him 
lead  to  your  own  or  partner's  advantage. 
(c)  If  the  two  are  on  the  right,  you  force 
a  trump  from  left,  and  partner  may  dis- 
card or  overtrump  to  advantage. — ~C.  E. 
Coffin  [L.  A.],  "The  Gist  of  Whist:' 


Elliott,  Eugene  S.— The  founder 
and  first  president  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  was  born  in  Vermil- 
ion county,  Illinois,  August  13, 
1842.  He  entered  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  September,  1861,  and  was 
to  have  graduated  with  the  class  of 
'65,  but  caught  the  war  fever,  and, 
with  eighty  other  students,  mostly 
from  Dartmouth  and  the  Norwich 
Military  Academy,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  Seventh  Squadron, 
Rhode  Island  Cavalry.  After  being 
mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  he  engaged  for  a  time  in  busi- 
ness pursuits,  and  then  studied  law, 
being  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Mil- 
waukee county  in  1876.  He  was 
elected  city  attorney  of  the  city  of 
Milwaukee  in  1886;  was  reuomi- 
nated  by  both  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  parties,  and  re-elected 
in  1888;  was  renominated  by  his 
party  (the  Republican )  in  1890,  but 
was  defeated  with  the  rest  of  the 
ticket  upon  the  Bennett  law  issue, 
which  was  construed  as  an  attempt 
to  interfere  with  parochial  and 
other  separate  schools.  Mr.  Elli- 
ott's part}'  claimed  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  State  to  provide  every 
child  with  such  an  education  in  the 
English  language  as  should  enable 
him  to  adequately  perform  the 
duties  of  citizenship. 

Since  1890  he  has  held  no  salaried 
office,  but  has  continued  to  be  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  He  has  retained  his 
interest  in  politics,  however,  and 
usually  takes  an  active  part  in  cam- 
paigns as  a  stump  speaker.  He  was 
a  delegate-at-large  from  Wisconsin 
to  the  Republican  National  Conven- 
tion at  St.  Louis,  which  nominated 
William  McKinley  for  the  presi- 
dency. He  has  also  for  years  taken 
an  active  part  in  Masonry,  being 
past  grand  master  of  his  State,  and 
past  grand  commander  of  the 
Knights  Templar  of  Wisconsin. 


ELLIOTT,  EUGENE  S.          160        ELLIOTT,  EUGENE  S. 


Mr.  Elliott  knew  nothing  about 
whist  until  after  the  organization 
of  the  club  now  known  as  the  Mil- 
waukee Whist  Club,  but  had  always 
been  fond  of  chess,  which  he  began 
to  play  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  at- 
taining to  great  proficiency.  He 
had  been  instrumental  in  organiz- 
ing several  chess  clubs  at  various 
times,  without  achieving  for  them 
any  permanent  existence,  but  in 
September,  1875,  he  made  one  more 
effort.  He  proposed  to  his  brother, 
Theodore  B.  Elliott  (now deceased), 
then  a  lawyer  of  high  standing  at 
the  Milwaukee  bar,  and  to  Rufus  B. 
Allen  (both  of  whom  were  fond  of 
euchre),  that  they  should  assist  in 
the  organization  of  a  chess  club, 
in  which  card-playing  was  also  to  be 
permitted  as  an  inducement.  To 
this  they  assented,  and  the  Milwau- 
kee Chess  Club  was  the  result.  Mr. 
Elliott  was  chairman  of  the  first 
meeting,  and  the  club  was  organ- 
ized with  ex- Attorney-General  Win- 
field  Smith  as  president;  James  G. 
Jenkins,  now  United  States  circuit 
judge,  was  the  second  presiding 
officer,  and  Mr.  Elliott  the  third. 
The  game  of  euchre  soon  gave  way 
to  whist,  which  was  introduced  to 
the  club  by  Mr.  Allen,  and  soon 
also  supplanted  chess. 

In  1878  Mr.  Elliott  removed  to 
St.  Louis,  with  the  intention  of 
permanently  locating  there.  He 
remained  and  practiced  his  profes- 
sion about  eighteen  months,  when 
he  returned  to  Milwaukee.  During 
his  absence  the  play  of  chess  had 
fallen  into  great  decay,  and  the 
members  of  the  club  changed  its 
name  to  the  Milwaukee  Whist  Club, 
play  being  restricted  to  whist  and 
chess  under  the  rules;  but,  in  fact, 
whist  alone  has  ever  since  held 
sway.  Thus  Mr.  Elliott  became  a 
whist-player  by  force  of  circum- 
stances, to  the  joy  and  benefit  of 
all  lovers  of  whist  in  America,  for, 


with  his  accustomed  energy,  he 
now  began  to  work  for  the  advance- 
ment of  the  greatest  of  all  games. 
He  offered  the  resolution  which  was 
passed  by  the  Milwaukee  Whist 
Club  in  September,  1890,  for  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to 
consider  the  feasibility  of  holding  a 
whist  congress.  He  was  appointed 
chairman  of  the  committee;  was 
made  temporary  and  afterwards 
permanent  chairman  of  the  first 
congress,  and  was  honored  by 
being  chosen  as  the  first  president 
of  the  American  Whist  League, 
which  was  formally  organized  at 
the  congress  held  at  Milwaukee,  in 
1891.  (See,  "American  Whist 
League.")  "  His  judicial  tempera- 
ment," said  C.  S.  Boutcher,  in  de- 
scribing him  at  this  congress, 
"  eminently  fits  him  for  a  presiding 
officer.  Cool,  diplomatic,  impar- 
tial, firm,  he  directs  a  convention 
so  that  harmony  prevails  and  busi- 
ness progresses.  The  delegates  to 
the  congress  were  by  no  means  a 
unit  in  their  views  on  whist,  and  the 
conduct  of  its  affairs.  The  avoid- 
ance of  dissension,  and  the  success 
of  the  congress,  were  largely  due 
to  the  breadth  and  scope  shown  by 
Eugene  S.  Elliott  in  the  direction 
of  its  proceedings. ' ' 

This  was  the  universal  estimate, 
and  succeeding  congresses  insisted 
upon  keeping  him  at  the  helm, 
until  at  the  fourth  congress  he 
positively  declined  further  re-elec- 
tion. 

In  a  letter  received  from  him, 
Mr.  Elliott  speaks  thus  modestly 
of  his  own  abilities  as  a  player: 
"While  extremely  fond  of  the 
game,  and  appreciating  its  many 
beauties,  I  have  never  regarded 
myself  as  an  expert,  nor  entitled  to 
claim  rank  among  players  of  the 
first  force.  If  I  had  begun  the 
study  of  whist  at  as  early  an  age  as 
I  began  to  play  chess,  it  is  possible 


EMBLEMS,  WHIST 


l6l          ENGLAND,  WHIST  IN 


that  I  might  have  attained  higher 
rank;  but  I  began  too  late  to  obtain 
what  a  first-class  player  must  have, 
a  perfect  whist  memory  and  correct 
intuitive  inference  from  the  fall  of 
the  cards." 

While  he  has  given  the  game 
much  time  and  study,  he  has  never 
allowed  it  to  supplant  more  serious 
duties.  He  finds  it,  however,  a 
great  solace  when  professional  cares 
have  wearied  the  mind,  and  a 
pleasant  relief  from  those  responsi- 
bilities which  his  profession  im- 
poses upon  the  busy  lawyer. 

Emblems,  Whist.  —  Devices 
which  are  selected  by  clubs  or  other 
organizations  as  their  distinctive 
marks,  or  badges.  Thus,  the  em- 
blem of  the  American  Whist  League 
is  the  ace  of  clubs,  with  the  letters 
"A.  W.  L-"  inscribed  on  the  lobes. 
The  emblem  of  the  Woman's 
Whist  League  is  the  ace  of  dia- 
monds with  the  letters  "  W.  W.  L. " 
incribed  on  it. 

In  a  certain  sense,  playing  cards 
employed  at  whist  and  other  games 
are  said  to  have  some  emblematic 
significance,  each  card  in  accord- 
ance with  the  picture  or  represen- 
tation which  it  contains. 

England,  Whist  m.  —  Short 
whist,  or  the  game  of  five  points, 
honors  counting,  is  the  whist  of 
England,  and  stakes  are  played  for, 
as  a  rule,  at  the  clubs  and  in  pri- 
vate. The  element  of  chance  in 
short  whist  is  so  large  that  it  is  ad- 
mirably adapted  for  quick  play,  and 
the  rapid  consummation  of  bets, 
which  are  also  freely  made  upon 
each  game,  or  the  rubber,  as  the 
case  may  be.  This  love  of  play  for 
gain  (or  loss)  seems  ingrained  in 
the  British  whist-player,  and  dates 
from  the  very  beginning  of  whist. 
It  is  customary  for  those  who  frown 
upon  gambling  to  draw  a  fine  dis- 


tinction between  that  vice  and  the 
playing  of  whist  for  stakes,  the 
universal  plea  being  that  it  lends 
additional  interest  to  the  game,  and 
that  the  stakes  are  small  and  insig- 
nificant in  themselves.  And  yet 
we  know,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  that 
when  men  once  begin  to  play  for 
money,  and  the  gambling  instinct  is 
thoroughly  aroused,  bets  and  stakes 
may  become  quite  important.  In- 
stances are  on  record  in  England, 
where  thousands  of  pounds  have 
been  lost  on  a  single  rubber;  ,£"25,- 
ooo  at  a  single  sitting;  and  in  one 
case,  it  is  said,  as  high  as  ^"20,000 
was  lost  on  a  single  hand  !  ( See, 
"Gambling.")  We  are  aware  that 
gambling  is  as  prevalent  in  America 
as  elsewhere,  and  have  no  right, 
therefore,  to  assume  a  higher  virtue 
for  our  people  on  that  account;  but 
it  certainly  does  seem  fortunate 
that  gambling  has  been  thoroughly 
eliminated  from  whist,  which  is 
thus  made  a  home  game  and  a  pure 
game,  such  as  may  safely  be  recom- 
mended to  the  young,  without  fear 
of  demoralizing  influences.  When 
whist  is  played  for  money  in  Amer- 
ica, it  is  played  by  those  who  play 
for  money  at  whatever  game  they 
undertake.  Such  men  are  at  once 
classed  as  gamblers.  As  a  rule, 
however,  they  find  the  American 
seven-point  game  without  honors 
less  suited  to  their  purpose  than 
draw-poker,  or  other  games  of 
chance. 

Whist  is  sometimes  played  for 
"love"  in  England  (i.  e.,  without 
stakes),  and  duplicate  whist  is  also 
played  to  some  extent;  but  so  long 
as  the  five-point  game  (with  honors 
counting  greatly  in  excess  of  what 
they  should)  prevails  there,  any 
game,  except  that  which  Eng- 
lishmen are  accustomed  to,  will  be 
found  rather  dull.  English  con- 
servatism will  make  a  change  from 
the  five-point  game  a  difficult  mat- 


ENGLAND,  WHIST  IN          162         ENGLAND,  WHIST  IN 


ter,  but,  if  the  step  should  ever  be  re- 
traced which  was  taken  in  1785,  or 
thereabouts,  when  long  whist  was 
cut  in  two  by  the  gambling  frater- 
nity to  accelerate  their  bets  (see, 
"Short  Whist,"  and  "Peterbor- 
ough, Lord"),  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  the  English  people  as  a 
whole  would  rejoice,  as  did  the 
people  of  this  country  when  Ameri- 
can whist  was  placed  upon  a  higher 
plane. 

Although  this  is  a  consummation 
devoutly  to  be  wished,  the  outlook 
for  whist  is  said  to  be  rather 
gloomy  in  England  at  the  present 
writiug  ( 1897).  The  gambling  spirit 
so  assiduously  fostered  by  play- 
ing for  stakes  seems  to  have 
broken  through  all  restraints,  and 
to  have  developed  into  a  mania  for 
"bridge"  (q.  v.)t  to  the  disgust 
of  all  true  lovers  of  whist.  It  can- 
not be  that  the  craze  will  last,  but 
in  the  meanwhile  genuine  whist 
seems  to  be  under  a  cloud  at  the 
London  clubs.  As  regards  whist 
play  in  other  parts  of  England,  we 
are  informed  by  a  correspondent, 
writing  under  date  of  September 
4,  1897,  that  during  the  winter 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  whist  in  the 
club  at  Bath,  in  that  at  Bourne- 
mouth, and  in  the  new  club  at 
Cheltenham.  Bath  is  the  winter 
resort  for  those  suffering  from  rheu- 
matism; Bournemouth,  for  weak 
chests,  and  Cheltenham,  for  hunting 
men  and  those  who  are  fond  of  gay 
society.  There  are  some  good 
players  among  the  residents  of  each 
place,  and  their  ranks  are  often  re- 
cruited from  London  and  else- 
where. "Very  good  whist  and 
piquet,"  says  our  correspondent, 
"  used  to  prevail  in  th?  Union  Club 
at  Brighton,  but  it  has  fallen  off 
during  recent  years.  Sir  Richard 
Rennie  is  one  of  their  most  trust- 
worthy players  at  both  games.  An 
excellent  rubber  can  still  be  found 


at  the  Sussex  Club,  Eastbourne,  but 
there,  too,  death  and  old  age  have 
made  gaps  among  the  players. 
There  is  good  whist,  also,  at  South- 
sea.  During  the  autumn  season  a 
good  deal  of  whist,  chiefly  by  visit- 
ors, is  played  at  Scarborough,  Har- 
rowgate,  and  Buxton.  In  one 
August,  three  or  four  years  ago, 
no  less  than  eleven  members  of  the 
Baldwin  Club,  in  London,  might 
have  been  seen  playing  in  the  card- 
room  of  the  club  at  Harrowgate. 
Whist  can  be  obtained  in  the  club 
at  Great  Malvern,  where  Major 
Wintour  is  their  chief  performer. 
Also,  at  Leamington,  Exeter,  and 
Exmouth.  The  Marquis  of  Dro- 
gheda  plays  at  the  last-named  place. 
He  excels  at  piquet  rather  than  at 
whist." 

(See,  also,  "  American  and  Eng- 
lish Laws,"  "American  Game," 
"International  Match,"  "  Laws  of 
Whist,"  and  "  Whist  Clubs.") 

The  English  play  a  game  of  chance. 
They  trust  to  "honors"  for  a  large  part 
of  their  success.  They  play  a  short  game, 
and  a  smart  tell-tale  game,  fora  purpose. 
Brilliant  play  with  them  is  very  occa- 
sional. -G.  W.  Peltes  [L.  A.  P.}," American 
Whist  Illustrated." 

It  will  cause  Americans  to  smile  when 
they  learn  that  in  a  late  issue  of  the  Lon- 
don Field  an  advertisement  appeared,  as 
follows: 

"  Whist  enthusiast  desires  to  meet  with 
others  who  have  mastered  book  play,  and 
•will  meet  frequently  and  regularly  for 
practice,  without  stakes  or  bets. 

"D.  G.  H." 

Just  fancy  what  this  means— that  in  the 
great  metropolis  of  London  a  poor,  lone- 
some whist-player  desires  to  meet  with 
others  who  do  not  scorn  later-day  devel- 
opme_nts  and  progress.  I  pity  the  poor 
Englishman.  If  he  would  emigrate  to 
this  {jreat  and  glorious  country,  and  take 
up  his  residence  in  any  little  town  of 
10,000  or  more  people,  he  will  find  the  as- 
sociates he  seeks  without  advertising  in 
a  paper  of  the  Field's  standing.  This  re- 
calls to  my  mind  what  "Cavendish"  told 
me  when  he  first  visited  this  country  in 
1893.  The  day  of  his  arrival  had  been 
publicly  announced,  and  the  whist-play- 
ers of  this  city  knew  that  he  was  to  be  my 
guest.  They  called  quite  constantly  to 


ENGLAND,  WHIST  IN         163 


EQUAL  CARDS 


pay  their  respects  to  the  great  whist  au- 
thor, and  every  day  and  for  many  hours 
we  played  whist.  "  Cavendish"  thought 
I  had  previously  arranged  for  him  to  meet 
the  best  players  in  this  vicinity,  and  it 
was  almost  an  impossibility  for  him  to 
believe  that  such  was  not  the  case,  and 
that  he  was  simply  meeting  the  general 
run  of  players.  It  was  a  revelation  to 
him,  because  the  average  of  play  here 
was  so  much  higher  than  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  at  home  that  he  thought,  and 
naturally,  that  the  best  players  had  been 
selected  to  meet  him.  It  has  been,  and 
still  is,  the  exception  for  him,  to  get  three 
other  good  whist-players  at  the  whist 
table  in  England.  He  very  soon  found 
that  it  was  the  exception  to  have  any  but 
four  very  good  players  at  the  whist  table 
in  America.  I  have  heard  that  since  his 
return  to  England  he  informs  his  coun- 
trymen that  they  have  been  distanced  in 
the  race,  and  that  if  they  want  to  play 
whist  well  and  intelligently  they  will 
have  to  do  as  we  have  done — study  the 
game  in  all  its  phases,  and  not,  as  has 
been  their  custom,  to  consider  it  merely 
a  game  of  chance,  the  main  object  being 
to  win  the  other  fellow's  money. — R.  H. 
Weems  \L.  A.],  Brooklyn  Eagle,  1897. 

There  can  be  little  question  that  whist 
iu  England  to-day  does  not  occupy  the 
position  that  it  does  in  this  country,  and 
the  reason  for  it  is  self-evident.  It  is  the 
duplicate  feature  that  has  caused  the 
game  to  attain  the  height  of  popularity 
that  it  has  now  reached  in  almost  every 
American  city.  The  Englishman  is  too 
conservative  to  adopt  this,  and  too  fond 
of  his  stake  to  play  straight  whist  for  the 
love  of  the  game.  There  are  many  games 
of  cards  admirably  suited  for  those  who 
play  for  the  sake  of  the  stake,  not  for  the 
science  of  the  game.  Whist,  however, 
cannot  be  numbered  in  that  category. 
Until  the  Englishman  changes  his  habits, 
therefore,  the  outlook  for  whist  in  the 
British  Isles  is  far  from  bright.  As  for  an 
international  match  with  England,  that 
un  der  the  circumstances  seems  absolutely 
hopeless.  The  writer  consulted  with  Mr. 
Jones  and  others  on  the  subject,  but  when 
confronted  with  the  condition  of  the 
game  in  England,  he  realized  how  futile 
were  any  schemes  he  had  to  propose 
looking;  to  the  accomplishment  of  this 
long-wished-for  game.  If  the  American 
Whist  League  wishes  to  win  the  inter- 
national honors  it  will  have  to  look  for 
them  elsewhere.  There  is  at  present  no 
possibility  of  such  an  event  being  ar- 
ranged with  any  of  the  members  of  the 
London  clubs.  The  average  Englishman 
regards  a  man  who  will  play  a  game  of 
cards  for  the  love  of  the  game  and  the 
honor  of  victory  as  a  sort  of  rara  avis  to 
be  more  or  less  pitied — a  kind  of  dime 
museum  freak.  One  fine  old  barrister,  a 


gentleman  from  the  top  of  his  high  silk 
hat  to  the  rather  heavy  sole  of  a  large- 
sized  and  ill-fitting  shoe,  in  talking  over 
American  whist  with  the  writer,  asked, 
as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  how  many 
nights,  on  an  average,  an  American  whist 
expert  would  devote  to  the  game.  Upon 
his  query  being  answered  as  accurately  as 
its  general  character  permitted,  he  in  an 
absolutely  dumfounded  manner  inquired 
whether  all  play  was  without  a  stake. 
Being  assured  that  this  was  so  beyond  a 
doubt,  he  lifted  his  hands  in  horror  and 
said:  "And  yet  you  tell  me  you  have  no 
leisure  class  in  America;  verily,  men  that 
you  say  are  busy  must  have  much  val- 
uable time  to  waste."  This  man  was  a 
typical  English  whist-player,  and  he  hon- 
estly thought  that  he  was  fond  of  the 
game.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.},  Phila- 
delphia Telegraph,  1806. 


English  Code. — See, 
Whist." 


'Laws  of 


English  Whist  Clubs.  —  See, 
"  Whist  Clubs." 

Entry  and  Re-Entry. — The  laws 
of  entry  and  re-entry  to  the  whist 
table  in  the  English  code  (sections 
21-25)  provide  as  follows:  A 
player  wishing  to  enter  a  table 
must  declare  his  intention  before 
any  of  the  players  have  cut  a  card; 
those  who  have  neither  belonged  to 
nor  played  at  any  other  table  have 
the  prior  right  of  entry;  a  player, 
with  consent  of  the  other  three 
players,  may  appoint  a  substitute 
during  a  rubber;  a  player  cutting 
into  one  table,  while  belonging  to 
another,  loses  his  right  of  re-entry 
into  the  latter;  if  anyone  break  up 
a  table,  the  remaining  players  have 
the  prior  right  to  him  of  entry  into 
any  other. 

To  entitle  one  to  enter  a  table,  he  must 
declare  his  intention  to  do  so,  before  any 
one  of  the  players  has  cut  for  the  purpose 
of  commencing  a  new  game,  or  of  cut- 
ting put. — Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code), 
Section  6. 

Equal  Cards. — Cards  of  equal 
value,  in  sequence  originally,  or 
after  intermediate  cards  have  been 


EQUIVOCAL  CARD 


164 


ESTABLISHED  SUIT 


played.  For  instance,  ace  and  king 
of  the  same  suit,  held  in  the  same 
hand,  are  of  equal  value.  The  ten 
and  eight  spot  are  of  equal  value 
when  the  nine  has  been  played. 

Equivocal  Card — See,  "Doubt- 
ful Card." 

Error,  Cards  Played  in. — Cards 
are  played  in  error  when  they  are 
played  contrary  to  the  rules;  as,  for 
instance,  playing  out  of  turn,  re- 
voking, etc.  The  English  code 
(sections  67-70)  provides  that  if  the 
third  hand  plays  before  the  second, 
the  fourth  hand  may  play  before 
his  partner;  should  the  fourth  hand 
play  out  of  turn,  he  may  be  required 
to  win  or  not  win  the  trick;  if  any 
one  omits  to  play  to  a  trick,  and  the 
error  is  not  discovered  until  he  has 
played  to  the  next,  the  adversaries 
may  claim  a  new  deal;  if  any  one 
plays  two  cards  to  the  same  trick, 
or  mixes  his  trump  or  other  card 
with  a  trick,  and  it  is  not  discovered 
until  the  hand  is  played,  he  is  an- 
swerable for  all  subsequent  revokes 
he  may  have  made. 

The  American  code  (sections  24- 
26)  provides  that  if  a  player  leads 
out  of  turn,  a  suit  may  be  called 
from  him  or  his  partner  the  first 
time  it  is  the  turn  of  either  to  lead, 
the  suit  to  be  called  by  the  right- 
hand  adversary;  but  if  the  player 
has  none  of  the  suit,  or  if  all  have 
played  to  the  false  lead,  no  penalty 
can  be  enforced;  and  if  all  have 
not  played  to  the  false  lead,  the 
cards  erroneously  played  may  be 
taken  back,  and  are  not  liable  to 
be  called.  The  penalties  for  play- 
ing out  of  turn  by  third  and  fourth 
hands  are  precisely  the  same  as  in 
the  English  code,  above  stated. 

Errors. — Mistakes  made  in  play. 
Pole  calls  attention  to  several  kinds, 
differing  much  in  their  importance. 
Errors  of  form — infractions  of  the 


book  rules — such  as  leading  wrong- 
ly, playing  false  cards,  not  return- 
ing trumps,  etc.,  are  culpable,  and 
ought  to  be  reproved.  Errors  of 
observation  or  memory  —  neglect- 
ing to  take  advantage  of  the  fall 
of  the  cards,  and  playing  badly 
in  consequence — should  be  viewed 
more  leniently.  Or,  having  duly 
observed,  a  player  may  play  dis- 
advantageously.  This  is  an  error 
of  judgment,  and  is  still  more  ex- 
cusable. Even  good  players  are 
liable  to  such  errors,  and  it  has 
been  said  of  whist-players,  as  Na- 
poleon said  of  his  generals,  "  Those 
are  the  best  who  make  the  fewest 
blunders."  Clay  sometimes  de- 
clared that  he  won  more  by  his  ad- 
versaries' mistakes  than  by  his 
own  skill. 

Not  carrying  out  original  plans  is  one 
of  the  most  fatal  errors  in  whist.  Having: 
determined  to  play  a  certain  suit,  play  it 
to  the  end.  Having  determined  to  get 
out  the  trumps  to  defend  it,  get  them  out. 
Having  established  a  cross-ruff,  keep  it 
going.  Having  decided  to  weaken  an  ad- 
versary by  forcing  him,  keep  at  it  until 
he  is  harmless.  *  *  *  Don't  let  the 
adversaries  frighten  you  out  of  your 
game,  either  by  false  cards  or  false  sig- 
nals.—.ff.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Tac- 
tics." 

Establish. — To  establish  a  suit 
is  to  exhaust  the  best  cards  in  it 
which  are  against  you,  thereby  ob- 
taining complete  command  of  it. 

Established  Suit.— A  suit  in 
which  you  are  prepared  to  take  all 
the  tricks,  bar  trumping.  Your 
adversaries'  and  partner's  hands 
having  been  cleared  of  all  com- 
manding cards  in  them,  you  hold 
the  best,  or  all  the  rest,  and  as  soon 
as  trumps  are  out  of  the  way,  and 
you  have  the  lead,  you  are  in  a 
position  to  bring  it  in;  i.  e.,  to  make 
tricks  with  all  the  cards.  This  is 
the  essence  of  the  long-suit  game 
(q.  v.}.  A  suit  may  also  be  said  to 
be  established,  so  far  as  results  are 


ETIQUETTE  OF  WHIST       165       ETIQUETTE  OF  WHIST 


concerned,  when  you  and  your 
partner  are  able  to  take  all .  the 
tricks  in  it. 

With  an  established  suit,  and  a  card  of 
re-entry  in  the  adversary's  suit,  a  four- 
trump  lead  is  almost  invariably  justifi- 
able —Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.},  "Whist 
oj  To-day." 

A  suit  may  be  established  without  ever 
having  been  led;  as,  when  you  hold  the 
five  highest  cards  of  it;  or  it  may  become 
established  in  one  or  two  rounds.— .ff.  F, 
foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Strategy." 

A  suit  is  established  when  the  holder  of 
the  strength  in  the  suit  has  the  best  card 
or  cards,  with  the  certainty  of  drawing 
those  intervening  between  if  or  them  and 
lower  ones.— R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.],  "How 
to  Play  Whist." 

Etiquette  of  Whist.— Rules  of 

conduct  at  whist  observed  by  all 
courteous  and  reputable  players, 
although  no  definite  penalties  are 
provided  for  their  infraction,  as  in 
the  laws  of  whist  proper.  The  eti- 
quette of  whist  was  promulgated 
in  connection  with  the  English 
code  at  an  early  date.  The  Ameri- 
can etiquette  of  whist  was  adopted 
by  the  third  American  whist  con- 
gress, in  1893. 

Etiquette  of  Whist,  American. — 
The  following  rules  belong  to  the 
established  code  of  whist  etiquette. 
They  are  formulated  with  a  view  to 
discourage  and  repress  certain  im- 
proprieties of  conduct,  therein 
pointed  out,  which  are  not  reached 
by  the  laws.  The  courtesy  which 
marks  the  intercourse  of  gentlemen 
will  regulate  other  more  obvious 
cases : 

1.  No  conversation  should  be  in- 
dulged in  during  the  play,  except 
such  as  is  allowed  by  the  laws  of 
the  game. 

2.  No  player  should  in  any  man- 
ner whatsoever  give  any  intimation 
as  to  the  state  of  his  hand  or  of  the 
game,  or  of  approval  or  disapproval 
of  a  play. 

3.  No  player  should  lead  until  the 
precedingtrickisturnedandquitted. 


4.  No  player  should,  after  having 
led   a  winning  card,  draw  a  card 
from  his  hand  for    another    lead 
until  his  partner  has  played  to  the 
current  trick. 

5.  No  player  should  play  a  card 
in  any  manner  so  as  to  call  particu- 
lar attention  to  it,  nor  should  he 
demand  that  the  cards  be  placed  in 
order  to  attract  the  attention  of  his 
partner. 

6.  No  player  should  purposely 
incur  a  penalty  because  he  is  will- 
ing to  pay  it,  nor  should  he  make 
a  second  revoke  in  order  to  conceal 
one  previously  made. 

7.  No  player  should  take  advan- 
tage  of  information   imparted   by 
his  partner  through  a  breach  of 
etiquette. 

8.  No  player  should  object  to  re- 
ferring a  disputed  question  of  fact 
to  a  bystander,  who  professes  him- 
self uninterested   in   the  result  of 
the  game,  and  able  to  decide  the 
question . 

9.  Bystanders  should  not,  in  any 
manner,  call  attention  to  or  give 
any  intimation  concerning  the  play 
or  the   state  of  the  game,  during 
the  play  of  a  hand.     They  should 
not  look  over  the  hand  of  a  player 
without  his  permission,  nor  should 
they  walk  around  the  table  to  look 
at  the  different  hands. 

Etiquette  of  Whist,  English. — 
The  following  rules  belong  to  the 
established  etiquette  of  whist.  They 
are  not  called  laws,  as  it  is  difficult 
— in  some  cases  impossible — to  ap- 
ply any  penalty  to  their  infraction, 
and  the  only  remedy  is  to  cease 
playing  with  players  who  habitually 
disregard  them. 

Two  packs  of  cards  are  invariably 
used  at  clubs;  if  possible,  this 
should  be  adhered  to. 

Any  one,  having  the  lead  and 
several  winning  cards  to  play, 
should  not  draw  a  second  card  out 
of  his  hand  until  his  partner  has 


ETIQUETTE  OF  WHIST       1 66       EVOLUTION  OF  WHIST 


played  to  the  first  trick,  such  act 
being  a  distinct  intimation  that  the 
former  has  played  a  winning  card. 

No  intimation  whatever,  by  word 
or  gesture,  should  be  given  by  a 
player  as  to  the  state  of  his  hand, 
or  of  the  game.1 

A  player  who  desires  the  cards 
to  be  placed,  or  who  demands  to 
see  the  last  trick,2  should  do  it  for 
his  own  information  only,  and  not 
in  order  to  invite  the  attention  of 
his  partner. 

No  player  should  object  to  refer 
to  a  bystander  who  professes  him- 
self uninterested  in  the  game, 
and  able  to  decide  any  disputed 
question  of  facts,  as  to  who  played 
anj7  particular  card,  whether  hon- 
ors were  claimed  though  not  scored, 
or  vice  versa,  etc.,  etc. 

It  is  unfair  to  revoke  purposely; 
having  made  a  revoke,  a  player  is 
not  justified  in  making  a  second  in 
order  to  conceal  the  first. 

Until  players  have  made  such 
bets  as  they  wish,  bets  should  not 
be  made  with  bystanders. 

Bystanders  should  make  no  re- 
mark; neither  should  they  by  word 
or  gesture  give  any  intimation  of 
the  state  of  the  game  until  con- 
cluded and  scored,  nor  should  they 
•walk  around  the  table  to  look  at 
the  different  hands. 

No  one  should  look  over  the 
hand  of  a  player  against  whom  he 
is  betting. 

Courtesy  is  nowhere  more  requisite,  or 
its  absence  more  remarkable,  than  at  the 
whist-table. — "Lieutenant-Colonel  B."  [L. 

o.]. 

It  is  not  etiquette  or  honest  to  claim  the 
game  when  you  have  it  not,  or  a  trick 
more  than  you  have,  or  to  dispute  the 
score  of  your  adversaries  who  have  prop- 
erly scored.  It  is  not  etiquette,  either 

'The  question  "  Who  dealt?"  is  Irreg- 
ular, and  if  asked  should  not  be  an- 
swered. 

*Or,  who  asks  what  the  trump  suit  is. 
— "  Cavendish"  [L.  A,], 


by  looks,  smiles,  frowns,  or  gestures,  to 
intimate  any  knowledge,  good  or  bad.  of 
your  hand.  It  is  not  etiquette  to  ask  what 
are  trumps,  to  induce  your  partner  to  lead 
them.  It  is  not  etiquette  to  hesitate  in 
the  play  of  your  cards,  to  show  that  you 
could  have  played  differently.  It  is  not 
etiquette  to  frown  or  look  savage  when 
your  partner  plays  a  suit  you  do  not  want. 
—  Westminster  Papers  [L+O.]. 

The  "  Etiquette  of  Whist"  by  the  Amer- 
ican Code  differs,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  in 
no  respect  from  the  English;  they  are 
both  framed  to  repress  improprieties  of 
conduct  not  reached  by  the  laws,  and  for 
which  no  penalties  could  be  well  en- 
forced. *  *  *  Pages  might  be  written  on 
the  breaches  of  etiquette  committed 
by  persons  who  join  a  rubber  of  whist, 
and  who  consequently  tend  to  prevent 
this  rubber  from  being  the  intellectual 
and  social  enjoyment  that  it  ought  to  be. 
In  the  field,  March  30,  and  April  6, 1889, 
I  wrote  two  articles  on  "  The  Etiquette  of 
Whist."  Unfortunately  those  who  com- 
mit the  most  serious  breaches  of  etiquette 
seem  to  be  those  who  never  read  and 
never  learn;  as  I  have  found,  even  quite 
recently,  many  persons  who  invariably 
commit  day  "  after  day  those  very 
breaches  of  etiquette  to  which  I  directed 
attention  in  those  articles.— A.  W.  Dray- 
son  [L+A+},"  Whist  Laws  and  Whist 
Decisions.''' 

Evolution  of  Whist.— The  de- 
velopment of  whist  from  its  lowest, 
or  primitive,  form  to  its  present 
scientific  stage,  and  its  still  more 
perfect  future  condition.  Pole  was 
the  first  to  philosophically  trace 
this  progress,  and  to  point  out  the 
underlying  principles  or  lines  upon 
which  it  has  been, and  is  still  being, 
made.  In  his  opinion,  not  only 
the  game,  but  the  players  have 
been  subject  to  this  evolution. 
(See,  also,  "  Pole,  William,"  and 
"Whist,  History  of") 

Any  proficient  who  has  made  himself 
master  of  an  improved  style  of  game  is 
accustomed  to  despise,  as  useless  and  un- 
interesting, the  earlier  forms.  Charles 
Lamb,  for  example,  playing  the  Hoyle 
game  of  Mrs.  Battle,  characterized  the 
more  primitive  practice  as  "sick  whist," 
and  a  little  later  we  find  the  "  modern 
scientific"  experts  despising  the  an- 
tiquated game  of  Charles  Lamb.  And 
such  has  been  the  progress  of  whist  evo- 
lution in  the  last  two  decades  that  a  mem- 
ber of  the  present  American  League 


EXPERIMENTS,  WHIST       167       EXPERIMENTS,  WHIST 


would  look  down,  even  on  the  fine  play- 
ing of  Deschapelles  or  Clay. —  William 
Ftie[L.A+}. 

Experiments,  Whist. — President 
Barney,  in  his  annual  address  be- 
fore the  seventh  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  advised 
that  organization  to  take  such  con- 
certed action  as  would  tend  to 
bring  practical  results  out  of  the 
enormous  number  of  whist  experi- 
ments which  are  daily  made  at  the 
various  clubs.  These  experiments 
in  play  are  too  valuable  to  be  lost, 
and  they  would,  if  preserved,  tend 
to  solve  many  disputed  points  in 
whist  tactics.  "  It  seems,"  said  he, 
"  that  the  League  should  go  further 
in  the  work  of  assisting  its  members 
and  the  many  thousand  students 
of  the  game.  We  ought  to  use  our 
great  organization  for  a  more  sys- 
tematic study  of  the  game.  Our 
efforts  should  be  combined;  the  re- 
sults of  those  efforts  should  be 
classified.  Thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  experiments  are  tried 
almost  daily  in  clubs  of  the  League, 
and  the  results  are  kept  in  a  most 
limited  circle.  Still  more  would 
be  tried,  if  the  results  of  those  ex- 
periments could  be  made  more  gen- 
erally useful."  Later  in  the  ses- 
sion a  resolution  was  adopted,"  that 
the  recommendation  of  ex-Presi- 
dent Barney,  with  regard  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  bureau  of  experi- 
ment be  referred  to  the  executive 
committee,  to  report  thereon  at  the 
next  congress." 

R.  F.  Foster  made  a  similar  sug- 
gestion in  the  Sun  of  June  6,  1897. 
He  urged  that  the  whist -players  of 
this  country  should  be  organized 
upon  an  investigating  basis,  so  that 
the  independent  experiments  of 
many  scattered  players  could  be 
gathered,  classified,  analyzed,  and 
the  results  submitted  to  other  play- 
ers for  verification.  His  idea  was 
that  a  good  deal  of  time  and  energy 


is  wasted  in  analyzing  and  experi- 
menting with  exceptional,  or 
"freak,"  hands.  What  is  more 
important  is  to  study  the  every -day 
hands,  those  occurring  most  fre- 
quently, just  as  in  learning  a  lan- 
guage the  beginner  is  first  taught 
the  words  that  occur  oft  en  est.  The 
first  step,  therefore,  in  the  process 
of  a  practical  analysis  of  whist 
strategy  would  be  to  find  out  what 
are  the  most  common  hands,  and 
then  to  ascertain  the  best  mode  of 
treating  them  in  actual  play.  In 
order  to  do  this  he  asked  two  hun- 
dred readers  of  the  Sun  to  assist  him 
in  noting  down,  at  least,  10,000 
hands  at  whist,  actually  dealt. 
These  hands  were  received  in  due 
time,  and  classified  and  arranged 
in  two  gradually  ascending  scales: 
the  first  according  to  their  trump 
strength,  and  the  second  according 
to  the  plain  suits. 

The  committee  on  experimental  play 
•will  not,  as  some  seem  to  imagine,  con- 
cern itself  officially  with  any  comparisons 
of  systems;  nor  is  it  likely  to  declare  in 
favor  of  any  particular  teacher  or  text- 
book. *  *  *  The  game  is  still  in  a 
transitive  stage.  Hence,  innumerable 
new  ideas  and  suggestions  are  contin- 
ually being  brought  forward.  That  these 
may  often  seem  to  run  counter  to  the 
present  practice  is  not  a  reason  for  incon- 
tinently rejecting  them;  yet  it  is  not  safe 
to  adopt  them,  however  plausible,  without 
testing  them.  Here  is  where  the  work 
of  the  committee  will  come  in.  To  them 
can  be  referred  all  proposed  innovations, 
and  it  will  be  their  work  to  purge  the 
pure  metal  from  the  dross  by  passing  it 
through  the  crucible  of  practicable  expe- 
rience.— Whist  [L.  A.],  September,  1897. 

What  are  grammalogues  of  whist  ? 
What  are  the  common,  every-day  hands? 
It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  there  is  not 
a  whist-player  to-day,  who  could  so  for- 
mulate the  most  common  hand  at  whist 
that  everyone  would  agree  with  him.  As 
already  stated  in  these  articles,  the  prob- 
lem does  not  admit  of  mathematical 
demonstration.  The  probabilities  of 
holding  a  given  hand  can  be  calculated, 
but  whether  or  not  it  would  be  more  com- 
mon than  any  other,  is  a  very  intricate 
question.  It  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to 
find  the  odds  against  a  player's  holding 


EXPOSED  CARD 


168 


EXPOSED  HAND 


six  trumps  and  seven  cards  of  an  estab- 
lished suit,  but  it  would  take  a  man  sev- 
eral years  to  calculate  the  exact  propor- 
tion of  all  the  various  hands  that  a 
whist-player  could  possibly  hold.  Some 
idea  of  this  proportion  is  necessary  in  the 
solution  of  the  problem  before  us,  because 
accompanying  the  most  common  hands 
for  the  leader  must  be  the  most  usual 
distribution  of  the  cards  in  the  other 
hands.  *  *  * 

When  the  entire  10,000  deals  have  been 
received,  the  results  of  their  analysis  will 
be  published  in  these  articles,  and  when 
the  most  frequent  conditions  have  been 
ascertained  in  this  manner,  it  is  proposed 
to  take  up  the  typical  hands,  one  by  one, 
beginning-  with  those  that  are  found  to 
be  the  most  common,  and  by  a  series  of 
experiments,  which  will  be  explained  at 
the  proper  time,  to  ascertain  the  best 
opening  lead  from  all  such  hands.  After 
the  more  common  hands  have  been  dis- 
posed oft  those  next  in  order  will  be  taken 
up,  and  it  is  hoped  that,  by  following  out 
this  plan  until  all  the  familiar  varieties 
have  been  investigated,  we  shall  be  able 
to  arrive  at  some  general  principles  of 
whist  strategy  which  shall  be  based  on 
facts,  before  which  all  theories  will  have 
to  give  way. — R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  New 
York  Sun,  A  ug.  /,  1897. 

Exposed  Card. — Any  card  drop- 
ped, or  in  any  other  way  exposed, 
on  or  above  the  table,  except  in 
the  regular  course  of  play.  Such 
cards  are  liable  to  be  called,  but  if 
not  called  they  may  be  played 
when  opportunity  offers.  A  card 
led  or  played  out  of  turn  is  not  an 
exposed  card,  in  the  above  sense, 
but  subject  to  other  penalties. 
(See,  "  Cards  Liable  to  be  Called," 
and  "  Leading  Out  of  Turn.") 

Exposed  cards  [are]  cards  played  in 
error,  or  dropped  face  upward  on  the 
table,  or  held  so  that  the  partner  can  see 
them.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Complete 
Hoyle." 

This  law  [law  sixty-six  of  the  English 
code]  in  case  ninety-six  [Drayson's  "  De- 
cisions"] has  been  construed  to  mean 
that,  if  a  suit  hasbeen  called  or  attempted 
to  be  called,  that  the  whole  penalty  for 
leading  out  of  turn  has  been  paid,  and 
that  the  offender  can  then  replace  the  ex- 
posed card  in  his  hand.  This  construc- 
tion is  certainly  more  equitable  than  our 
own,  as  it  does  not  make  the  penally  for 
leading  out  of  turn  a  double  one,  in  case 
a  suit  is  called  before  calling  the  exposed 
card.— «-%«/•  [L.  A.],  May,  1896. 


The  law  of  the  game  is  very  strict  with 
regard  to  shown  cards,  but  nevertheless 
cases  occur  every  day  which  do  not  ap- 
pear to  us  to  be  punished  with  sufficient 
severity.  A  card  is  shown  either  inten- 
tionally or  through  awkwardness;  it  may 
either  serve  to  discover  the  weakness  of 
a  hand,  or  it  may  not  be  of  any  material 
consequence.  It  appears  unjust  to  apply 
undue  correction  to  this  fault,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  too  great  lenity  will  encour- 
age speculation, which  it  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  repress  by  every  possible 
rnea-as.—Deschapelles  [O.],  "Laws,"  Sec- 
tion 6. 

One  of  the  players,  after  the  cards  are 
dealt,  but  before  the  play  has  commenced, 
gets  into  a  discussion  with  another,  say 
one  of  his  adversaries,  and,  in  a  moment 
of  thoughtlessness,  lays  his  hand  (cards) 
upon  the  table,  face  upward.  Only  the 
top  card  can  be  seen,  but  the  adversaries 
demand  that  his  hand  be  ALL  spread  out, 
and  called  as  they  please.  Hfe  objects  on 
the  ground  that  only  the  top  card  can  be 
called.  Who  is  right  ?  This  point  arose 
many  years  ago,  before  these  Papers  were 
in  existence.  Bell's  Life  decided  that  all 
the  cards  were  exposed.  We  protested 
against  the  decision  at  the  time,  but  with- 
out effect;  and,  although  we  think  the 
decision  harsh,  we  have  never  found  any 
satisfactory  milder  punishment,  and  have 
been  obliged  to  follow  the  decision. — 
Charles  Mossop  [L  +  O.\,  Westminster  Papers, 
October  i,  1878. 

Exposed  Hand.— -In  the  course 
of  a  game  of  whist  which  was  being 
played  at  the  Washington  Club, 
Paris,  one  of  the  players  made  the 
statement  that  he  could  expose  his 
entire  hand  and  none  of  his  cards 
were  liable  to  be  called,  and  that 
he  would  leave  it  to  "  Cavendish." 
thewhisteclitor  of  the  London  Field. 
Ona wager,  thecasewassubmitted  in 
the  following  form:  "A  in  playing 
whist  exhibits  his  hand  to  the  other 
three  players  so  that  every  card 
may  be  seen,  but  without  separating 
them  or  laying  them  on  the  table. 
Can  these  cards  be  considered  as 
exposed,  and  called  as  such  ?"  To 
which  "  Cavendish"  answered  as 
follows  in  the  Field  of  March  8, 
1879:  "A  player  may  expose  his 
entire  hand,  so  that  all  the  others 
can  see  it,  without  a  card  penalty; 
if  done  intentionally,  no  one  would 


FACE  CARDS 


169 


FADS 


play  with  him  again. ' '  James  Clay 
and  other  eminent  players  coin- 
cided with  this  view,  but  the  editor 
of  the  Westminster  Papers  pro- 
nounced it  "monstrous,"  and 
"Mogul"  and  "A.  Trump,  Jr.," 
were  equally  emphatic  in  their  dis- 
approval, holding  that  the  cards 
were  exposed  and  liable  to  be  called. 
The  entire  controversy  is  given  in 
"  Laws  and  Regulations  of  Short 
Whist,"  by  "A.  Trump,  Jr."  It 
led  the  Washington  Club  to  drop 
the  English  rules  and  to  adopt 
others,  based  upon  Deschapelles. 
Among  these  is  one  to  the  effect 
that  ' '  all  exposed  cards  can  be 
called,  no  matter  in  what  manner 
they  are  exposed — if  dropped  on 
the  table,  thrown  on  the  table,  or 
held  above  the  table,  detached,  or 
not  detached." 

Face  Cards. — The  king,  queen, 
and  jack;  the  three  cards  in  each 
suit  bearing  a  representation  of  the 
human  face.  Some  authorities  in- 
clude the  ace  among  the  face  cards, 
but  this  is  clearly  incorrect. 

Fads. — There  are  fads  in  whist 
as  in  other  things.  The  difference 
between  a  fad  and  an  improvement 
in  whist  is  that  the  fad  eventually 
dies  out,  while  the  improvement 
compels  recognition  and  general 
acceptance  in  time.  ' '  Cavendish, " 
in  Whist  for  July,  1896,  in  com- 
paring what  he  saw  in  this  country 
in  1893  with  what  he  saw  on  the 
occasion  of  his  second  visit  in 
1896,  says:  "I  will  take  the  play 
first.  There  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  that  there  has  been  a  vast 
improvement  all  around.  I  do  not 
propose  to  enter  into  details,  but 
will  merely  say  I  have  formed  this 
opinion  partly  from  looking  over 
players  and  partly  from  assisting 
at  matches.  The  introduction  of 
various  fads  does  not  seem  to  have 


damaged  play  as  much  as  I  ex- 
pected. This  may  be  partly  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact,  which  I 
have  not  been  able  to  verify  for 
myself,  and  of  which  I  have  been 
informed,  that  many  players  hav- 
ing experimented  with  fads,  and 
having  found  them  trick-losers, 
have  abandoned  them.  I  do  not 
include  among  fads  the  views  of 
certain  experts,  such  as  Hamilton 
leads  and  ace  leads  from  a  numeri- 
cally long  suit,  as  these  are  worthy 
of  serious  consideration;  I  may 
state,  however,  that  up  to  date  I 
have  not  found  myself  in  a  position 
to  approve  them." 

In  a  paper  entitled  "Whist 
Fads,"  in  Scribner's  Magazine  for 
July,  1897,  he  returns  to  the  sub- 
ject. Among  other  observations, 
he  says  that  the  practice  of  leading 
nine  instead  of  fourth  best,  from 
king,  jack,  nine,  and  one  or  more 
small  cards  (an  invention  of  the 
late  G.  W.  Pettes),  "  has  been  tried 
and  is  now  general!)'  given  up." 
He  is  opposed  to  the  fad  of  discard- 
ing an  eight,  or  higher,  second 
hand,  as  a  discard  trump  signal. 
He  thinks  it  should  be  treated  only 
as  a  suggestion  and  not  a  com- 
mand to  lead  trumps.  He  finds 
several  grave  objections  to  the  four- 
signal,  although  he  recognizes  the 
fact  also  that  it  has  the  approval  of 
a  number  of  distinguished  players. 
He  dismisses  the  various  signals  to 
show  two,  three,  or  four  trumps, 
with  the  remark  that  exhibition  of 
weakness  in  trumps  is  more  likely 
to  be  of  advantage  to  the  adver- 
saries than  to  the  exhibitor.  He 
also  condemns  the  fad  of  an  irreg- 
ular original  lead  in  plain  suits, 
when  an  honor  is  turned  up  to  the 
leader's  right  hand,  as  a  signal  for 
partner  to  lead  a  trump  through  the 
honor.  The  practice  of  leading 
originally  from  a  short  suit  in  pre- 
ference to  a  long  one  is  also  un- 


FALLACY 


170 


FALSE  CARD 


favorably  commented  upon,  while 
the  "  rotary  discard  and  like  fads" 
are  pronounced  beneath  notice. 
In  regard  to  the  Hamilton  leads  he 
is  still  in  doubt,  but  observes: 
"  When  bands  of  experts  differ  on 
a  given  proposition,  the  probability 
is  that  there  is  not  much  to  it  either 
way. ' '  This  in  allusion  to  the  ques- 
tion whether  these  leads  bring  with 
them  the  risk  of  losing  tricks  by 
leading  small  from  king,  jack,  ten, 
etc. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  during  the 
last  three  years  many  new-fangled  no- 
tions have  come  to  the  front,  had  ardent 
support  for  a  time,  and  then  have  faded 
out.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  many,  if  not 
most,  of  to-day's  fads  will  in  turn  disap- 
pear into  "  innocuous  desuetude."  It  is 
not  well  to  be  too  sure  of  the  permanency 
of  modern  improvements.—  Fisher  Ames 
[L.  A.},  Whist,  Oct.-Nov.  1896. 

Fallacy. — An  idea  in  whist  play 
or  practice  which  is  entertained  and 
believed  and  acted  upon  by  certain 
players  despite  all  evidence  to  the 
contrary.  Sometimes  so-called  im- 
provements, or  new  modes  of  play, 
are  also  found  to  be  fallacies,  or 
fads. 

Three-fourths  of  the  card-players  of 
England  believe,  or  play  as  if  they  be- 
lieved, that  a  trick  in  trumps  counts  more 
at  the  end  of  the  hand  than  a  trick  in 
plain  suits.  Who  taught  them  this  fal- 
lacy, and  why  does  it  continue  to  live  ? — 
Westminster  Papers  [L+O.]. 

Fall  of  the  Cards.— The  order 
in  which  the  cards  are  played.  The 
cards  fall  upon  the  table  as  they  are 
played,  and  to  observe  and  remem- 
ber those  which  are  out,  is  to  watch 
the  fall  of  the  cards. 

To  remember  the  cards  that  have  been 
played  is  a  comparatively  small  matter, 
but  to  be  able  to  read  the  cards  as  they 
fall,  and  carry  the  information  afforded  to 
the  end  of  the  hand,  is  a  matter  of  the 
greatest  importance. — C.  D.  P.  Hamilton 
[L.  A.},  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

False  Card. — A  card  played  con- 
trary to  conventional  rule,  for  the 


purpose  of  deceiving  the  adversary, 
but  which  is  liable  also  to  deceive 
partner.  This  play  is  condemned 
by  nearly  all  authorities  on  whist, 
while  those  who  countenance  it  do 
so  only  upon  exceptional  grounds 
and  under  exceptional  circum- 
stances; as  when,  for  instance, 
there  is  no  danger  of  deceiving 
partner;  or,  when  playing  a  coup; 
or,  when  playing  with  a  hopelessly 
bad  partner.  Players  of  the  first 
rank  who  frequently  play  regard- 
less of  rule,  sometimes  make  effec- 
tive use  of  false  cards,  but  even  in 
the  hands  of  experts  they  may 
prove  boomerangs. 

Don't  play  false  cards  with  a  good  part- 
ner.— H.  F.  Morgan  [p.]. 

The  second  hand  will  find  more  oppor- 
tunity for  false-card  play  than  any  other 
position. — R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

The  play  of  false  cards,  without  very 
good  reason,  is  characteristic  only  of  hope- 
lessly bad  players.—  William  Pole  [Z-  A  +], 
"Theory  of  Whist." 

It  requires  more  than  ordinary  skill  to 
judge  when  a  false  card  will  do  less  harm 
to  the  partner  than  to  the  adversaries. — 
R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "  Complete  Hoyle." 

I  must  caution  you  never  to  play  a  false 
card  until  you  have  advanced  beyond  the 
condition  of  a  moderate  player. — A.  W. 
Drayson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of  Practical 
Whist." 

Avoid  playing  false  cards,  and  be  very 
careful  in  playing  even  the  smallest 
cards,  lest  you  may  deceive  your  partner. 
—  William  Pole  [L  A+],  "Philosophy  of 
Whist." 

The  playing  of  false  cards  *  *  *  is 
but  little  more  commendable  in  whist 
than  is  the  like  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of 
daily  life. — Emery  Boardman  [L+A.], 
"Winning  Whist." 

To  impose  upon  your  adversaries  is 
perfectly  fair  and  justifiable,  but  at  whist 
we  can  only  occasionally  so  impose  with- 
out detriment  to  our  partner,  and,  there- 
fore, to  ourselves — Charles  Mossop  [L+ 
O.],  Westminster  Papers,  December  i,  1878. 

It  is  not  in  harmony  with  modern  sci- 
entific whist  to  play  a  false  card  under 
any  circumstances,  not  even  when  it  de- 
ceives the  adversaries  only. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

The  third  hand  may  *  *  *  frequently 
play  with  advantage  a  false  card  in  a  suit 
in  which  his  partner  is  making  a  forced 
lead,  and  in  which  he  knows  the  strength 


FALSE  CARD 


171 


FALSE  CARD 


is  with  the  adversaries. — Milton  C.  Work 
[L.A.  H.},  "Whist  of  To-day." 

Do  not  play  false  cards.  You  will  de- 
ceive your  partner  in  niiie  cases  put  of 
ten,  and  generally  to  his  and  your  injury. 
There  may,  perhaps,  be  times  when  it  can 
do  no  harm,  but  they  are  few,  and  must 
be  chosen,  if  at  all,  with  great  skill  and 
care.— Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.}. 

Nothing  is  more  tempting  to  some 
players  than  the  play  of  a  false  card;  that 
is,  when  two  or  more  cards  of  equal  con- 
secutive value  are  held,  and  the  highest 
is  played  second,  third,  or  fourth  in  hand. 
*  *  *  It  loses  more  tricks  than  it 
makes.—  W.  M.  Deane  [L.  A+]. 

It  must  not  be  confounded  with  one 
that  is  merely  irregular  in  lead  or  follow. 
A  discard  that  may  be  made,  instead  of 
one  that  could  have  been  made,  is  not  ne- 
cessarily false  play.  Coups  are  always 
irregular,  but  they  are  not  false,  but  bril- 
liant variations  from  routine. — G.  W. 
Pettes  [L.  A.  P.],  "American  Whist  Illus- 
trated." 

There  are  numberless  instances  where 
you  may  play  a  false  card  which  cannot 
injure  your  partner,  and  if  it  misleads 
him  it  will  do  no  harm,  whilst  it  will  mis- 
le_ad  the  adversaries,  and  may  probably 
give  you  an  advantage.  Again,  a  false 
card  played  may  not  be  a  false  card  as 
regards  your  partner,  and  cannot  mislead 
him,  but  it  maybe  a  false  card  for  the  ad- 
versaries.— A.  W.Drayson  [L+A+],  "Art 
of  Practical  Whist." 

Never  play  false  cards.  The  habit,  to 
which  there  are  many  temptations,  of 
trying  to  deceive  your  adversaries  as  to 
the  stale  of  your  hand,  deceives  your  part- 
ner as  well,  and  destroys  his  confidence 
in  you.  A  golden  maxim  for  whist  is, 
that  it  is  of  more  importance  to  inform 
your  partner  than  to  deceive  your  adver- 
sary. The  best  whist-player  is  he  who 
plays  the  game  in  the  simplest  and  most 
intelligible  way.— James  Clay  [L.  0+]- 

In  the  scientific  game  of  whist  you  give 
your  partner  (always  at  the  beginning, 
and  almost  always  throughout  the  play 
of  the  hand)  all  the  information  in  your 
power  within  the  rules  of  the  game.  Cases 
may  arise  towards  the  end  of  a  hand 
where  it  becomes  clear  that  your  partner 
can  dp  nothing,  and  nothing  can  be  lost 
by  misleading  him;  then,  and  then  only, 
false  cards  (deceiving  him,  but  deceiving 
the  adversaries  also)  may  be  usefully 
played.—/?.  A.  Proctor  [L.  0.]. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  false  cards: 
(i)  Those  that  deceive  everybody;  (2) 
those  that  deceive  your  opponents  only; 
(3)  those  that  deceive  your  partner  only; 
and  a  sparing  use  of  the  first  two — espe- 
cially toward  the  end  of  a  hand — is  often 
advantageous;  but  in  playing  cards  that 


deceive  everybody  you  must  be  prepared 
to  take  entire  charge  of  the  game  your- 
self, or  you  will  probably  have  your  con- 
duct referred  to  afterward.  The  third  is 
sacred  to  bumblepuppy. — "Pembridge" 
IL+O.]. 

False  cards  are  dangerous  weapons,  and 
should  be  used  with  great  care.  They  are 
commonly  employed  by  expert  players, 
and  frequently  give  an  opportunity  for 
the  exercise  of  rare  whist  judgment.  We 
believe  that  a  player  has  a  perfect  right 
to  give  or  withhold  information.  He  cer- 
tainly is  under  no  obligation  to  make  the 
game  easy  for  his  adversaries.  While  we 
agree  with  Mr.  Coffin  in  his  general  re- 
marks, that  the  indiscriminate  and  con- 
tinual use  of  false  cards  and  deceptive 
leads  is  neither  desirable  nor  bright,  we 
hardly  think  that  he  is  justified  in  placing 
well-directed  false  cards  in  the  same  class 
with  low  trickery  and  private  convention- 
alities.— Whist  [L.  A.},  1807. 

On  the  whole,  it  seldom  happens  that  a 
balance  of  gain  results  from  the  adoption 
of  deceptive  play.  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, a  false  card  may  be  played  with  a 
special  object.  For  instance,  ace  is 
turned  up  to  your  right,  and  when  the 
dealer  gets  in,  he  leads  a  small  trump. 
If  you,  second  hand,  have  king,  queen 
only,  you  would  be  justified  in  playing 
the  king  in  hopes  of  inducing  the  trump 
leader  to  finesse  on  the  return  of  the 
suit.  *  *  *  If  your  partner  has  exhib- 
ited weakness  in  one  or  more  suits,  you 
would  frequently  be  justified  in  playinga 
false  card.  You  are  driven  to  rely  solely 
on  yourself,  and  are  entitled  to  adopt 
every  artifice  your  ingenuity  can  suggest 
in  order  to  perplex  the  other  side. — "Cav- 
endish" [L.  A.],  "Laws  and  Principles  of 
Whist." 

If  the  play  of  one  false  card  is  sanc- 
tioned, so  may  the  play  of  two  be;  or  you 
may  play  one  card  conventionally  and 
the  other  not,  and  the  integrity  of  the 
game  is  gone.  *  *  *  If  the  right  to 
play  false  is  recognized,  there  is  then  no 
limit  to  its  pernicious  and  disintegrating 
practice.  Besides,  there  is  nothing  to  be 
gained  by  playing  false  cards.  If  A  wins 
the  first  game'by  a  cheap  deception  prac- 
ticed upon  D,  he  (D)  in  turn  is  at  liberty 
to  win  the  second  by  a  similar  chicane. 
*  *  *  13ut  above  all  other  objections 
against  the  play  of  false  cards  stands  the 
fact  that  the  play  may  deceive  partner, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  the 
play  that  will  begin  to  compensate  for 
the  loss  of  confidence  such  a  play  is  sure 
to  create.— C.  -D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.], 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

False  cards  in  adverse  suits  are  some- 
times very  effective,  as  the  following 
hand,  played  in  1871,  will  show.  Z  dealt 


FALSE  CARDING 


172     FAMOUS  WHIST-PLAYERS 


and  turned  the  heart 
was  love-all,  English 
counting  honors. 


seven.    The  score 
five-point  whist, 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
1  1 
12 
13 

7  0 
*Q 

5  0 
*  6 
V  2 
V  3 
4  * 
8  0 
<?  5 
V  8 
*  9 
6  * 
10* 

QO 

*  2 
<?  A 

AO 

*  5 

<?  7 
<9  K 

V  4 
<?  9 
7  * 
J  0 

V  6 
A  • 

K  * 

2  0 
<91O 

100 

410 
Q* 
5  * 
*  8 

*  J 

3  0 
2  * 
3  * 
4  0 
6  0 
*  3 
*  7 
*  A 

<?  Q 

0  J 

KO 

9  0 

9  * 
*4 
*  K 

J    * 

8  * 

At  the  ninth  trick  it  is  very  clear  to  Z 
that  A  and  B  will  win  the  game  unless  he 
does  something  to  throw  them  off  the 
track.  They  are  already  two  by  honors, 
and  must  have  both  ace  and  king  of  clubs, 
which  will  make  them  three  by  cards  and 
game.  The  discard  of  the  club  ten  is  to 
lead  A  to  believe  that  Z  originally  led 
from  ace,  jack,  ten,  five;  because  it  is 
very  probable  that  A  has  the  club  king, 
and  played  in  from  king,  queen,  small,  at 
trick  two,  and  if  Z  can  deceive  him,  he 
will  avoid  leading  up  to  the  supposed 
major  tenace  in  clubs.  The  discard  of  the 
spade  queen  is  simply  carrying  out  the 
same  plan.  If  Z  discards  another  club 
he  betrays  himself.  If  he  keeps  the  un- 
guarded spade  queen,  he  will  be  forced 
into  the  lead,  and  cannot  save  the  game. 
His  only  chance  is  that  A  will  be  coaxed 
by  these  false  cards  to  lead  spades,  and 
that  Y  will  be  able  to  save  the  game  in 
that  suit.  The  ending  is  one  of  the  finest 
examples  of  good  false-card  play  in  exist- 
ence, and  well  worthy  of  careful  study. — 
R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Monthly  Illustrator, 
1897. 

False  Carding. — The  practice  of 
leading  or  playing  false  cards. 

False  Lead. — See,  "Irregular 
Lead." 

False  Scoring  at  Duplicate. — 

See,  "Scoring." 


Famous    Whist  -  Players. — We 

have  already  said  something  about 
"Celebrated  People  Who  Played 
Whist "  (q.  v. ) .  Great  whist-play- 
ers are  more  rare.  In  fact,  it  has 
been  asserted  that  not  more  than 
two  or  three  men  ever  completely 
mastered  the  game.  The  great 
players,  who  were  universally  ad- 
mitted to  have  been  such,  can 
almost  be  counted  on  one's  fingers. 
To  begin  with  the  beginning  of  the 
game,  Hoyle,  its  father,  was  a  great 
teacher,  but  iiot  a  great  player.  A 
writer  in  the  Westminster  Papers 
says:  "  To  many  it  may  seem  late 
in  the  day  to  refer  to  the  writings 
of  Mathews.  That  gentleman  was 
the  finest  player  of  his  day,  whereas 
his  predecessor,  Hoyle,  was  not." 
Thomas  Mathews  knew  this,  too, 
for  he  takes  pains  in  his  book  to 
cast  a  reflection  upon  the  play  of 
Hoyle.  Greater  than  Mathews, 
however,  was  Deschapelles.  Says 
"Cavendish:"  "It  is  remarkable 
that  the  '  finest  whist-player '  who 
ever  lived  should  have  been,  ac- 
cording to  Clay,  a  Frenchman,  M. 
Deschapelles. ' '  This  praise  is  now 
universally  admitted  to  have  been 
justly  bestowed.  James  Clay  him- 
self, however,  was  an  extraordinary 
player,  the  finest  in  all  England  in 
his  day,  although  his  fame  as  an 
authority  on  the  game  perhaps 
overshadowed  his  fame  as  a  player. 
Charles  Hervey,  in  "The  Whist 
Table,"  tells  us  that  "a  master  of 
the  art  (Lord  Henry  Bentinck), 
who  had  survived  a  generation, 
was  asked  who  were  the  best  whist- 
players  he  ever  knew.  He  instantly 
named  three:  the  late  Earl  Gran- 
ville,  the  Hon.  George  Anson,  and 
Henry  Lord  de  Ros.  On  being 
asked  for  the  fourth,  he  paused,  but 
there  was  no  need  of  hesitation. 
*  The  palm  was  popularly  con- 
sidered to  he  between  Lord  Henry 
Bentinck  and  Mr.  Clay,  whose 


FAMOUS  WHIST-PLAYERS     173    FAMOUS  WHIST-PLAYERS 


styles  were  so  essentially  different 
that  an  instructive  parallel  might 
be  drawn  between  them  after  the 
manner  of  Plutarch." 

"Since  Deschapelles, "  says  a 
writer  in  Black  wood's  Magazine, 
"  there  has  been  no  such  player  in 
Europe,  except  perhaps  a  Greek — 
a  M.  Kalergi,  the  brother  of  the 
minister  of  that  name."  Charles 
Mossop,  in  the  Westminster  Papers 
for  April,  1879,  speaks  of  another 
foreigner,  "  Belaieff,"  as,  "in  our 
judgment,  the  best  whist-player 
that  ever  lived." 

In  our  own  day  "Cavendish"  is 
looked  upon  as  England's  repre- 
sentative player  and  exponent  of] 
the  game.  But  "  Pembridge,"  in 
a  letter  to  Whist,  declared  that 
"there  is  no  finer  player  in  all 
England"  than  J.  C.  Davis.  Mr. 
Davis  plays  a  game  which  is  as 
different  from  "Cavendish's"  as 
James  Clay's  was  from  Lord  Ben- 
tmck's.  "Cavendish"  dedicated 
his  "  Card  Essays"  to  Edward  Tav- 
ener  Foster,  whom  (on  page  178)  he 
mentions  as  "the  finest  whist-player 
I  have  ever  met." 

It  has  been  remarked  by  com- 
petent judges  like  "Cavendish," 
that  the  average  of  skill  is  much 
higher  in  this  country  than  in 
Europe,  and  that  Deschapelles  him- 
self might  have  looked  to  his 
laurels  in  contests  with  members  of 
the  American  Whist  League. 

The  late  John  Rheinart,  of  the 
Milwaukee  Whist  Club  (who  years 
ago  played  frequently  with  Des- 
chapelles), was  considered  one  of 
the  very  best  players  in  this 
Country.  N.  B.  Trist  placed  J. 
M.  Kennedy,  of  New  Orleans, 
in  the  very  first  rank  of  whist 
adepts;  and  R.  F.  Foster,  in  his 
"Whist  Strategy,"  speaks  of  Ru- 
fus  Allen,  of  Milwaukee,  as  "  prob- 
ably one  of  the  strongest  whist- 
players  living,  if  we  may  judge  by 


his   record  extending  over  many 
years." 

It  would  be  a  most  serious  task 
to  attempt,  without  an  exhaustive 
competition,  the  classification  of 
the  leading  players  of  the  United 
States.  There  are  so  many  really 
fine  players  that  opinions  must 
vary  as  to  which  are  the  very  best. 
Bearing  this  in  mind,  yet  anxious 
to  throw  some  light  on  the  sub- 
ject, if  possible,  we  invited  a 
confidential  expression  of  opinion 
from  twenty-five  experts  in  various 
parts  of  the  country — those  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  the  subject 
through  personal  knowledge  and 
experience — and  the  result  is  given 
below.  The  question  was:  "Who, 
in  your  opinion,  are  the  twenty 
foremost  whist- players  of  this  coun- 
try ?  ' '  Not  more  than  twenty  were 
named  by  each,  and  in  no  case  was 
any  one  allowed  to  vote  for  himself. 
The  result  was  as  follows: 

Group  No.  z. — Receiving  from  ten  to 
twenty-four  votes. 

Votes. 

1.  Geo.  I,.  Bunn,  St.  Paul,  Minn.  ...  24 

2.  John  H.  Briggs,  Minneapolis,  Minn.  22 

3.  Lender  M.  Bouve,  Boston,  Mass.  .   .  20 

4.  Thos.  A.  Whelan,  Baltimore,  Md.    .  20 

5.  Milton  C.  Work,  Philadelphia,  ...  20 

6.  E.  A.  Ballard,  Phildaelphia 19 

7.  Gustavus  Reraak,  Jr.,  Philadelphia.  19 

8.  W.  G.  Bronson,  Stillwater,  Minn.    .  17 

9.  Frank  P.  Mogridge,  Philadelphia.  .  17 

10.  C.  A.  Henriques,  New  York   .  .  .   .  16 

11.  W.  J.  Walker,  Chicago 16 

12.  W.  E.  P.  Duvall,  Baltimore,  Md.   .  .  15 

13.  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  Easton,  Pa.     .   .  15 

14.  John  T.  Mitchell,  Chicago 15 

15.  David  Muhlfelder,  Albany,  N.  Y.    .  15 

16.  A.  E-  Taylor,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.   .   .   .  15 

17.  G.  W.  Keehn,  Chicago 12 

18.  J.  B.  Elwell,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.     .   .   .  II 

19.  C.  F.  Snow,  Albany,' N.  Y II 

20.  Joseph  S.  Neff,  Philadelphia  .   .   .    .  10 

21.  Jules  P.  Woolen,  Washington,  D.  C.  10 

Group  No.  2.— Receiving  nine  votes  or  less. 

Allen,  Rufus,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Ames,  Fisher,  Newton,  Mass. 

Aymar,  H.  F.,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Baker,  E.  T.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Baldwin,  John  H.,  Chicago. 

Becker,  Cnarton  L-,  Boston,  Mass.  (9) 

Bigelow,  I.  H.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Briggs,  O.  H.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 


FANCY  WHIST 


174     FENOLLOSA,  WILLIAM  S. 


Bristol,  W.  T.  G.,  Chicago. 
Clay,  Charles  M.,  Roxbury,  Mass. 
Curtis,  C.  L.,  Toledo,  O. 
Fenollosa,  William  S.,  Salem,  Mass. 
Foster.  R   F.,  New  York. 
Gleason,  John  B.,  New  York. 
George,  J.  A..  Providence,  R.  I. 
Gordon,  Charles,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Hart,  E.  Stanley,  Philadelphia. 
Hawkins,  W.  E'.,  New  York. 
Hill,  Chester  W.,  Philadelphia. 
Howell,  E.  C.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Hudson,  William,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Keiley,  Charles  R.,  New  York. 
Low,  H.  N.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Manson,  Thomas,  New  York. 
McCay,  A.  Harvey,  Baltimore,  Md. 
McKay,  Theodore,  New  York. 
Montgomery,  E.  A.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Morse,  George  W.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Paine,  Cassius  M.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Parry,  N.  H.,  Chicago. 
Parsons,  R.  I,.,  Chicago. 
Richter,  Otto,  Tacoma,  Washington. 
Rogers,  G.  T.,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 
Rogers,  R.  M.,  Chicago. 
Smith,  Beverley  W.,  Baltimore,  Md.  (9) 
Smith,  E.  LeRoy,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Smith,  Wilbur  F.,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Steele,  J.  N.,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Stevens,  Harry  S.,  Chicago. 
Street,  W.  J.,  New  York. 
Talmadge,  Henry  P.,  New  York. 
Tormey,  P.  J.,  San  Francisco. 
Townsend,  Samuel,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 
Trainor,  William,  Chicago. 
Trist,  N.  B.,  New  Orleans. 
Walls,  George,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Ward,  H.  H.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Watson,  W.  H.,  Philadelphia. 
Weems,  R.  H.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Wood,  J.  H.,  Chicago. 

Fancy  Whist. — Whist  introduc- 
ing strange  or  unauthorized  plays. 

Father  of  the  Game. — A  name 
bestowed  upon  Edmond  Hoyle,  the 
author  of  the  first  published  trea- 
tise on  whist.  (See,  "Hoyle.") 

In  1742  whist  was  adopted  by  Edmond 
Hoyle,  who  is  to  this  day  called  the  father 
of  the  game. — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.],  in. 
"  The  Whist  Table." 

Faults. — Whist  -  players  have 
their  faults — even  the  best  of  them 
have  their  failings.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, be  charitable  to  one  another, 
slow  to  anger,  and  constantly  on 
the  alert  to  correct  ourselves  before 
we  attempt  the  correction  of  others. 


The  worst  two  faults  that  can  be  com- 
mitted at  whist  are:  (i)  To  force  your 
partner  after  he  has  led  trumps.  (2)  To 
play  a  card  of  which  neither  of  your  ad- 
versaries have  one,  so  as  to  enable  the 
weak  hand  to  trump  and  the  strong  to  get 
a  discard. —  Westminster  Papers  [L+O.]. 

I  have  frequently  sat  opposite  a  partner 
who,  at  the  end  of  a  hand  in  which  he 
has  lost  two  or  three  tricks,  would  him- 
self commence  the  conversation  by  such 
remarks  as  these:  "  Now,  partner,  you 
must  not  find  fault  with  me;  if  you  find 
fault  it  makes  me  play  far  worse  than  I 
otherwise  should  play.  I  do  my  best,  and 
that  is  all  I  can  do,  so  it's  no  use  scolding 
me."  Now,  if  you  found  fault  with  a 
man's  stature,  or  the  shape  of  his  nose, 
or  the  color  of  his  eyes,  or  anything  else 
belonging  to  him  "which  he  could  not 
alter,  the  above  remarks  might  possess 
some  reason.  When,  however,  any  indi- 
vidual asserts  that  he  not  only  does  not 
wish  to  know  by  what  means  he  loses 
tricks,  nor  does  he  want  to  know  how  he 
might  play  a  better  game  than  he  does 
play,  and  that  supplying  him  with  this 
information  actually  makes  him  play 
worse,  it  exhibits  a  peculiarity  of  mind 
which,  in  any  business  habits  of  life, 
would  almost  qualify  a  man  for  a  lunatic 
asylum. — A.  IV.  Drayson[L+A+]. 

"  Favorite  Whist."— One  of  the 

many  variations  introduced  into 
the  game  of  whist.  It  is  ordinary 
whist,  with  or  without  honors,  its 
distinguishing  characteristic  being 
the  additional  value  which  is  given 
to  the  first  trump  suit  every  time  it 
is  turned  up  again  during  the  rub- 
ber. This  suit  is  called  the  favor- 
ite, and  tricks  and  honors  in  it 
count  double  after  the  first  time  it 
is  played.  The  game  has  several 
variations. 

Favorite  whist  simply  changes  the 
value  of  tricks  in  scoring,  according  to 
the  trump  suit.— JR.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

Fenollosa,  William  S.— A  suc- 
cessful teacher  of  whist  and  whist 
expert.  He  was  born  in  Salem, 
Mass.,  December  3,  1854;  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  College 
in  1875;  followed  music  as  a  pro- 
fession for  some  years,  appearing  in 
public  occasionally  as  a  pianist  of 
fine  ability.  About  the  year  1889, 


FENOLLOSA,  WILLIAM  S.     175 


11  FIELD,  THE 


whist-teaching  supplanted  music 
•with  him,  however,  and  since  that 
time  he  has  devoted  all  his  time  to 
giving  instructions  in  the  game. 

Mr.  Fenollosa  was  very  fond  of 
card  games  as  a  child,  but  did  not 
like  whist,  against  which  he  had 
formed  a  prejudice.  He  disliked 
the  sound  of  "second  hand  low" 
and  "third  hand  high,"  and  fan- 
cied it  a  sort  of  old  fogy's  game. 
An  aunt  of  his  persisted  in  saying, 
however,  that  it  was  just  the  kind 
of  game  that  he  would  enjoy  most, 
if  he  would  only  give  it  a  trial. 
When  he  was  seventeen  years  of 
age  she  presented  him  with  a  copy 
of  Pole,  and  upon  reading  it  his 
interest  was  at  once  aroused.  He 
practically  learned  the  book  by 
heart  before  playing  a  single  game. 
From  that  time  on  he  was  a  self- 
taught  player,  thinking  things  out 
for  himself,  and,  in  addition,  study- 
ing all  new  works  on  whist  as  they 
appeared.  He  informs  us,  in  a 
letter,  that  "  Cavendish's"  has  ever 
seemed  to  him  the  standard  work 
on  whist.  "I  am,"  he  continues, 
"  a  firm  believer  in  the  long-suit 
system,  but  with  a  touch  of  bold 
trump-leading  added  to  it.  I  think 
most  players  are  too  conservative 
on  this  point.  I  always  lead  trumps 
from  four  with  three  of  each  plain 
suit.  Moreover,  I  believe  it  to  be 
better  to  lead  from  four  trumps  than 
from  a  four-card  plain  suit  of  indif- 
ferent strength;  e.  g.,  from  ace, 
jack,  and  two  small  (trumps);  ten, 
three  small;  king,  two  small;  king, 
one  small,  I  lead  a  small  trump.  I 
should  almost  never  open  a  hand 
with  a  four-card  plain  suit,  all  below 
the  ten;  but  I  also  very  seldom  open 
with  a  short  plain  suit.  I  prefer  the 
short-trump  opening,  or  the  four- 
card  trump.  I  almost  invariably 
lead  trumps  from  five;  am  rarely 
deterred  by  an  honor  cut.  From 
eight,  seven,  six  (trump);  nine, 


three  small;  king,  two  small;  ace, 
two  small,  I  lead  the  eight  of 
trumps.  From  queen,  one  small 
(trump);  king,  three  small;  four 
small;  queen,  two  small,  I  lead 
queen  of  trumps.  I  believe  strongly 
in  American  leads,  unblocking,  and 
the  four-trump  signal.  I  am. in- 
clined to  the  four-trump  echo,  or, 
perhaps,  some  combination  of  the 
four  and  three.  I  suspect  that  the 
Boston  echo  for  exactly  three  trumps 
is  a  trick-loser,  but  am  in  some 
doubt.  As  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican team,  I  have  had  much  practice 
with  this  echo,  and  am  inclined  to 
think  it  helps  the  clever  adversary 
even  more  than  the  partner" — an 
opinion  which  accords  with  what 
"  Cavendish"  savs  in  the  article  on 
"Fads"  (q.  v.). 

"I  am,"  continues  Mr.  Fenol- 
losa, "a  firm  believer  in  the  lead 
of  queen  from  queen,  jack,  ten, 
and  others,  and  not  the  ten."  His 
arguments  on  this  subject  were 
published  in  Whist  for  March  and 
May,  1896,  and  are  quoted  from  in 
our  article  on  "American  Leads, 
Changes  in"  (q.  v.). 

Mr.  Fenollosa  played  on  the 
team  from  the  American  Club,  of 
Boston,  which  defeated  the  Hamil- 
tons  in  December,  1896,  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  one  of  the  very  few 
matches  which  the  latter  lost  in  the 
contest  for  the  Challenge  Trophy. 
He  also  played  on  the  teams  which 
represented  Boston  at  the  fourth 
and  sixth  congresses  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League.  He  has  taught 
whist  professionally  for  eight  years 
past,  mostly  in  Boston,  Salem,  Na- 
hant,  and  Mt.  Deseret  Island.  Be- 
sides numerous  contributions  in 
Whisty  he  has  also  written  articles 
for  the  London  Field. 

"Field,  The."— A  London 
weekly  journal,  devoted  to  sports 
and  pastimes.  It  was  established 


"FIELD,  THE" 


176        FIELDING  AND  WHIST 


about  forty-five  years  ago,  and  is 
celebrated  among  whist-players  by 
reason  of  its  card  department, 
which  was  begun  by  "  Cavendish," 
December  6,  1862,  and  has  been  in 
his  charge  ever  since.  At  first 
there  was  no  idea  of  making  it  a 
regular  department.  The  publica- 
tion of  his  "Principles  of  Whist" 
had  drawn  public  attention  to  the 
author,  and  he  was  invited  to  write 
some  articles  on  the  game.  He  was 
paid  the  same  as  any  other  contrib- 
utor, at  so  much  per  column.  A 
number  of  letters  were  received 
which  he  answered,  and  eventually 
he  was  paid  a  regular  salary,  and 
became,  in  fact,  the  editor  of  a  card 
department.  It  was  at  first  headed 
"Whist, "but  other  games  being 
mentioned  and  commented  upon, 
the  title  was  changed  to  "Cards." 
The  permanent  engagement  of 
"Cavendish"  was  brought  about 
without  any  formal  agreement,  nor 
has  there  ever  been  any.  He  in- 
forms us  that  it  has  worked  well, 
as  he  has  never  had  an  unpleasant 
word  with  the  Field  people  all 
these  years. 

The  character  of  the  Field  is  of 
the  highest  grade.  "  Cavendish" 
says:  "  We  do  not  like  to  hear  it 
called  a  sporting  paper,  but  a 
sportsman"1  s  paper.  I  don't  know 
whether  you  draw  the  same  dis- 
tinction in  America.  Everything 
that  your  sisters,  or  your  (female) 
cousins,  or  your  aunts,  cannot  read, 
is  carefully  kept  out.  One  of  the 
sub-editors  amused  me  the  other 
day.  Turning  over  some  proof,  he 
said,  '  Jones,  this  is  not  a  news- 
paper!' 'Oh,'  I  answered,  'then 
what  is  it  ?'  He  replied,  '  It  is  an 
institution.'1  " 

The  Field  is  the  only  paper  in 
England  which  has  a  regular  de- 
partment devoted  to  whist  and 
other  card  games,  and  it  is  the  ac- 
knowledged authority. 


Fielding  and  Whist.— The  ear- 
liest references  to  whist  which 
occur  in  standard  literature  are 
those  contained  in  Fielding's  cele- 
brated novel  of  "Tom  Jones," 
which  was  published  seven  years 
after  Hoyle's  treatise.  Four  of 
the  characters  —  Lady  Bellaston, 
Lord  Fellamar,  Tom  Edwards, 
and  the  lovable  Sophia  herself— are 
"  engaged  at  whist  and  in  the  last 
game  of  their  rubber,"  when,  at 
the  instigation  of  Lady  Bellaston, 
Tom  rattles  off  the  fiction  of  the 
death  of  Tom  Jones  in  a  duel. 
Amid  the  agitation  produced  by 
this  piece  of  alleged  news,  poor 
Sophia  resumes  the  deal,  which  she 
had  momentarily  interrupted,  ' '  and 
having  dealt  three  cards  to  one, 
seven  to  another,  and  ten  to  a 
third,"  now  drops  the  rest  of  the 
pack  on  the  table,  and  falls  back  in 
a  swoon. 

The  other  reference  to  whist 
occurs  when  Nightingale  explains 
to  Tom  Jones  the  reason  for  dis- 
missing his  man-servant.  He  justi- 
fies his  conduct  by  the  heinousness 
of  the  offense  which  the  footman 
had  committed.  It  was  not  the 
first  of  his  faults,  for  many  of  his 
"provoking"  acts  had  been  over- 
looked by  his  master;  but  the  last 
offense,  Nightingale  pleaded,  was 
inexcusable.  He  had  come  home 
to  his  lodgings  in  Bond  street  that 
night  several  hours  before  his  usual 
time — an  act  which  is  always  im- 
prudent on  the  part  of  a  lodger — 
and  had  found  "  four  gentlemen  of 
the  cloth"  comfortably  seated  by 
his  fireside,  in  all  the  pleasures  of 
a  game  of  whist.  This  piece  of  in- 
discretion he  would  have  passed  by 
in  silence,  or,  at  the  best,  with  a 
word  of  warning  that  it  must  not 
be  repeated.  There  was  worse  to 
come,  and  that  constituted  the 
gravamen  of  the  offense.  "  Mj 
Hoyle,  sir,"  he  cries  aloud  in  his 


FIELDING  AND  WHIST 


»ven  totally 

nlriiy.    "lid 

Presidents  of  the  American 

having  dealt   three 


an  ttoftt  it  **.»«!  f{. 
li«>  nrvtrr  bad  A-I  ; 
with  the  /:'.'/</ 


;hx  alx/ut 
inent,  nor 
.  He  in- 

•ksH  w<!lj 

,s. 


Fielding  and  Whist.— The  ear- 
B«st  references  to  whist  which 
•ictnir  in  standard  literature  are 
those  contained  in  Fielding's  cele- 
bi.su-d  novel  of  "Tom  Jones," 
which  was  published  seven  years 
after  Hoyle's  treatise.  Four  of 
th^  characters  —  Lady  Bellaston, 
i.t>rd  Feilainar,  Tom  Edwards, 
aud  the  lovable  Sophia  herself— are 
1  engaged  at  whist  and  in  the  last 
gvrr.e  of  their  rubber,"  when,  at 
the  insttgHtion  of  Lady  fietlaston, 
Tom  rattles  off  the  fiction  of  the 
denth  of  Tom  Jones  in  a  duel. 
Amid  the  agitation  produced  by 
this  piece  of  alien--''  news,  poor 
.••'.,  whu-h  she 
i  ii,  (iand 
s  to  one, 

o  another,  and  ten  to  a 
.v  dn  ps  the  rest  of  the 
park  on  the  tahle,  and  falls  back  in 
a  swoon 


I  fie 
the   1): 


Walter  H    Barney. 
gr«»t  KTf*i~.     "  Cavendish" 
'  We-  <1o  uot  likf  t ••>  htiir  it 

IJM'J  t>m*"-.     I  .!<•»)'»   kn«w 


dav. 
safd. 


Turning 
Touts,    t 


The  Fiiid  is.  the  otilv 
Enyinii'i  which  has  H  re 
partrnent  dt-votefl  ti?  w 
other  rard  rrttti^s,  nrvi  ii 


f( 

.  man-servant.    He  justi- 
duct  by  the  heinousness 
of  the  offense  which  the  footman 
romiH'.'tA*  Mandetk  not  the 

first  of  his  faults,  lor  ni.invof  his 
"provoking"  acts  ha<i  been  over- 
looked by  his  master;  but  the  Inst 
offf.ise,  NigfitiTtgalf  {'leaded,  \vas 
inexcusable,  llv  bad  come  home 
to  hix  htlgings  in  Bond  .-.tror-t  that 
T:  ghi,  ntrx't-ral  hours  befon  his  usual 
'-•n^c  -af  art  which  i>  ai.vays  im- 
jirudfn'.  on  the  part  "(  H  lodger — 
*r,'\  ijr»d  found  "four gentlemen  of 
'!v-  c'oth"  comfortably  seated  by 
i. .-.  preside,  in  all  tin-  pleasures  of 
a  iCMJJK-  of  whist.  Th'.-  }  ic-<  e  of  in- 
d*acj*-ti«"i  hew'.-ti'd  hr»v^  passed  by 
»r  «il«ii'-.r\  <ir  ;it  the  oest,  with  a 
Wt'T'J  «.f  w.iniit'i,  t'i,,i  it  must  not 
}*•  i*p*flrf«.i.  i  •)(  ''.•  was  -.vurse  to 
C'mto,  Mul  '::.jt  • 'mstiin1  _•!  tbe 
gr,-.vjnn»*Tj  of  tl.t  fff  fist.  "  My 
I'ovh  vtr,"  lu-  i-iii-s  aloud  iu  his 


FIFTH-BEST  LEAD 


177 


FINESSE 


agony,  "my  best  Hoyle,  which 
cost  me  a  guinea,  lying  open  on 
the  table,  with  a  quantity  of  porter 
spilt  on  one  of  the  most  material 
leaves  of  the  whole  book!"  Even 
this,  provoking  as  it  was,  might 
have  been  overlooked,  but  the  ser- 
vant answered  with  the  pertness 
of  his  class,  that  "several  of  his 
acquaintances  had  bought  the  same 
for  a  shilling,"  and  that  his  master 
might  stop  that  much  in  his  wages, 
"if  he  pleased!"  This,  and  the 
subsequent  proceedings,  rendered 
their  parting  a  matter  of  necessity. 
Nightingale  lost  his  servant  and 
remained  in  the  possession  of  a 
damaged  Hoyle. 

Fifth -Best  Lead. — The  second 
maxim  of  the  American  leads  pro- 
vides that  when  a  player  opens  a 
strong  suit  with  a  high  card,  and 
next  leads  a  low  card,  he  should 
lead  the  original  fourth  best,  ignor- 
ing in  the  count  any  card  marked 
in  his  hand.  "  Cavendish"  subse- 
quently adopted  the  rule  of  leading, 
on  second  round,  the  fourth  best 
remaining  in  the  hand,  or  in 
other  words,  the  fifth  best  origi- 
nally. 

N.  B.  Trist,  while  adhering  to  the 
maxim  as  originally  promulgated, 
made  an  exception  in  the  case  of 
the  lead  of  the  queen,  which  is  com- 
mented upon  in  Hamilton's  "  Mod- 
ern Scientific  Whist"  (1896).  When 
the  queen  is  led  and  wins,  Mr.  Trist 
decided  to  next  lead  the  fourth 
best,  coimting from  and  including 
the  card  first  led.  As,  from  king, 
queen,  ten, eight,  seven,  lead  queen, 
and  (the  queen  winning)  then 
seven,  thereby  showing  two  cards 
of  intermediate  rank  between  the 
queen  and  the  seven-spot.  The 
second  lead  is,  in  effect,  a  fifth-best 
lead. 

Hamilton  says:  "There  are  ad- 
vantages in  favor  of  this  mode  of 

12 


opening  this  combination  as  com- 
pared with  queen,  then  original 
fourth  best.  It  will  be  found  upon 
analysis  that  the  lead  of  the  origi- 
nal fifth  best,  after  queen  -winning, 
will  often  yield  information  that 
the  lead  of  the  fourth  best  will 
withhold,  and  no  disadvantages  at- 
tend the  play. "  The  same  author 
is,  however,  opposed  to  the  lead  of 
the  fifth  best  as  a  second  lead  after 
the  original  lead  of  an  ace.  He 
says,  in  Whist  for  March,  1895: 
"  It  appears  clear  that  the  balance 
of  advantage  is  overwhelmingly  in 
favor  of  the  lead  of  the  original 
fourth  best,  after  ace,  as  against  the 
second  lead  of  the  original  fifth 
best,  or  any  lower  card." 

"  Fifth  Honor,  The."— In  Eng- 
land the  ten  of  trumps  is  frequently 
spoken  of  as  "  the  fifth  honor, ' ' 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  card 
next  in  rank  to  the  true  honors — 
ace,  king,  queen,  and  jack.  "A 
century  ago,"  says  Courtney,  "it 
was  dubbed  '  the  Welsh  honor,'  an 
expression  which  may  be  taken, 
according  to  the  desire  of  the 
reader,  as  a  compliment  or  an 
insult  to  that '  gallant  little  '  princi- 
pality." 

Finesse. — An  artifice  or  strata- 
gem in  whist  which  adds  greatly  to 
the  interest  and  scientific  value  of 
the  game.  To  finesse  is  to  try  to 
take  a  trick  with  a  card  which  is 
not  the  best  that  you  could  have 
played.  As,  for  instance,  holding 
ace,  queen,  and  others,  you  play 
the  queen  upon  the  lead  of  a  low 
card,  in  the  hope  that  the  king  lies 
to  your  right.  If  you  are  correct 
in  your  inference,  you  have  gained 
a  trick.  Finesses  are  made  second, 
third,  or  fourth  hand,  and  upon 
cards  led  by  opponents  as  well  as 
those  led  by  partner.  Finesse 
deeply  in  your  own  or  opponents' 


FINESSE 


I78 


FINESSE 


suits,  at  the  same  time  taking  care, 
if  possible,  to  leave  your  hand  in 
good  condition,  in  case  the  finesse 
should  fail.  As  a  rule,  do  not 
finesse  in  your  partner's  suit;  you 
do  not  wish  to  save  the  high  cards 
in  it,  but  rather  to  get  rid  of  them, 
so  as  not  to  block  his  game.  Fi- 
nesses in  your  own  and  partner's 
weak  suit  is  advisable  when  trump 
strength  is  against  you,  and  you 
have  poor  prospects  of  winning.  It 
is  also  advisable  to  finesse  more 
deeply  in  trumps  than  in  plain 
suits.  The  finesse  has  been  used  as 
a  formidable  weapon  by  good  play- 
ers since  the  days  of  Hoyle.  Des- 
chapelles  devoted  much  attention 
to  it  in  his  play,  and  describes 
several  different  kinds  of  finesses  in 
his  treatise  on  the  game. 

Failure  to  finesse  at  the  right  time  is  a 
more  common  error  than  injudicious 
finessing.— tf.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist 
Tactics.'" 

The  law  of  finesse,  the  strength  and 
beauty  of  whist,  has  never  changed,  will 
never  change.— G.  IV.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.}, 
"American  Whist  Illustrated:'' 

Finesses  are  generally  right  in  trumps, 
or.  if  strong  in  trumps,  in  other  suits; 
otherwise  they  are  not  to  be  risked  but 
with  caution. —  Thomas  Mathews  [L.  O.], 
"Advice  to  the  Young  Whist-Player ,"  1804. 

With  ordinary  hands,  finesse  may  be 
deep  at  their  commencement,  should 
contract  as  they  go  on,  until  the  last  four 
or  five  cards  there  is  scarcely  any  oppor- 
tunity left  for  finesse,  properly  so  called. 
—James  Clay  [L.  O+}. 

The  player  must  be  taking  a  chance 
when  he  finesses.  If  the  location  of  the 
card  is  known  either  from  being  turned 
or  marked  by  the  development,  it  requires 
no  artifice  or  stratagem  to  play  the  lower 
card.—  Whist  [L.  A .] ,  December,  1895. 

You  are  said  to  finesse  against  the  in- 
termediate card,  and  sometime?  also 
against  the  person  who  holds  it;  but  as, 
by  the  nature  of  the  case,  it  should  be 
unknown  where  the  card  lies,  the  latter 
meaning  is  apt  to  create  confusion.  The 
person  against  whom  you  act  is  more  cor- 
Tectly  the  fourth  player. —  William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  "Theory  of  Whist." 

The  best  players  do  not  advocate  very 
treat  finessing  by  a  third-hand  player  in 
his  partner's  suit.  When  the  onginal 


lead  is  a  conventional  one,  practically 
the  only  finesse  justifiable  in  a  plain  suit 
on  a  small  card  led  is  the  queen,  with  ace, 
queen.  Any  face  card  led,  however,  is 
finessed  with  any  other  face  card  in  hand. 
—Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.},  "Whist  of 
To-day." 

The  word  is  sometimes  applied  to  cases 
where  it  is  certain  the  inferior  card  will  an- 
swer the  purpose  intended;  as,  for  exam- 
ple, where  the  left  hand  has  already  shown 
weakness.  But  this  is  clearly  a  misuse  of 
the  term,  for  unless  there  is  a  risk  of  the 
card  being  beaten  it  is  only  ordinary 
play,  and  can  involve  no  finessing,  prop- 
erly so  called.— William  Pole  [L.  A+], 
"Theory  of  Whist:' 

This  term  is  applicable  to  any  form  of 
strategy,  underplay,  or  artifice.  *  *  * 
Many  players  imagine  that  finesse  is  an 
artihce  to  be  practiced  only  by  third  hand; 
it  belongs,  however,  to  every  seat  at  the 
table.  Fourth  hand  may  refuse  to  take  a 
trick;  leader  and  second  hand  may  un- 
derplay. You  cannot  lay  down  specific 
rules  governing  finesse.  Rob  whist  of 
finesse  and  you  take  from  the  game  its 
greatest  charm. — C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L. 
A.],  "Modern  Scientific  Whist" 

The  finesse  obligatory  most  commonly 
occurs  on  the  second  round  of  a  suit  led 
originally  by  the  player  who,  on  the 
second  round,  is  the  third  hand.  In  this 
situation,  with  the  best  card  marked  in 
the  fourth  hand,  and  the  second  and 
fourth-best  cards  in  the  third  hand,  or  the 
fourth  best  led  and  the  second  best  in  the 
third  hand,  the  finesse  should  be  made, 
as  if  the  third  best  is  also  in  the  fourth 
hand,  no  harm  is  done;  if  it  is  in  the 
second  hand,  a  gain  is  made. — Milton  C. 
Work  [L.A.H.],"  Whist  of  To-day." 

If,  when  a  suit  is  played,  each  party 
were  to  hasten  to  force  it  with  their  best 
card,  the  most  skillful  player  would  be  he 
who  is  best  furnished  with  that  suit;  the 
strongest  card  would,  in  all  cases,  deter- 
mine the  fortune  of  the  players:  all  sci- 
ence and  skill  would  entirelv  disappear 
from  the  game,  and  the  empire  of  brute 
force,  operating  in  all  cases  with  the  same 
power,  would  be  firmly  established. 
Ennui  would  soon  give  rise  to  new  inno- 
vations, the  useless  trouble  of  dealing  the 
cards  would  be  discontinued,  and  thus 
that  beautiful  problem,  whist,  would  be 
degraded  into  the  common  and  ignoble 
game  of  rouge  ou  noir.  All  this  is,  how- 
ever, prevented  by  the  finesse.  The  prin- 
ciple of  this  practice,  which  forms  an  es- 
sential part  in  all  the  various  combina- 
tions we  are  here  investigating.and  which 
is  based  upon  acute  discernment  and  a 
well-calculated  doctrine  of  chance,  is  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  mere  chance.  It 
deprives  the  latter,  one  by  cue,  of  the 


FINESSING 


179 


FIVE-SPOT 


advantages  it  possesses,  and  eventually 
completes  the  triumph  of  mind  over 
matter.—  Deschapelles  [0.J. 

The  common-sense  finesse  is  when  you 
have  discovered  that  the  highest  card  but 
one  in  a  suit  has  been  played  third  in 
hand  by  your  left-hand  adversary,  and 
you  hold  the  best  and  third-best  card  in 
the  suit.  The  finesse  speculative  is  this: 
You  hold  the  best  and  the  third-best  card 
in  a  suit — say  ace  and  queen;  your  part- 
ner leads  this  suit,  and  third  in  hand  you 
finesse  your  queen.  *  *  The  principles 
of  this  finesse  are  that  you  play  against 
an  even  chance  that  the  king  of  the  suit 
is  to  your  right,  and  that  your  partner, 
from  leading  the  suit,  will  probably  him- 
self hold  knave  or  king.  The  arbitrary 
finesse  is  the  following:  You  hold  queen, 
ten,  and  three  of  spades;  you  lead  the 
three,  partner  wins  with  the  king,  and  re- 
turns you  a  small  spade.  You  know  that 
the  ace  is  now  to  your  left,  but  you  do  not 
know  where  the  knave  is.  It  may  be  to 
you  right:  your  queen  if  played  will  be 
taken  by  the  ace.  If  both  ace  and  knave 
be  to  the  left,  both  will  win.  If,  however, 
the  knave  be  to  your  right,  your  ten  will 
draw  the  ace,  and  your  queen  remain  the 
best  card.  Consequently,  you  are  bound  to 
play  the  ten. — A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
^  The  Art  of  Practical  Whist.'" 

Finessing  Against  Yourself. — 

One  of  the  most  common  errors 
which  beginners  make  is  to  cover  a 
jack  led  with  queen,  second  hand, 
when  holding  ace,  queen,  and 
others.  The  proper  play  is  the 
ace.  The  play  of  the  queen,  under 
these  circumstances,  is  what  is  ex- 
pressively termed  finessing  against 
yourself. 

Don't  finesse  against  yourself.  If  you 
have  led  from  ace,  knave,  etc.,  and  your 
partner  has  made  the  queen,  the  king  is 
certainly  not  on  your  right.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  you  have  led  from  king,  and 
your  partner  again  has  made  the  queen, 
it  can  be  no  use  to  put  on  the  king;  the 
ace  must  be  over  you. — "Pembridgir  [/,+ 
O.]. 

Finessing  by  the  Eleven  Rule. 

— This  is  explained  by  R.  F.  Foster, 
the  originator  of  the  eleven  rule 
(q.  v.),  as  follows:  "  It  is  based  on 
the  principle  that  you  have  a  right 
to  finesse  against  one  card  on  the 
first  round  of  a  suit,  whether  you 


have  strength  in  trumps  or  not, 
just  as  with  ace,  queen  [with  or 
without  small  cards] ,  on  your  part- 
ner's lead.  You  should  have 
pretty  strong  trumps  to  justify  a 
finesse  in  the  second  round  of  a 
suit,  as  it  is  unlikely  that  it  will  go 
round  a  third  time.  Suppose  you 
hold  king,  ten,  three.  Your  part- 
ner leads  eight;  four  second.  You 
deduct  eight  from  eleven  and  find 
that  there  is  only  one  card  out 
against  your  partner,  but  you  know 
neither  the  card  nor  where  it  is. 
Pass  the  eight  led.  Remembering, 
that  your  partner  cannot  have  ace, 
queen,  jack,  you  can  demonstrate 
that  out  of  six  possible  positions  in 
which  all  the  cards  above  an  eight 
can  be  placed,  there  are  only  two 
in  which  your  finesse  will  fail.  In 
other  words,  it  is  two  to  one  that 
the  trick  is  won  by  the  eight  led. 
*  *  *  One  of  the  chief  advantages 
of  this  mode  of  finessing  is  that 
the  original  leader,  if  he  knows 
that  his  partner  uses  it,  can  often 
assume  that  his  suit  is  established, 
although  it  has  been  led  only 
once." 

First  Hand.— The  player  to  the 
left  of  the  dealer;  the  eldest  hand; 
the  player  who  makes  the  opening 
lead. 

4 '  Five  of  Cl  u  bs. ' ' — A  pseudonym 
under  which  Professor  Richard  A. 
Proctor  wrote  many  articles,  and 
several  books,  on  whist.  (See, 
"Proctor,  R.  A.") 

Five-Point  Whist.— Short  whist 
without  counting  honors;  much 
played  in  this  country  before  the 
American  seven-point  game  came 
into  vogue. 

Five-Spot. — A  low  card, the  tenth 
in  rank  in  the  pack.  It  is  led  only 
as  a  fourth  best  in  the  American 


FOLKESTONE,  LORD          180 


FOLLOW 


leads,  and  a  penultimate  or  ante- 
penultimate in  the  old  leads.  It  is 
one  of  the  desirable  cards  with 
•which  to  start  a  trump  signal.  In 
the  Howell  (short-suit)  system  the 
lead  of  the  five,  four,  three,  or  two 
indicates  the  long-suit  game,  with 
trump  strength  and  probably  a  good 
suit,  and  commands  partner  to 
lead  trumps. 

Folkestone,  Lord. — One  of  the 

first  players  in  England  to  take  up 
and  make  a  systematic  study  of  the 
game  of  whist.  He  was  originally 
Sir  Jacob  de  Bouverie,  and,  after 
serving  in  Parliament,  was  elevated 
to  the  peerage  June  29,  1747,  by 
the  titles  of  Lord  Longford,  Baron 
of  Longford,  and  Viscount  Folke- 
stone. He  died  in  1761. 

Lord  Folkestone  should  ever  be 
held  in  high  esteem  by  whist-play- 
ers for  his  services  in  taking  up  and 
developing  the  game,  which  at  that 
time  was  just  emerging  from  ob- 
scurity and  from  its  very  humble 
surroundings.  He  formed  one  of  a 
select  circle  at  the  Crown  Coffee- 
House  (q.  v.),  in  Bedford  Row, 
London,  and  here  is  where  scien- 
tific whist  had  its  first  beginning  in 
1728;  for  these  gentlemen,  under 
his  leadership,  devised  a  code  of 
regulations  and  otherwise  greatly 
improved  the  game.  The  deuces 
were  restored  to  the  pack,  and  the 
whole  fifty-two  cards  brought  into 
play.  The  odd  trick  became  a 
permanent  feature  of  the  game, 
and  ten  points  instead  of  nine  were 
made  the  rule.  The  original  lead 
from  the  strongest  suit  was  recom- 
mended,and  partner's  hand  was  also 
to  some  extent  considered.  Thus 
the  game  was  made  ready  for  Hoyle 
to  take  it  up  and  bring  it  into  great 
popularity.  And,  by  the  way, 
Folkestone  is  held  by  some  author- 
ities to  have  been  an  altogether 
different  player  from  Hoyle. 


George  W.  Pettes  quotes  Dr.  Dakin 
as  saying  of  him:  "  He  was  a 
startling  contrast  to  Cotton  and 
Curll,  and  Seymour  and  Irnay, 
and,  I  may  add,  to  Hoyle,  who  was 
one  of  the  gamesters;  for  not  one 
of  these  cared  for  the  quality  of  a 
game,  but  only  for  the  money  that 
any  game  caused  to  leap  from  the 
pockets  of  the  unwary."  What- 
ever we  may  think  of  this  severe 
arraignment  of  Hoyle,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  Lord  Folkestone  was  a 
credit  and  honor  to  whist,  and  sin- 
cerely devoted  to  its  improvement. 
The  portrait  published  in  this 
volume  is  from  a  photograph  of  a 
painting  by  Hudson,  kindly  fur- 
nished by  the  Countess  of  Radnor, 
of  Longford  Castle,  Salisbury,  Eng- 
land. In  a  letter  she  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  her  illustrious  kins- 
man was  also  a  great  patron  of  art, 
having  been  the  first  president  of 
the  Royal  Society  for  the  Encour- 
agement of  Arts  and  Sciences. 

It  was  about  this  time  (1728)  that  the 
first  Lord  Folkestone  and  his  party  used 
to  play  whist  scientce  causa  at  the  Crown 
Coffee- House,  in  Bedford  Row.  This  is 
the  first  mention  we  have  of  whist  being 
played  scientifically. —  "Cavendish"  [L. 
A.],  "The  Whist  Table." 

It  seems  a  pity  that  the  pood  example 
set  by  Folkestone  did  not  become  a  per- 
petuity. I  cannot  find  that  money  was  at 
anytime  used  as  an  incentive  to  the  play. 
At  any  rate,  as  there  were  plentyof  short 
games  for  the  gamesters,  this  noble  one 
should  not  have  been  debased.  —  Dela- 
roche. 

It  happened  that  a  party  of  gentlemen 
who  frequented  the  Crown  Coffee-House, 
in  Bedford  Row,  and  of  whom  the  first 
Lord  Folkestone  was  one,  had  become 
acquainted  with  the  frame,  and  in  defi- 
ance of  its  bad  reputation,  tried  it  at 
their  meetings.  They  soon  found  out  it 
had  merits.  They  studied  it  carefully, 
and  arrived,  for  the  first  time,  at  some 
principles  of  play. —  William  Pole  [L.  A  +], 
"The  Evolution  of  Whist." 

Follow.— The  play  of  second, 
third,  or  fourth  hand  constitutes 
the  follow,  the  play  of  the  first 
hand  being  the  lead.  An  expres- 


FOLLOW  SUIT 


181 


FORCE 


sion    frequently    used    by    G.   W. 
Pettes  in  his  "  American  Whist" 

Follow  Suit. — To  play  a  card  of 
the  same  suit  as  the  one  led.  Failure 
to  do  so  when  you  have  the  suit 
constitutes  a  revoke. 

Force. — To  force  is  to  lead  a  card 
which  an  opponent  must  trump  in 
order  to  take  it,  or  to  play  a  losing 
card  purposely  for  partner  to  trump. 
The  object  is  to  extract  trumps  and 
thereby  weaken  the  adversary,  or 
to  enable  your  partner  to  make 
tricks  with  trumps  which  would 
otherwise  be  lost.  The  rule  is  to 
force  the  opponent  who  is  shown  to 
be  strong  in  trumps,  but  not  his 
partner,  who  must  not  be  allowed 
to  take  tricks  with  his  trumps,  if 
possible.  You  force  the  adversary 
when  you  are  weak  in  trumps  and 
he  is  strong.  You  force  partner 
when  you  are  strong  in  trumps  and 
he  is  weak.  But  there  are  cases 
when  you  must  force  partner,  even 
though  you  are  weak  yourself;  for 
instance,  if  he  has  shown  a  desire 
to  be  forced;  when  you  can  estab- 
lish a  cross-ruff  thereby;  when  over- 
whelming strength  in  trumps  has 
been  shown  by  the  adversaries,  or 
when  you  need  but  a  single  trick 
to  save  the  game. 

There  is  another  somewhat  allied 
mode  of  forcing  which  does  not 
involve  the  use  of  trumps.  It  con- 
sists of  leading  a  strengthening 
card  to  your  partner,  by  means  of 
which  you  force  out  a  high  card 
which  may  be  held  by  the  adversa- 
ries, and  help  establish  his  suit. 

Hesitate  about  trumping  an  intentional 
force  from  your  partner,  if  you  are  long 
in  trumps  and  hold  a  good"  and  well  es- 
tablished plain  suit.—  A.  J.  Mclntosh  [L. 
A.},  "Modern  Whist,"  1888. 

Always  force  the  strong,  seldom  the 
weak,  never  the  two;  otherwise  you  play 
your  adversaries'  game,  and  give  the  one 
an  opportunity  to  make  his  small  trumps 


while  the  other  throws  away  his  losing 
cards.— Thomas  Mathews\L.  0.1,  "Advice 
to  the  Young  Whist-Player." 

At  best,  the  forcing  game  is  a  poor  one. 
It  is  a  cheap  way  of  making  tricks.  There 
are  comparatively  few  hands  where  the 
best  play— the  play  which  will  make  the 
most  tricks— renders  it  necessary  to  delib- 
erately force  your  partner.— C.  D.  P.  Ham- 
ilton [L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

With  a  weak  hand,  seek  every  oppor- 
tunity of  forcing  your  adversary.  It  is  a 
common  and  fatal  mistake  to  abandon 
your  strong  suit  because  you  see  that 
your  adversary  will  trump  it.  Above  all, 
if  he  refuses  to  trump,  make  him,  if  you 
can;  and  remember  that  when  you  are 
not  strong  enough  to  lead  a  trump,  you 
are  weak  enough  to  force  your  adversary. 
-James  Clay  \_L.  O+]. 

It  does  not  mean  never  force  your  part- 
ner if  weak  in  trumps  yourself;  but  it 
means  if  you  see  a  good  chance  of  mak- 
ing more  tricks  by  not  forcing  your  part- 
ner than  you  could  make  by  forcing  him. 
then  refrain  from  the  force;  but  you  should 
always  remember  that  it  does  not  follow 
that  your  partner  must  take  a  force,  even 
though  you  offer  it  him. — A.  W.  Dray  son 
[L+A+],  "The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

It  is  usually  very  difficult  to  convince 
the  beginner  that  the  weaker  he  is  him- 
self, the  more  reason  he  has  for  forcing 
the  adversaries  to  trump  his  good  cards. 
He  is  constantly  falling  into  the  error  of 
changing  from  a  good  suit,  which  the  ad- 
versaries cannot  stop  without  trumping-, 
to  a  weak  suit,  which  allows  them  to  get 
into  the  lead  -without  any  waste  of  trump 
strength.—./?.  F.  Foster  \S.  O.],  "Complete 
Hoyle." 

When  the  player  forced  holds  only  four 
trumps,  he  trumps  with  his  fourth'  best. 
If  he  then  leads  a  low  trump,  he  goes  on 
with  his  lowest  remaining  card.  *  *  « 
When  the  player  forced  holds  five  trumps, 
he  takes  the  force  with  his  fourth-best 
card.  If  he  next  leads  a  low  trump,  he 
continues  with  his  lowest.  *  *  *  The 
rule  of  taking  the  force  with  the  fourth 
best,  holding  five  trumps,  is  subject  to  a 
rather  large  exception.  When  the  fourth- 
best  trump  is  of  such  value  that  taking 
the  force  with  it  may  imperil  a  trick  later 
on.  it  must  be  reserved.  For  instance, 
with  such  cards  as  king,  knave,  nine, 
seven,  three,  a  careful  player  would 
rightly  trump  with  the  three  and  lead  the 
seven.  For  the  time,  partner  is  not  in- 
formed as  to  the  number  of  trumps  held. 
*  *  *  With  more  than  five  trumps,  the 
fourth  best  would  frequently  be  too  high 
to  trump  with  for  the  mere  sake  of  show- 
ing number.  *  *  *  The  simplest  way 
of  treating  six-card  suits  is  to  trump  with 
the  penultimate,  and  then  to  lead  the 


FORCED  DISCARD 


182        FORMING  THE  TABLE 


fourth  best.  When  the  small  trump 
comes  down  later,  the  original  possession 
of  six  is  shown. 

When,  after  a  force,  the  player  holds 
such  high  trumps  that  he  has  to  open  the 
suit  with  a  high  card,  he  leads  according 
to  the  number  of  trumps  he  now  holds, 
not  according  to  the  number  he  held 
originally. 

The  foregoing  instructions  assume  that 
the  trump  lead  is  of  the  leader's  own 
motion.  If,  for  instance,  his  partner  had 
called  for  trumps,  he  would  follow  the 
ordinary  book  rule,  viz.,  with  three 
trumps,  trump  with  lowest  and  lead 
highest;  with  iour  trumps,  echo  with  pe- 
nultimate and  lead  from  highest  down- 
wards; with  five  trumps,  echo  with 
penultimate  and  lead  lowest  except  with 
ace,  that  card  being  led  irrespective  of 
number  after  a  call.— "Cavendish"  [L. 
A.],  "Whist Developments,"  1891. 

Forced  Discard. — A  discard 
from  your  best  protected  suit  be- 
cause the  adversaries  have  shown 
great  strength  in  trumps. 

Forced  Lead. — A  lead  which  is 
undesirable,  but  which  is  forced 
upon  the  player  as  the  lesser  evil, 
owing  to  the  condition  of  his  hand. 
Forced  leads  are  original  leads 
made  from  suits  of  three  or  less, 
because  you  have  nothing  better. 
Your  only  long  suit  may  consist  of 
four  cards  all  below  the  nine,  or  of 
four  small  trumps.  In  such  case  it 
is  better  to  lead  from  a  short  suit, 
in  the  hope  that  it  may  strengthen 
partner's  hand. 

Players  who  play  what  is  called 
the  short-suit  game,  do  not  regard 
a  lead  from  three  cards  or  less  as 
forced,  but  give  it  the  preference, 
unless  they  have  overwhelming 
reasons  for  trying  to  establish  and 
bring  in  a  long  suit.  (See,  "Long- 
Suit  Game,"  and  "Short-Suit 
Game.") 

The  original  lead  from  a  suit  of  three 
or  less  is  regarded  by  long-suit  players  as 
forced.—  Vol.  W.  Starnes  [S.  O.]. 

If  you  can  place  all  the  cards  from  the 
one  led  to  the  ten  inclusive,  the  lead  is 
forced.  If  you  can  place  all  the  cards 
from  the  one  led  to  the  nine  inclusive, 
and  can  also  locate  the  ace,  the  lead  is 


forced.  If  you  can  place  all  the  cards  but 
one,  from  the  one  led  to  the  ten  inclusive, 
and  can  also  locate  the  queen  and  jack, 
the  lead  is  forced. — Dr.  Bond  Stow  \L 
A.]. 

You  are  sometimes  forced  to  open  a 
numerically  weak  suit;  that  is,  a  suit  of 
less  than  four  cards.  *  *  You  may  get  in 
the  lead  after  a  round  or  two,  and  the 
character  of  your  hand  may  force  you  to 
open  a  three-card  suit.  When  you  are 
forced  to  do  this,  and  your  three  cards  are 
in  sequence,  open  with  the  highest,  no 
matter  what  the  cards  are.— C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  [L.  A.},  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

It  will  sometimes  happen  that  the  only 
four-card  suit  in  the  leader's  hand  will  be 
trumps,  which  it  is  not  desirable  to  lead. 
In  such  cases,  if  there  is  no  high-card 
combination  in  any  of  the  short  suits,  it 
is  usual  to  lead  the  highest  card,  unless  it 
is  an  ace  or  king.  Many  good  players 
will  not  lead  the  queen  from  a  three-card 
suit,  unless  it  is  accompanied  by  the  jack. 
All  such  leads  are  called  forced,  and  are 
intended  to  assist  the  partner,  by  playing 
cards  which  may  strengthen  him,  al- 
though of  no  use  to  the  leader. — R.  F. 
Foster  \S.  O.],  "Complete  Hoyle,"  1897. 

When  your  only  long  suit  is  very  weak, 
you  may  resort  to  a  three-card-suit  lead. 
The  highest  is  usually  lead  from  three, 
except  as  shown  below : 

FROM        LEAD 

A  K  Q,         K 

A  K  J,          K 

A  K  and  I  low,   K 

A  Q  J,         A 

A  Q  and  i  low,  lowest 

A  and  2  low, 

K  Q  J, 

K  Q  and  i  low, 

K  J  10 

K  and  2  low, 

Q  J  io, 

Q  and  2  low, 
From  any  other  three  cards,  lead  the 
highest.  If  you  know  the  suit  is  your 
partner's,  by  his  discard  of  it  on  oppo- 
nents' lead  of  trumps,  or  their  lead  of 
other  suits,  lead  the  highest  of  any  three. 
— Fisher  A  mes  [L.  A .] . 

Forming  the  Table.— Getting 
the  requisite  number  of  players  to- 
gether at  a  table  to  play  whist,  es- 
pecially in  regular  clubs;  if  more 
than  the  required  number  be  pres- 
ent, the  selection  of  four  players  in 
a  manner  fair  to  all  concerned. 

If  there  are  more  than  four  candidates, 
the  players  are  selected  by  cutting,  those 


K 
K 
io 

lowest 
Q 

lowest 


FOSTER,  R.  F. 


183 


FOSTER,  R.  F. 


first  in  the  room  having  the  preference. 
The  four  who  cut  the  lowest  cards  play 
first,  and  again  cut  to  decide  on  partners; 
the  two  lowest  play  against  the  two 
highest;  the  lowest  is  the  dealer,  who  has 
choice  of  cards  and  seats,  and  having 
once  made  his  selection  must  abide  by  it. 

When  there  are  more  than  six  candi- 
dates, those  who  cut  the  two  next  lowest 
cards  belong  to  the  table,  which  is  com- 
plete with  six  players;  on  the  retirement 
of  one  of  these  six  players  the  candidate 
who  cut  the  next  lowest  card  has  a  prior 
right  to  any  after-comer  to  enter  the 
table.  Laws  of  Whist  (English  Code), 
Sections  16  and  17. 

Those  first  in  the  room  have  the  prefer- 
ence. If,  by  reason  of  two  or  more  arriv- 
ing at  the  same  time,  more  than  four 
assemble,  the  preference  among  the  last 
comers  is  determined  by  cutting,  a  lower 
cut  giving  the  preference  over  all  cutting 
higher.  A  complete  table  consists  of  six; 
the  four  having  the  preference  play. 
Partners  are  determined  by  cutting;  the 
highest  two  play  against  the  lowest  two: 
the  lowest  deals,  and  has  the  choice  of 
seats  and  cards. 

If  two  players  cut  intermediate  cards 
of  equal  value,  they  cut  again;  the  lower 
of  the  new  cut  plays  with  the  original 
lowest. 

If  three  players  cut  cards  of  equal 
value,  they  cut  again.  If  the  fourth  has 
cut  the  highest  card,  the  lowest  two  of  the 
new  cut  are  partners,  and  the  lowest 
deals.  If  the  fourth  has  cut  the  lowest 
card,  he  deals,  and  the  highest  two  of  the 
new  cut  are  partners. 

At  the  end  of  a  game,  if  there  are  more 
than  four  belonging  to  the  table,  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  the  players  retire  to 
admit  those  awaiting  their  turn  to  play. 
In  determining  which  players  remain  in, 
those  who  have  played  a  less  number  of 
consecutive  games  have  the  preference 
over  all  who  have  played  a  greater  num- 
ber. Between  two  or  more  who  have 
played  an  equal  number,  the  preference 
is  determined  by  cutting,  a  lower  cut  giv- 
ing the  preference  over  all  cutting  higher. 

To  entitle  one  to  enter  a  table,  he  must 
declare  his  intention  to  do  so  before  any 
one  of  the  players  has  cut  for  the  purpose 
of  commencing  a  new  game  or  of  cutting 
out. — Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code), 
Sections  g-6. 

Foster,  R.  F. — A  noted  whist  au- 
thor, teacher,  and  expert  player; 
the  chief  opponent  in  this  country 
of  "  Cavendish"  and  the  American 
leads;  an  aggressive  advocate  of  the 
old  leads  and  the  so-called  short- 
suit  game.  He  was  born  in  Edin- 


burgh, Scotland,  May  31,  1853,  and 
came  to  America  in  1872.  He  was 
educated  for  the  profession  of  archi- 
tect and  civil  engineer  (like  Dr. 
Pole,  another  leading  whist  author- 
ity), but  in  1888  began  to  devote  all 
his  time  to  the  teaching  of  whist, 
in  response  to  the  many  demands 
for  his  services.  In  1889  his  "  Whist 
Manual"  was  published,  following 
closely  upon  his  invention  of  the 
" self-playing  whist  cards"  (q.  v.). 
In  the  "Manual"  he  tells  us  his 
object  was  simply  to  arrange  the 
matter  common  to  all  books  on 
whist  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render 
it  easy  for  the  student.  "The 
recognized  authorities  were  pretty 
closely  followed,  and  little  or  no 
discussion  was  entered  into  as  to 
the  merits  of  their  various  teach- 
ings." On  the  other  hand,  how- 
ever, systematic  exercises  with  the 
cards  were  given  for  the  first  time; 
the  play  of  the  second  hand  was 
simplified,  and  his  discovery  of  the 
"eleven  rule"  {q.  v. )  announced. 
A  second  series  of  self-playing  cards 
and  a  ' '  Pocket  Guide  to  Modern 
Whist"  followed,  and  in  1894  "  Du- 
plicate Whist  and  Whist  Strategy" 
was  published.  In  the  latter  the 
author  made  a  wide  departure  from 
the  course  pursued  by  him  in  the 
"Manual."  He  announced  his 
rejection  of  "the  invariability  of 
the  lead  from  the  longest  suit, 
whatever  the  score;  the  reckless 
giving  of  information,  whatever 
the  hand;  the  useless  and  confusing 
system  of  leads,  erroneously  called 
American;  the  assumption  that  the 
discard  is  always  directive;  the 
total  disregard  of  finesse  and  ten- 
ace;  and  the  refusal  to  acknowledge 
the  merits  of  the  short-suit  game." 
In  1895  Mr.  Foster  published  a 
highly  original  work,  entitled 
"  Whist  Tactics,"  in  which  he  em- 
bodied the  results  of  a  notable  whist 
match  by  correspondence  (q.  v.) 


FOSTER,  R.  F. 


184 


FOURCHETTE 


which  had  been  previously  insti- 
tuted by  him.  The  112  hands 
played  in  that  contest  were  taken 
by  him  and  analyzed,  with  a  view 
"to  ascertaining,  not  what  should 
be  done,  so  much  as  what  is  done 
by  the  best  players,  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions. ' '  The  results 
were  both  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive. In  his  latest  work,  "  Foster's 
Complete  Hoyle"  (1897),  which 
will  probably  remain  his  chef- 
d'oeuvre,  Mr.  Foster  has  given  a 
brief  statement  of  the  methods 
adopted  by  all  the  various  schools 
of  modern  whist-players,  and  has 
added  to  the  description  of  the 
standard  game  that  of  some  twenty 
varieties  of  whist,  such  as  "bridge," 
"boston,"  "cayenne,"  and  "  solo 
•whist."  In  the  series  of  sixteen 
books  which  he  began  preparing 
for  Brentano's  Pocket  Library  in 
1897,  there  is  no  work  on  whist, 
but  all  the  other  important  card 
and  table  games  are  dealt  with. 

Mr.  Foster  resides  in  New  York, 
and  is  the  whist  editor  of  the  New 
York  Sun.  As  such  his  influence 
is  widely  felt  in  the  whist  world, 
perhaps  even  more  so  than  through 
his  books.  He  is  also  a  frequent 
contributor  to  other  publications, 
his  recent  series  of  articles  (1896- 
'97)  in  the  Monthly  Illustrator,  and 
his  weekly  articles  in  the  Rochester 
(N.  Y.)  Post-Express,  containing 
much  valuable  and  interesting  mat- 
ter, although  tinctured  with  his 
likes  and  dislikes,  which  are  very 
strong.  His  position  on  whist  in 
general  is  thus  denned  for  us  by 
one  who  speaks  for  him  with  au- 
thority: "Mr.  Foster  is  opposed  to 
all  arbitrary  conventions,  which 
merely  complicate  an  already  very 
difficult  game.  Years  of  patient 
study  and  analysis  have  failed  to 
show  the  slightest  advantage  in 
American  leads,  or  any  of  the 
modern  conventions.  That  good 


winning  whist  can  be  played  with- 
out any  such  adventitious  aids  was 
proved  by  the  Manhattan  team, 
who  never  lost  a  match,  although 
they  played  all  comers  during  the 
winter  of  iS95-'96.  Foster  was 
captain  of  this  team,  and  played 
in  every  game.  They  led  support- 
ing cards  from  short  suits  when 
they  had  hands  of  only  moderate 
strength,  finessed  freely,  and  paid 
great  attention  to  tenace  positions. 
In  the  New  York  Sun  of  February 
23,  1896,  it  was  shown  that  in  all 
the  championship  matches  played 
in  this  country,  the  player  who 
opened  long  suits  only  took  four 
tricks  in  them,  to  five  won  by  their 
adversaries,  without  trumping. 
Foster  claims  that  the  only  faculty 
used  by  modern  players  is  atten- 
tion; the  reasoning  powers  are 
never  called  into  play."  He  pre- 
fers to  call  his  own  style  of  play  the 
"Common-Sense  Game"  (q.  z/). 

Mr.  R.  F.  Foster  is  a  native  of  Edin- 
burgh, but  he  settled  in  and  learnt  his 
play  at  New  York.  When  the  firm  of 
Mudie  &  Sons,  of  15  Coventry  street, 
passed  through  the  press,  in  1890,  his 

Whist  Manual,"  there  appeared  on  the 
title-page  the  notification  that  it  was 
written  "  by  R.  F.  Foster,  New  York." — 
W.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

Mr.  Foster's  fame  chiefly  rests  on  his 
invention  of  the  eleven  rule,  and  his  op- 
position to  American  leads  and  long 
suits.  Neither  ridicule  nor  abuse  has  been 
able  to  move  him  from  his  position;  and, 
as  pointed  out  by  Bond  Stow,  the  well- 
known  analyst,  his  arguments  remain 
unanswered  to-day.  Both  in  theory  and 
practice,  his  philosophy  of  whist  has 
proved  to  be  the  best.— kochester  (N.  Y.) 
Post-Express,  October  10, 1896. 

Fourchcttc. — Two  cards  of  a 
suit,  one  of  which  is  next  higher 
and  one  next  lower  in  value  to  the 
card  led;  as,  jack  and  nine  are  a 
fourchette  when  the  ten  is  lead. 

The  fourchette  is  one  of  the  most 
common  defenses  of  the  second  hand. 
It  consists  in  playing  the  higher  card 
when  holding  the  one  immediately 


FOUR  SIGNAL 


185 


FOUR  SIGNAL 


above  and  below  the  one  led.  Its  most 
frequent  use  is  in  covering  strengthen- 
ing cards.—/?,  f.  Foster  [S.  O.] ,  "  Whist 
Tactics." 

Four  Signal. — A  signal  by  which 
the  player  shows  the  possession  of 
four  trumps,  but  does  not  ask  to 
have  them  led,  his  hand  not  being 
strong  enough  to  warrant  this.  It 
is  made  in  a  plain  suit  led  origi- 
nally by  the  adversary,  and  is 
played  with  three  small  cards  in 
the  following  order:  The  second 
best  first;  the  highest  (not  above  an 
eight),  next,  and  the  lowest  last.  It 
may  also  be  made  on  partner's  lead 
in  any  suit  except  his  long  suit,  in 
which  it  is  the  duty  of  the  third 
hand  to  unblock.  It  may  be  turned 
into  a  trump  signal  on  the  second 
round,  should  it  be  deemed  wise  by 
that  time  to  ask  to  have  trumps  led. 
The  four  signal  is  objected  to  by 
many  because  it  conflicts  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  with  the  plain-suit  echo. 
"Cavendish"  does  not  approve  of 
it,  terming  it  a  fad,  and  Foster  also 
is  on  record  against  it. 

The  four  signal  seems  to  have 
had  several  independent  births, 
being  one  of  those  cases  where  the 
same  idea  has  suggested  itself  to 
several  minds.  Milton  C.  Work, 
in  his  "  Whist  of  To-day  "  (1896), 
says:  "The  four  signal  is  a  device 
first  suggested  by  the  writer  in 
1880,  and  since  that  time  used  in 
every  match  in  which  he  has 
played."  But  R.  A.  Gurley,  of 
Denver,  Col.,  gives  a  circumstan- 
tial account,  in  Boutcher's  "Whist 
Sketches"  (1892),  of  his  first  sug- 
gesting the  play  in  1876.  Mr.  Gur- 
ley says: 

"The  four-trump  signal  and  its 
history,  in  so  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
is  in  brief:  During  1876  there  was 
considerable  rivalry  manifested 
among  a  few  of  us  players  in  this 
city  [Denver].  Particularly  was 
this  true  of  E).  P.  Jacobson  and 


self,  on  one  side,  and  my  brother 
(C.  D.  Gurley)  and  John  L.  Jerome, 
on  the  other.  We  had  played  a 
sort  of  neck-and-neck  race  for  over 
two  years,  neither  deriving  much 
vantage  ground.  We  were  playing 
the  seven-point  game.  On  the 
evening  of  the  Hayes-Tilden  elec- 
tion, in  November,  1876,  Jacobson 
and  myself  were  to  meet  my  brother 
and  Jerome  at  Jerome's  house,  to 
have  a  sitting.  On  the  way  up  I 
asked  Jacobson  if  it  did  not  often 
happen  that  he  held  four  trumps, 
and  would  greatly  desire  to  play 
out  a  trump  if  he  could  feel  certain 
that  his  partner  had  four,  or  would 
be  able  to  echo  if  only  three  strong 
ones— ace,  king,  and  small,  or  king, 
queen,  jack.  He  answered  that  was 
often  the  case,  and  cited  many  in- 
stances where  the  odd  trick  was 
lost  by  adversaries  trumping  in  on 
our  long  and  strong  suit;  whereas, 
if  he  knew  I  held  four  trumps,  he 
would  lead  them  earlier.  I  then 
asked  him  how  it  would  do  to  make 
the  four- trump  signal  in  the  follow- 
ing manner,  viz. :  To  play,  in  plain 
suits  led  by  others,  or  partner  first, 
next  to  the  lowest,  then  next 
higher,  and  afterwards  the  lowest. 
We  agreed  on  this  method.  In 
1883,  being  a  guest  at  the  old  Buf- 
falo (N.  Y.)  Club,  I  introduced  it 
there,  and  I  understand  that  some 
of  their  strongest  players  adopted 
it.  It  is  possible  that  the  signal 
was  played  in  the  East  befor^  we 
adopted  it,  but  I  had  never  heard 
of  it,  and  in  all  my  whist  life,  at 
other  places,  I  never  heard  of  it 
until  Trist  called  my  attention  to 
an  article  in  the  London  Field,  in 
February,  1889,  when  I  was  in  New 
Orleans." 

Mr.  Work,  when  his  attention 
was  called  to  Mr.  Gurley's  state- 
ment, did  not  question  it  in  any 
way,  but  simply  said  it  was  a  case 
where  each  undoubtedly  had  inde- 


FOUR  SIGNAL 


1 86       FOURTEEN  RULE,  THE 


pendently  arrived  at  the  same  con- 
clusions. He  had  never  heard  of 
any  employment  of  the  signal  be- 
fore he  suggested  and  introduced  it 
in  the  play  of  the  Hamilton  team. 
Whist  of  September,  1892,  stated 
that  the  Hamilton  team  were  at 
that  time  making  use  of  the  four 
signal,  "  which  they  claim  to  have 
invented. ' ' 

The  four  signal  is  sometimes  used  in 
the  trump  suit  as  a  sub-echo,  to  show 
three  trumps  exactly.  —  R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.]. 

It  is  not  often  that  it  is  completed  in 
time  to  be  of  use,  but  is  frequently  turned 
to  good  account  by  changing  it  into  a  call 
on  the  second  round.  Some  players  are 
very  confident  that  it  is  a  powerful  aid  to 
strategy,  while  others  reject  it  as  useless. 
I  do  not  approve  of  it,  because  it  conflicts 
with  the  much  more  useful  plain-suit 
echo,  and  because  it  often  misleads  your 
partner  to  believe  you  can  ruff.  *  *  * 
Probably  the  four  signal  will  always  be 
part  of  the  game,  and  every  player  should 
know  it  when  he  sees  it.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S. 
O.],"  Whist  Strategy,"  2894. 

The  four  signal  is  a  device  first  sug- 
gested by  the  writer  in  1880,  and  since 
that  time  used  in  every  match  in  which 
he  has  played.  He  has  found  it  to  be  a 
decided  trick-winner,  even  against  the 
strongest  opponents.  *  *  *  One  of  the 
advantages  of  the  play  is  that  it  can,  on 
the  second  trick,  be  turned  into  either  a 
signal  or  echo,  as  the  exigencies  of  the 
case  may  demand — the  former,  should 
the  situation  change  so  as  to  render  a 
trump  lead  advantageous;  the  latter, 
should  the  partner  lead  or  call  for  trumps 
prior  to  that  time. — Milton  C.  Work  \L. 
A.  ff.},  "Whist of  To-day." 

Grave  objections  may  be  urged  against 
the  four  signal.  The  concealment  of  a 
small  card  from  partner  during  two 
rounds  of  a  suit  may  cause  him  to  mis- 
place all  the  remaining  cards  of  it,  and 
may  result  in  his  playing  the  remainder 
of  the  hand  on  erroneous  assumptions, 
until  he  is  set  right  by  the  lead  of  a  third 
round  of  his  suit,  or  by  some  other  means, 
such  as  a  discard.  The  more  observant 
and  skillful  the  partner,  the  more  likely 
is  he  to  be  misled  by  such  play,  or,  at 
least,  to  be  put  to  guessing  by  it.  A  more 
formidable  objection,  and  one  more  read- 
ily comprehended,  is  probably  to  be  found 
In  the  fact  that  when  the  four  signal  is 
developed,  later  in  the  game,  it  tells  the 
ad\fersaries  just  what  it  is  to  their  advan- 
tage to  know,  viz.,  that  the  possessor  of 
four  trumps  is  not  strong  enough  to  lead 


them,  unless  he  finds  some  assistance 
from  his  partner.  The  opponents,  acting 
on  this  information,  will  shape  their 
course  accordingly,  by  endeavoring  to 
force  the  four  signaler,  and  then  to  draw 
his  residual  teeth,  or  to  weaken  him  in 
other  ways  patent  to  whist-players.  It 
cannot,  however,  be  denied  that  the  four- 
signal  fad  has  the  approval  of  a  number 
of  distinguished  players.  Therefore  it 
must  not  be  hastily  disparaged;  perhaps 
the  Scotch  verdict  of  not  proven  may 
meet  the  case  as  it  at  present  stands. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.A.],  Scribner's Magazine, 
July,  1897. 

Four-Spot. — A  low  card,  the 
eleventh  in  rank  in  the  pack.  It 
is  led  only  as  a  fourth  best  in  the 
American  leads,  or  as  a  penultimate 
or  antepenultimate  in  the  old  leads. 
In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  system, 
the  lead  of  five,  four,  three,  or  two 
indicates  the  long-suit  game  (which 
is  occasionally  played  by  short- 
suiters),  with  probably  a  good  suit 
and  certainly  trump  strength;  it  is 
a  command  to  partner  to  lead 
trumps,  if  he  gets  in  early. 

Fourteen  Rul«,  The. — P.  J.  Tor- 
mey,  of  San  Francisco,  has  elabo- 
rated Foster's  eleven  rule  into  a 
formula  which  makes  it  much 
easier  of  explanation  to  beginners, 
because  the  reasoning  is  so  appar- 
ent. 

The  ace  being  counted  high  in 
whist,  makes  the  denominations 
of  the  cards  run  from  two  to 
fourteen.  When  a  player  leads 
fourth  best  he  remains  with  three 
higher  cards  in  his  hand,  and  add- 
ing to  the  denomination  and  sub- 
tracting the  sum  from  fourteen, 
gives  the  number  of  high  cards  orig- 
inally held  by  the  other  players. 
For  example:  A  player  leads  an 
eight;  he  holds  three  higher  cards, 
which  makes  the  sum  eleven,  and 
this  taken  from  fourteen  gives 
three,  which  is  the  number  of  high 
cards  in  the  suit  held  by  the  other 
players. 


FOURTH-BEST  LEAD          187          FOURTH-BEST  LEAD 


Fourth- Best  Lead.— The  lead  of 

the  fourth-best  card  in  a  suit,  count- 
ing from  the  highest  held.  This 
lead  is  an  important  factor  in  the 
system  known  as  American  leads 
(q.  v.),  and  was  almost  simultane- 
ously suggested  by  N.  B.  Trist  and 
"  Cavendish,"  their  letters  crossing 
each  other  on  the  ocean.  Prior  to 
this,  leads  somewhat  akin  to  the 
fourth  best  had  been  introduced — 
the  "penultimate"  lead  from  five 
by  "  Cavendish,"  and  the  "ante- 
penultimate" from  six  by  A.  W. 
Drayson.  These  were  indicated 
and  counted  from  the  bottom  of  the 
suit;  but  the  fourth  best  was  an  im- 
provement, inasmuch  as  it  pro- 
vided a  broad  general  rule,  em- 
bracing leads  from  all  sizes  of  suits, 
from  four  cards  up,  which  did  not 
contain  a  high-card  combination  to 
lead  from.  The  counting  was  done 
from  the  top  instead  of  from  the 
bottom,  and  always  showed,  not 
only  number,  but  the  possession  of 
exactly  three  cards  higher  than  the 
one  led.  The  idea  was  nearly 
stumbled  upon  in  England  as  early 
as  1875,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  extract  from  the  West- 
minster Papers  of  January,  1875, 
in  which  occurs  the  first  mention 
of  counting  from  the  top:  "We 
have  the  opinion,  never  published, 
of  a  personal  friend,  that  while  you 
ought  to  lead  the  lowest  card  in 
four-suits  (i.  e.,  in  suits  of  four), 
you  should  lead  the  third  from  the 
top  in  five-suits." 

The  first  maxim  of  the  American 
leads  says:  "  When  you  open  a  suit 
with  a  low  card,  lead  your  fourth 
best."  The  second  maxim  is  to 
this  effect:  "On  quitting  thehead  of 
your  suit,  lead  your  original  fourth 
best."  Trist  and  "Cavendish" 
were  both  agreed  upon  this  until 
1892,  when  "Cavendish's"  doubts 
were  aroused  by  a  communication 
from  W.  S.  Fenollosa,  published  in 


the  Field  of  August  13.  Mr. 
Fenollosa  pointed  out  that  the 
principal  advantage  obtained  by  the 
selection  of  a  small  card  is  that  it 
enables  partner  to  count  number. 
He  therefore  proposed  that  on 
leading  a  high  card,  and  then  a  low 
one  of  the  same  suit,  the  selection 
should  be  the  fourth  best  of  the 
small  cards  remaining  in  hand. 
The  lead  of  the  original  fourth  best, 
it  was  pointed  out,  gave  the  second 
hand  an  opportunity  of  a  sure 
finesse,  without  any  corresponding 
advantage  to  the  leader  or  his  part- 
ner; but  the  lead  of  the  fourth  best 
remaining  in  hand,  except  in  very 
rare  cases,  did  not  give  the  second 
hand  this  advantage.  "Cavendish," 
in  Whist  for  September,  1892,  says 
he  thinks  Mr.  Fenollosa's  proposed 
play  "is  sound  in  principle,"  al- 
though he  has  not  yet  had  an  op- 
portunity of  testing  it  in  actual 
play,  and  he  also  wished  to  consult 
with  Mr.  Trist  before  giving  it  his 
adherence.  This  he  subsequently 
did,  but  Mr.  Trist  preferred  the 
lead  as  first  formulated.  (See, 
"American  Leads,  History  of.") 

The  fourth  best  is  led  from  all  suits  of 
four  or  more  that  do  not  contain  one  of 
the  five  high-card  leads.— C.  E.  Coffin 
[L.  A.],  "Gist  of  Whist." 

The  lead  of  the  fourth  best  stands  upon 
unoccupied  ground,  and  pushes  nothing 
else  or  better  out  of  the  way. — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter [S.  O.],  Whist,  June,  1894. 

A  good  deal  of  valuable  space  is  wasted 
on  the  question  of  leading  fourth  or  fifth 
best  after  ace,  when  holding  ace  and  four 
small.  The  common-sense  game  has  set- 
tled that  question  long  ago  by  leading  the 
ace  when  a  player  is  "  running,"  and  the 
small  card,  not  the  fourth  best,  when  he 
is  playing  the  invitation  game. — R.  f. 
Foster  [S.  O.},  New  York  Sun,  July  //,  1807, 

When  there  is  no  high-card  combina- 
tion in  the  suit  selected  for  the  lead,  it  is 
usual  to  lead  the  penultimate  of  five,  or 
the  antepenultimate  of  six,  now  com- 
monly known  as  the  fourth  best,  counting 
from  the  top  of  the  suit.  This  is  of  no 
advantage  to  the  leader,  but  is  considered 
by  most  good  players  as  of  great  use  to 
his  partner,  because  it  shows  him  just 


FOURTH-BEST  LEAD 


1 88 


FOURTH  HAND 


how  far  from  established  his  good  suit  is. 
-Jf.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Tactics," 
1896. 

Then  came  the  principle  of  the  fourth 
best  from  Mr.  Nicholas  Browse  Trist,  of 
New  Orleans.  *  *  *  Mr.  Trist  modestly 
disclaims  having  made  any  discovery 
here.  He  persists  in  handing  over  to  me 
the  credit,  such  as  it  may  be,  of  starting 
the  notion  of  leading  any  other  than  the 
lowest  card  when  opening  a  strong  suit 
with  a  low  one.  I  persist  in  handing  over 
to  him  the  credit  of  having  erected  into  a 
principle  what  was  previously  a  rule  of 
play. — "Cavendish"  [L.A.],  Whist, Janu- 
ary, 1894. 

The  first  edition  of  this  book  was  pub- 
lished in  1879.  Up  to  that  date  it  had 
been  the  practice  to  lead  the  penultimate 
card  from  any  suit  consisting  of  five  or 
more.  *  *  *  Having  during  many  years 
adopted  a  different  lead,  I  called  atten- 
tion, in  the  first  edition  of  this  book,  to 
the  system  I  had  practiced,  which  was  to 
lead  the  penultimate  with  five  in  a  suit. 
the  antepenultimate  with  six.  I  devoted 
four  pages  of  the  book  to  demonstrating 
the  advantages  of  this  lead,  which  may 
be  called  the  penultimate  and  antepenul- 
timate, or  the  fourth-best  card,  according 
to  taste.— A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The 
Art  of  Practical  Whist"  (Appendix  to  the 
fo  u  rth  edition ) . 

The  eight,  seven,  six,  five,  four,  three, 
two  are  led,  as  original  leads,  only  as 
fourth-best  cards,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
high  card  being  led,  represent  the  best 
suit  in  hand.  The  leader  has  exactly 
three  cards  in  the  suit  higher  in  rank 
than  the  card  led,  and  an  inference  is  that 
these  three  cards  are  not  high  cards  iu 
sequence.  When  a  low  card  (plain  suit) 
is  led  originally,  the  leader  cannot  hold 
of  the  suit  led  ace  and  king;  king  and 
queen;  queen,  knave,  and  ten;  or  king, 
knave,  ten;  the  ace  is  also  denied  if  the 
fall  shows  that  the  leader  has  any  card  of 
the  suit  lower  than  the  card  led,  as  with 
more  than  four  the  ace  is  usually  led. — 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.\,  "Modern  Scien- 
tific Whist." 

Should  the  original  fourth  best,  or 
fourth  best  of  those  remaining  in  the 
hand,  be  led  after  an  original  lead  of  an 
ace,  from  ace  and  four  or  more  small 
ones  ?  Of  course,  if  the  leader  is  one  who 
does  not  lead  ace  originally,  cadit  quastip. 
If>he  lead  ace,  and  continues  the  suit, 
there  is  a  division  of  opinion  as  to  the 
best  card  with  which  to  proceed.  From 
a  careTtl  analysis,  made  by  the  present 
writer,  it  seems  to  be  a  case  of  six  of  one 
and  half  a  dozen  of  the  other,  or  nearly 
so,  with  a  very  slight  advantage  (as  it  ap- 
pears to  him)  to  the  lead  of  the  fourth 
best  remaining  in  the  baud.  The  differ- 


ence, however,  if  any,  is  so  trifling,  and  its 
determination  depends  upon  so  many 
factors,  that  no  one  can  be  said  to  be 
wrong  in  adopting  either  method. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A7[,  Scribner's  Maga- 
zine, July,  1807. 

The  question  next  arises,  Which  card 
of  the  strong  suit  should  be  led  original- 
ly? The  key  to  this  problem  is  furnished 
by  the  remark  that  it  conduces  to  the  ulti- 
mate establishment  of  a  suit  to  keep  the 
high  or  commanding  cards  of  it  in  the 
hand  that  has  numerical  strength.  *  *  * 
From  four  cards,  then,  you  lead  your 
lowest,  or  fourth  best.  From  more  than 
four  cards  you  still  lead  your  fourth  best, 
as  a  card  of  protection  and  information. 
*  *  *  There  are  two  exceptions  to  the 
rule  of  originally  leading  the  fourth  best 
of  a  strong  suit:  (i)  When  you  lead  from 
ace,  with  four  or  more  small  ones,  in  plain 
suits.  In  this  case  it  is  considered  best  to 
begin  with  the  ace,  lest  the  suit  should  be 
trumped  on  the  second  round.  (2)  When 
your  suit  contains  certain  combinations 
of  high  cards  it  is  advisable  to  lead  a  high 
card,  in  order  to  make  sure  of  preventing 
the  adversary  from  winning  the  first 
trick  with  a  very  low  card. — "Cavendish  " 
[L.  A.],  "Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist." 

Fourth  Hand. — The  player  to  the 
right  of  the  leader;  the  last  one  to 
play  to  a  round  or  trick.  On  the 
opening  round  of  a  hand,  the  dealer 
is  the  fourth  hand,  and  is  desig- 
nated as  Z  in  published  schedules 
of  play,  being  partner  with  Y 
against  A-B.  In  duplicate  whist, 
he  is  designated  as  west. 

The  old  general  rule  to  guide  a 
player  in  this  position  is  to  take  the 
trick,  if  not  already  his  partner's, 
and  to  take  it  as  cheaply  as  pos- 
sible; but  there  are  numerous  ex- 
ceptions to  this  in  modern  scientific 
play;  as,  for  instance,  when  it  is 
advisable  to  place  the  lead,  or  not 
to  take  it;  to  avoid  blocking  part- 
ner's suit,  or  to  retain  a  card  of  re- 
entry. The  fourth  hand  also  finds 
many  opportunities  to  play  false 
cards,  although  these  are  to  be  dep- 
recated, except  in  desperate  situ- 
ations; even  then  it  takes  an  expert 
to  use  them  effectively. 

Win  the  trick  and  endeavor,  if  possible, 
to  do  so  without  playing  a  false  card. 


FOURTH  HAND 


189 


FREAK  HANDS 


Like  all  things  that  are  difficult  at  first, 
you  will  find  it  becomes  comparatively 
easy  by  practice. — "Pembridge"  [Z.+0.]. 

Of  the  fourth  player  there  is  little  to  be 
said  here  except  that  it  is  his  business  to 
take  the  trick  if  he  can,  unless  it  is  al- 
ready his  partner's,  and  if  he  cannot  do 
so,  to  throw  away  his  lowest  card.— -James 
Clay[.L.O+]. 

Fourth-hand  player  is  not  merely  a 
dummy,  having  but  to  trump  a  trick  or 
win  it,  if  he  can  do  so  by  overplay.  He 
must  know  when  to  take  a  trick,  and 
when  not  to  do  so,  though  in  his  power. 
— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  />.].  "American 
IVhist  Illustrated." 

There  is  little  for  the  fourth  hand  to 
decide  upon,  except  between  his  play 
and  his  conscience.  If  he  believes  in  the 
open  game,  let  him  win  the  tricks  as 
cheaply  as  he  can.  If  his  object  is  to  de- 
ceive, he  will  have  abundant  opportu- 
nity.—/?. F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Tac- 
tics." 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  fourth  hand  to  win 
the  trick  if  he  can,  and  with  the  lowest 
available  card,  unless  this  trick  be  his 
partner's,  or  unless  he  wishes,  for  good 
reasons,  to  leave  or  place  the  lead  in  the 
hand  of  that  player  whose  trick  it  may 
happen  to  be.— A,  W.  Drayson  \L+A+], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist.'''' 

In  this  you  have  in  most  cases  little  to 
do  but  to  win  the  trick  as  cheaply  as  you 
can.  *  *  *  Cases  sometimes  arise  in  which 
it  is  advisable  to  win  a  trick  already  your 
partner's;  as,  for  examplCj  to  get  high 
obstructing  cards  out  of  his  way,  or  to 
enable  you  to  lead  up  to  a  weak  hand,  or 
otherwise  to  alter  the  position  of  the  lead. 
—  William  Pole  [L.  A  +]. 

The  play  of  fourth  hand  is  usually  com- 
paratively simple,  except  when  the  posi- 
tion of  the  cards  calls  for  some  special 
play;  as,  refusing  to  take  the  trick  against 
you,  so  as  to  place  the  lead  to  your  or 
partner's  advantage,  or  throwing  a  high 
card  to  get  rid  of  taking  a  subsequent 
trick  for  the  same  reason,  or  to  avoid 
blocking  partner's  suit. — Fisher  Ames  [L. 
A.]. 

The  fourth-hand  player  who  thinks  he 
must  take  every  trick  that  comes  to  him, 
simply  because  he  can  take  it,  has  much 
to  learn,  and  much  to  unlearn.  *  *  *  A 
great  game  is  sometimes  made  by  taking 
a  trick  his  partner  has  already  won,  or 
passing  the  opportunity  to  take  a  trick, 
although  in  his  power  to  do  so. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  \L.  A.].  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

(i)  Do  not  win  the  adverse  trick  •when, 
by  passing,  you  can  throw  the  lead  to 
your  own  or  partner's  advantage,  or  can 
hold  up  a  card  of  re-entry  that  may  be 


used  more  effectively  on  next  round.  (2) 
Win  the  trick  already  your  partner's, 
when  it  is  desirable  to  get  high  cards  out 
of  his  way,  or  when,  for  any  reason  it  is 
to  your  advantage  to  have  the  lead. — C. 
E.  Coffin  \L.  A.],  "Gist  of  Whist." 

The  general  rule  for  fourth-hand  play  is 
to  take  all  the  tricks  against  you  that  you 
can,  and  as  cheaply  as  possible.  It  is 
sometimes  an  advantage,  however,  not  to 
take  the  trick;  as,  when  it  is  desirable  to 
throw  the  lead  in  one  of  your  opponents* 
hands,  or  where  it  is  seen  to  be  possible 
to  take  two  tricks  in  place  of  one.  Such 
exceptional  cases,  however,  are  rare,  and 
it  requires  a  player  of  long  experience  to 
detect  them.  —  "Cavendish'''  [L.  A.}, 
"Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist." 

The  player,  fourth  in  hand,  may  be 
unable  to  win  a  trick  except  by  ruffing, 
and  ruffing  may  mean  giving  up  all 
chance  of  commandingthe  run  of  trumps 
and  bringing  in  a  long  suit;  in  that  case, 
he  would  pass  the  trick.  Or  it  may  hap- 
pen that  the  card  of  the  suit  with  which 
he  could  alone  take  the  trick  would  obvi- 
ously be  likely  to  serve  as  a  re-entering 
card,  after  trumps  were  exhausted;  in 
such  case,  if  the  chances  were  clearly  in 
favor  of  that  power  of  re-entry  being  ob- 
tainable in  no  other  way,  fourth  hand 
should  pass  the  trick.  *  *  *  In  all  such 
cases,  a  good  general  rule  to  bear  in  mind 
is  that  a  certain  trick  ought  not  to  be 
passed,  unless  there  is  a  probability  of 
making  two  by  so  doing. — R.  A .  Proctor 
[L.  O.].  "How  to  Play  Whist." 

A  case  in  which  the  fourth  hand  should 
not  take  the  trick  is  when  the  trumps 
are  established  in  one  adverse  hand, 
and  the  length  in  the  suit  led  declared 
by  the  other.  In  such  case,  if  the 
fourth  hand  has  the  master  card  of  the 
suit  led, and  smaller  ones,  he  should  refuse 
to  part  with  the  master  until  he  is  satis- 
fied that  all  the  cards  in  the  suit  are  ex- 
hausted in  the  hand  still  retaining  the 
trumps,  as  otherwise,  by  winning  the 
suit,  he  will  merely  clear  it  for  the  adver- 
sary. *  *  *  There  are  cases  in  which 
it  is  not  always  well  for  the  fourth  hand 
to  take  with  the  lowest  of  a  sequence. 
For  example,  holding  the  king,  queen, 
and  one  small,  and  the  play  of  one  of  the 
face  cards  being  necessary  to  win  the 
trick,  it  is  often  wise  to  take  with  the 
king,  as  the  play  of  a  false  card  may  in- 
duce the  original  leader  not  to  finesse  if 
the  suit  is  returned  by  his  partner. — 
Milton  C.  Work  [L.A.H.],  "Whist  of  To- 
day." 

Freak  Hands. — Hands  in  which 
unusual  or  highly  remarkable  com- 
binations of  cards  occur,  and  to 


"  FRENCH  BOSTON  " 


IQO 


GAMBIT  OPENING 


which  the  ordinary  rules  of  the 
game  cannot  well  be  applied.  (See, 
"Phenomenal  Hands.") 

"French  Boston." — This,  like 
"Russian  boston,"  is  simply  a  va- 
riety of  "boston."  Among  the  dif- 
ferences are  the  following:  Forty 
deals  constitute  a  game,  the  first 
thirty-two  being  "  singles,"  and  the 
last  eight  ' '  doubles. "  The  rank  of 
the  suits  is  permanent,  as  follows: 
hearts,  diamonds,  clubs,  and  spades. 
The  diamond  jack  always  ranks  as 
the  best  trump,  unless  diamonds 
are  turned  up,  when  the  jack  of 
hearts  becomes  the  best  trump,  and 
the  jack  of  diamonds  takes  his 
proper  place,  ranking  below  the 
queen.  A  player  may  take  a  part- 
ner, as  at  "solo  whist." 

French  Game,  The. — The  na- 
tional characteristics  of  the  various 
nations  are  reflected  in  their  whist. 
Thus,  French  whist  has  always 
been  considered  more  brilliant  and 
dashing  than  the  careful,  steady 
play  of  the  Briton.  Deschapelles 
was  the  great  exponent  and  ex- 
ample whose  play  largely  influ- 
enced that  of  his  countrymen. 

Inasmuch  as  whist  was  intro- 
duced into  France  from  England, 
the  game,  in  its  early  history,  was 
much  alike  in  the  two  countries, 
long  whist,  ten  points,  with  honors 
counting,  being  followed  by  short 
whist,  five  points,  with  honors 
counting.  Of  late  years,  however, 
French  players  have  taken  kindly 
to  the  American  idea  of  dispensing 
with  the  count  of  honors,  and 
above  everything  else  they  have 
cultivated  the  dummy  game — i.  e.t 
whist  with  an  exposed  hand — which 
they  call  "  mort"  (q.  V.).  Their 
fondness  for  this  style  of  game  has 
given  rise  to  the  criticism  of  "  Cav- 
endish" and  other  authorities,  who 
claim  that  whist,  properly  speak- 


ing, is  not  played  in  France,  as  they 
do  not  regard  dummy  as  whist. 

Nor  is  the  dashing  character  of  the 
French  game  so  hazardous  as  men  deem 
it  generally.  The  frank  lead  of  trumps  is 
just  as  often  security  as  rashness;  and 
particularly  in  this  case,  when  the  player, 
perceiving  that  his  own  share  in  the 
combat  must  be  that  of  a  subordinate,  at 
once  devotes  his  whole  strength  to  the 
support  of  his  stronger  partner.  In  this 
quick,  almost  instinctive,  appreciation 
of  the  part  assigned  to  him  by  fortune, 
the  French  player  is  vastly  superior  to 
the  English. — Blackwood  's  Magazine. 

"  French  Whist."— A  variety  of 

"Scotch  whist,"  differing  from  the 
latter  in  regard  to  the  ten,  whose 
capture  is  the  great  object  of  the 
game.  In  ' '  Scotch  whist, ' '  the  ten 
of  trumps  is  sought  after,  and 
counts  ten  for  those  taking  it;  in 
"  French  whist,"  it  is  the  ten  of  dia- 
monds, and  it  counts  ten  for  those 
winning  it,  whether  it  is  trump  or 
not. 

"French  whist,"  so  called,  is  a  variety  of 
"catch-the-ten,"  and  is  played  the  same 
as  English  whist,  with  the  following  ex- 
ceptions: (i)  The  game  is  forty  points. 

(2)  The  honors  count  for  those  who  win 
them,    not    for    those   who    hold   them. 

(3)  The  ten  of  diamonds  counts  ten  for 
those  who  win  it.    It  is  not  a  trump  un- 
less diamonds   are    trump. —  ''American 
ffoyle,"  1885. 

Fresh  Cards. — If  for  any  reason 
a  player  is  dissatisfied  with  the 
cards  which  are  being  used,  it  is 
customary  for  him  (at  the  clubs)  to 
call  for  two  new  packs,  at  his  own 
expense.  He  must  call  for  them 
before  the  pack  has  been  cut  for  the 
next  deal,  and  give  the  dealer  his 
choice  of  the  two  new  packs. 

Gambit  Opening. — The  lead  of 
a  supporting  card  from  a  weak  hand 
at  whist;  a  sacrifice  lead,  largely 
made  use  of  by  short-suit  players. 
The  idea  is  taken  from  the  gambit 
opening  at  chess,  where  a  player 
sacrifices  a  pawn  at  the  beginning 


GAMBLING 


191 


GAMBLING 


of  a  game,  and,  after  freeing  his 
hand,  plays  for  position  and  attack 
upon  the  exposed  lines  of  his  ad- 
versary. 

There  is  this  difference  between  the 
long-suit  and  the  short-suit  opening,  that 
in  the  former  the  original  leader  and  his 
partner  try  to  win  the  first  trick,  whereas 
in  the  latter  they  only  try  to  make  the 
winning  of  the  trick  as  expensive  as  pos- 
sible for  the  adversary.  This  is  the  gam- 
bit idea  in  its  integrity. — E.  C.  Howell  \S. 
ff.},  "Whist  Openings." 

This  chapter  [the  play  of  the  eldest 
hand,  in  Emery  Boardman's  "Winning 
Whist"]  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  re- 
cent contribution  to  whist  mathematics, 
as  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  from  Pole's 
own  figures  that  the  gambit  opening  is  a 
sound  original  lead  from  hands  of  ordi- 
nary or  le'ss  than  ordinary  strength. — D. 
R.  IV.,  in  IVhist,  August,  1897. 

The  original  lead  of  a  short  suit  may 
be  a  sacrifice.  It  is  the  gambit  opening. 
It  is  the  same  as  pawn  to  queen's  bishop 
fourth,  which  is  a  free  gift  of  a  pawn  that 
none  but  the  most  skillful  chess-players 
will  accept.  This  giving  the  adversary  an 
apparent  advantage  at  the  start,  the  more 
successfully  to  trip  him  up,  is  a  character- 
istic of  many  intellectual  games,  and 
whist  is  no  exception  to  the  rule. — /?.  f. 
foster  [S.  O.],  New  York  Sun,  March  22* 
1806. 

It  appears  that  the  distinctive  feature 
of  the  so-called  short-suit  game  is  in  the 
opening  lead,  the  afterplay  of  the  hand 
being  guided  entirely  by  the  fall  of  the 
cards.  Openings  in  other  scientific  games, 
such  as  chess,  are  known  by  the  names 
of  their  inventors — the  Evans  gambit,  the 
Petroff,  the  Philador,  the  Ruy  Ix>pez, 
the  Steiuitz,  the  Allgaier,  the  Cunning- 
ham, etc.  As  the  short-suit  opening  is 
distinctively  a  gambit,  and  was  originally 
suggested  by  Foster,  and  [has  been]  con- 
tended for  by  him  for  the  past  five  years, 
call  it  the  "  Foster  gambit."  This  would 
exactly  define  the  game,  restricting  it  to 
the  opening  lead,  recognizing  it  as  a  sac- 
rifice or  gambit,  and  placing  the  praise 
or  blame  that  the  future  may  have  in 
store  for  it  where  it  belongs,  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  father  of  short-suit 
whist.—  E.  B.  L.,  in  New  York  Sun,  July 
12,  1896. 

Gambling. — Broadly  speaking, 
gambling  means  to  play  for  money 
in  games  of  chance.  Some  people 
claim  that  playing  for  money  only 
becomes  gambling  when  more  is 


risked  than  one  can  well  afford  to 
lose.  According  to  this  standard, 
it  would  not  be  gambling  for  a 
Rothschild  to  risk  a  million  on  a 
rubber  of  whist,  or  for  an  Astor  to 
put  up  a  similar  amount  on  a  game 
of  poker.  Where  it  is  obviously 
so  hard  to  draw  a  proper  distinction, 
the  safest  rule  is  not  to  play  for 
money  at  all;  then  the  player  is  sure 
he  is  not  gambling. 

Although  modern  scientific  whist 
is  a  game  in  which  skill  plays  a 
more  important  part  than  chance, 
and  betting  on  the  result  of  play  is 
almost  unknown  in  America,  the 
old  style  of  whist,  and  particularly 
short  whist  as  still  played  in  Eng- 
land, has  always  been  a  game  in 
which  stakes  figured  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, especially  at  the  clubs.  At 
its  very  origin,  whist  fell  into  the 
hands  of  gamesters  and  sharpers, 
whose  tricks  were  subsequently 
exposed  by  Cotton,  Seymour,  and 
Hoyle,  although  these  played  for 
money  themselves,  and  stakes  con- 
tinued to  be  the  rule  of  the  game.  In 
fact,  after  whist  had  been  advanced 
to  a  state  of  respectability  and  taken 
up  by  fashionable  and  royal  circles, 
we  hear  marvelous  tales  of  reckless- 
ness in  connection  with  it.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  give  them 
in  detail  in  this  volume.  They 
form  part  of  the  history  of  gam- 
bling. Among  the  more  familiar 
examples  we  may  mention  a  few; 
as,  for  instance,  that  of  Lord 
Granville,  ambassador  to  France, 
who  delayed  a  journey  to  Paris  and 
played  whist  eighteen  hours,  while 
his  horses  were  kept  waiting  for 
him;  and  when  he  finally  tore  him- 
self away  he  was  poorer  by  from 
eight  to  ten  thousand  pounds.  Lord 
Sefton  was  one  of  a  set  at  Brooks' 
Coffee-House  that  played  hundred- 
guinea  points,  besides  bets,  as  a 
regular  amusement.  Henrv  Lord 
de  Ros  at  one  time  lost  a  rubber,  on 


GAMBLING 


192 


GAMBLING 


which  three  thousand  pounds  was 
staked,  by  miscounting  a  trump. 
The  accusation  of  cheating  made 
against  him  on  another  occasion, 
and  the  public  exposures  which 
followed,  were  said  to  have  given  a 
severe  check  to  gambling  in  Eng- 
land. It  was  well,  in  the  face  of 
cases  like  that  of  G.  H.  Drum- 
mond,  of  the  famous  Charing 
Cross  Banking  House,  who  lost 
^25,000  to  Beau  Brummel  at  one 
sitting,  as  well  as  his  connection 
with  the  firm,  who  forced  him  to 
retire.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland 
is  said  to  have  made  a  wager  of 
£20,000  on  a  single  hand  at  whist, 
in  which  he  held  three  aces,  four 
kings,  two  queens,  and  two  jacks, 
and  yet  did  not  take  a  single  trick, 
nor  did  his  partner  take  one.  The 
change  from  the  old  ten-point 
game  to  the  five-point  game  (or 
short  whist),  about  the  year  1810, 
is  said  to  have  originated  in  a  gam- 
bling incident.  Lord  Peterborough 
having  one  night  lost  heavily,  his 
friends  proposed  to  give  him  the 
revanche  at  five  points  instead  of 
ten,  in  order  to  afford  him  a  quick- 
er chance  of  recovering  his  losses. 
The  plan  was  found  so  lively  that 
those  who  played  whist  for  money 
took  the  new  style  of  game  up,  and 
long  whist  was  practically  a  thing 
of  the  past.  Betting  at  whist  was 
also  carried  to  excess  in  France 
and  elsewhere  on  the  continent. 
It  is  related  that  Field  Marshal 
Blucher  gambled  heavily  at  whist 
during  his  stay  in  Paris,  after  the 
victorious  entry  of  the  allies  in 
1814.  He  usually  lost  all  his  money 
and  all  that  his  servant,  who  waited 
in  the  ante-chamber,  could  supply. 
He  was  very  much  given  to  curs- 
ing his  luck  in  German.  In  a  mild 
form — "  just  to  lend  interest  to  the 
game" — playing  for  money  con- 
tinues to  be  a  feature  of  the  game 
at  English  and  other  clubs,  tcnday;  , 


and  one  of  the  chief  difficulties 
which  the  modern  scientific  game 
so  strongly  advocated  by  "Caven- 
dish" and  his  school,  encounters  in 
England  is  this  old  love  for  table- 
stakes,  which  is  found  wherever  the 
English  game,  with  honors,  is  the 
rule.  This  reminds  us  of  a  curious 
little  incident  which  may  be  found 
in  Chambers'  Journal  for  October, 
1882,  where  it  is  related  that  a  game 
of  whist  being  proposed  in  a  squat- 
ter's hut  in  New  Zealand  (other 
versions  locate  the  occurrence  in 
Australia),  the  stranger,  who  was 
the  guest  of  the  evening,  inquired, 
"What  points?"  The  ready  an- 
swer came:  "  The  usual  game,  of 
course— sheep-points,  and  a  bullock 
on  the  rubber!" 

At  the  same  time  it  is  curious  to 
note  that  even  the  advocates  or 
apologists  for  stakes  frown  upon 
what  they  call  gambling,  and  de- 
clare that  whist  (even  short  whist!) 
is  unsuited  to  that  form  of  amuse- 
ment. The  American  Whist  League 
took  a  correct  stand,  and  voiced  the 
sentiments  of  the  best  whist -play- 
ers in  this  country,  when  that  pow- 
erful organization,  at  its  very  first 
congress,  declared  against  all  play 
for  money,  and  took  the  ground 
that  whist  is  worth  playing  for  its 
own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
healthful  mental  training  and  rec- 
reation which  it  affords  when  right- 
ly played. 

At  this  writing  (1897)  another 
gambling  wave  seems  to  be  sweep- 
ing over  the  English  clubs,  espe- 
cially in  London,  where  the  whist 
tables  are  deserted  for  "  bridge" 
(q.  v.).  The  opponents  of  ^Cav- 
endish" are  trying  to  hold  his  in- 
novations responsible  for  this 
revolt,  as  if  freemen  could  not  play 
old-fashioned  whist,  or  any  kind 
they  wished,  in  spite  of  his  teach- 
ings. Rather  let  us  call  a  spade  a 
spade,  and  point  to  the  habits  en- 


GAMBLING 


193 


GAME 


gendered  by  table-stakes  as  respon- 
sible for  the  temporary  aberration. 
The  gambling  spirit  which,  in  1810, 
cut  the  old  game  in  two,  to  make 
money  circulate  faster,  has,  in 
1 896 -'97,  taken  up  "  bridge"  in  order 
to  still  further  accelerate  its  travels. 

Men  thoroughly  opposed  to  gambling 
have  held  whist  in  high  esteem,  as  the 
game  is  entirely  unsuited  for  gambling 
purposes. — A.  Trump,  Jr.  [L  O.j. 

The  members  of  the  club  respect  the 
unwritten  law  that  the  dignity  of  their 
game  permits  no  wager. — G.  W.  Pettes  [L. 
A.  P.]  (Deschapelles  Club  Rules),  "Ameri- 
can Whist  Illustrated." 

There  is  no  denying  that  the  inborn 
propensities  of  the  genus  homo  as  a  gam- 
bling animal  appeared  in  the  game  of 
whist,  as  well  as  in  many  other  gentle- 
manly amusements.  The  long  game  [of 
Hoyle]  was  found  too  slow  to  allow  the 
free  circulation  of  money,  and  it  was  cut 
in  two,  producing  short  whist.  Many 
whist  enthusiasts  protested  against  the 
undue  preponderance  of  luck  caused  by 
the  full  retention  of  the  value  of  all  the 
honors  with  a  score  of  only  five  (allow- 
ing more  than  double  the  winning  score 
to  be  made  in  one  fine  hand),  but  in 
vain;  the  excitement  of  the  turns  of  for- 
tune was  preferred  to  the  milder  stimu- 
lant of  skill  in  the  play,  and  short  whist 
has  been  found  unassailable  in  the  public 
whist  circles  in  England. —  William  Pole 
L.  A  +],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Women  are  natural  gamblers,  although 
many  would  be  filled  with  horror  and  in- 
dignation at  being  so  classed;  let  them 
look  at  facts  squarely  and  own  the  truth 
of  the  statement.  All  clubs  to  which 
women  belong  play  for  prizes.  Some- 
times at  every  meeting  a  prize  is  given, 
sometimes  after  a  series  of  games;  but 
always  the  end  and  aim  is  a  prize  of 
greater  or  less  value,  according  to  circum- 
stances. I  think  I  may  safely  say  that 
ninety  per  cent,  of  these  same  women 
•would  be  scandalized  were  the  prize 
money  of  any  amount  instead  of  the 
equivalent.  This  same  question  of  prizes 
brings  out  a  sorry  state  of  feeling  among 
women,  that  of  very  bitter  jealousy. 
Should  one  woman  be  fortunate  enough 
to  win  several  prizes  in  succession,  there 
are  hints  of  unfair  play,  and  so  on,  that 
seriously  mar  the  harmony  of  the  meet- 
ings.— Harriet  Allen  Anderson  [L.  A.}, 
Home  Magazine,  July,  1805. 

But  whist  is  not  gambling;  it  is  a  game 
•which  calls  forth  some  of  the  best  facul- 
ties of  the  brain,  and  causes  chance  to 
succumb  before  science.  *  *  *  It  is  to 

13 


be  regretted  that  at  most  of  the  [English] 
clubs  so  fine  a  game  should  be  placed  out 
of  the  reach  of  many  on  account  of  the 
high  points  that  are  played.  Whist  is  a 
study  so  pleasurable  in  itself  that  it  can 
entirely  dispense  with  the  pernicious  ex- 
citement of  the  gambler;  to  play  for  points, 
which  may  involve  a  heavy  pecuniary 
loss,  is  utterly  destructive  of  the  beauty  of 
the  game;  instead  of  a  pleasant,  intellect- 
ual excitement,  it  then  degenerates  into 
anxiety,  and  is  the  fruitful  parent  of  ill- 
temper,  worry,  and  a  feverish  state  of 
things  utterly  at  variance  with  the  spirit 
of  the  game.  *  *  *  Half-crown  points 
are  quite  sufficient  to  create  excitement, 
*  *  *  but  when  it  comes  to  crowns  and 
pounds,  or  ten-shilling  points,  and  a  fiver 
on  the  rub,  or  pounds  and  fives,  a  few 
nights  of  misfortune  signify  the  loss  of  a 
small  income.  Whist  should  be  played 
for  the  love  of  the  game,  and  not  for  the 
money  it  may  be  the  means  of  obtaining. 
— A.  C.  Ewald,  in  "The  Whist  Table." 

Game. — A  game  of  whist  is  a 
contest  between  four  players,  two 
on  each  side,  to  see  which  can  first 
score  a  certain  number  of  points. 
The  number  of  points  necessary  to 
make  in  order  to  win  is  called  the 
game.  The  English,  or  short-whist, 
game  consists  of  five  points,  count- 
ing honors.  The  American  game 
consists  of  seven  points,  not  count- 
ing honors.  The  word  is  some- 
times used  to  denote  correct  play; 
as,  for  example,  "  It  was  the  game 
to  cover  the  honor  led."  (See, 
also,  "Open  Game.") 

A  game  consists  of  five  points.  Each 
trick  above  six  counts  one  point. — Laws 
of  Wliist  (English  Code),  Section  2. 

Try  and  forget  the  little  vexations,  and 
make  the  game  what  it  should  be,  an 
amusement  for  gentlemen. — Fisher  Ames 
[L.A.]. 

The  game  is  finished  when,  one  side 
having  gained  it  without  dispute,  the 
cards  are  reunited  in  one  mass. — Descha- 
pelles [O.],  "Laws,"  Section  130. 

To  play  a  strong  game  you  must  play 
so  as  to  make  your  own  hand  as  clear  as 
possible  to  your  partner. — A.  W.  Lh-ayson 
IL+A  +] ,  "Art  of  Practical  Wliist." 

A  game  consists  of  seven  points,  each 
trick  above  six  counting  one.  The  value 
of  the  game  is  determined  by  deducting 
the  losers'  score  from  seven. — Laws  of 
Whist  (American  Code),  Section  i. 


GAME 


194  GRAHAM'S  COFFEE-HOUSE 


When  the  adversaries  are  four  to  your 
love  [in  the  English  game],  you  must  play 
quite  a  different  game  from  that  which 
you  would  play  at  love-all.  Again,  if  you 
are  four  and  the  adversaries  love,  it  would 
be  absurd  to  play  a  game  which  might 
win  you  three  or  even  two  by  cards,  but 
might  lose  you  the  trick. — A.  W.  Drayson 
[L+A  +],  "!TA<?  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Game,  Each  Playing  His  Own. — 

An  amusing  story  is  told  in  Whist 
of  July,  1896,  concerning  J.  P. 
Wooten  and  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton, 
two  advocates  of  diametrically  op- 
posed systems  of  play,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  partners  in  the  contest 
for  pairs  at  the  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League.  Before 
commencing  play  Wooten  begged 
Hamilton  to  try  short  suits  for 
once;  but  Hamilton,  true  to  his 
principles.declined;  so  he  staunchly 
demonstrated  his  belief  in  Ameri- 
can leads,  long  suits,  echoes,  sub- 
echoes,  four  signals,  etc.,  in  spite 
of  Wooten 's  attempts  to  coax  him 
by  leading  singletons  and  support- 
ing cards.  When  the  play  was 
over,  each  shook  hands  with  the 
other  and  hoped  he  had  not  thrown 
him  down.  Imagine  their  surprise 
when  they  found  that  they  had 
nearly  won  the  prize,  only  one  pair 
having  a  higher  score  than  theirs. 
' '  If  you  had  shown  me  five, ' '  said 
Hamilton.  "No,  sir;  if  you  had 
led  me  a  sub-sneak,"  said  Wooten, 
"  we  would  have  won  in  a  walk." 

"German  Whist."— One  of  the 

numerous  and  least  objectionable 
variations  of  whist.  It  is  played  by 
two  persons.  Thirteen  cards  are 
dealt  to  each  player,  and  the 
twenty-seventh  card  is  placed  face 
upwards  upon  the  remainder  of 
the  pack.  The  dealer's  vis-a-vis 
plays  first  by  leading  a  card,  and 
the  dealer  follows  suit,  as  in  whist, 
or  if  he  cannot,  either  trumps  or 
throws  away  a  useless  card.  The 
winner  of  the  trick  takes  the  trump 


card  into  his  hand,  and  his  oppo- 
nent takes  the  next  card,  without, 
however,  showing  its  face.  The 
third  card  on  the  pack  is  now 
turned  up  and  goes  to  the  winner 
of  the  second  trick,  the  loser  again 
drawing  the  one  underneath;  and 
so  on,  until  the  rest  of  the  pack  is 
exhausted.  Thus  each  player  re- 
ceives and  plays  twenty-six  cards 
in  all.  Each  game  is  complete  in 
one  deal.  The  player  who  takes 
the  most  tricks  wins.  There  is  also 
a  two-handed  variety  of  "Chinese 
whist"  which  somewhat  resembles 
the  above. 


"  German  whist"  is  played  by  two  play- 
ers, and  introduces  the  element  of  replen- 
ishing the  hand  after  each  trick  by  draw- 
ing cards  from  the  remainder  of  the  pack 
until  the  stock  is  exhausted.  *  *  *  When 
the  talon  [or  stock]  is  exhausted  the  thir- 
teen cards  in  each  hand  should  be  known 
to  both  players,  if  they  have  been  obser- 
vant, and  the  end  game  becomes  a  prob- 
lem in  double  dummy.— R.  F.  Foster  \S. 
O.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

Going  On  With  a  Suit. — To  go 

on  with  a  suit  is  to  continue  to  lead 
it,  after  having  opened  it.  It  may 
be  trumped  by  an  adversary,  but, 
having  established  it,  you  draw  all 
the  trumps  and  then  go  on  with  it 
again. 

Graham's    Coffee-House. — A 

famous  headquarters  for  whist,  sit- 
uated at  87  St.  James  street,  Lon- 
don. Here,  for  many  years,  the 
most  scientific  whist-players  were 
wont  to  congregate,  and  many  nota- 
ble contests  took  place;  and  here  it 
was  where  Lord  Henry  Bentinck 
devised  the  "  trump  signal"  (q.  v.). 
The  frequenters  of  the  place  formed 
what  was  known  as  Graham's  Club, 
the  name  being  taken  from  the 
proprietors  of  the  house,  father 
and  son,  who  kept  it  successively. 
On  December  31,  1836,  the  club 
was  temporarily  dissolved  for  the 


GRAND  COUP 


195 


GUARDED 


purpose  of  excluding  a  dozen  un- 
desirable members  who  had  crept 
in,  and  who  were  kept  out  upon  its 
reorganization,  which  occurred  im- 
mediately. The  club  was  perma- 
nently dissolved  a  few  years  later. 
Its  quarters  are  now  occupied  by 
what  is  known  as  the  St.  James 
Club. 

There  is  a  well-authenticated  story  of 
the  late  Lord  Granville's  demotion  to 
whist.  Intending  to  set  out  in  the  course 
of  the  afternoon  for  Paris,  he  ordered  his 
carriage  and  four  posters  to  be  at  Gra- 
ham's [Coffee-House,  London]  at  four. 
They  were  kept  waiting  until  ten,  when 
he  sent  out  to  say  that  he  should  not  be 
ready  for  another  hour  or  two,  and  the 
horses  had  better  be  changed.  They  were 
changed  three  times  in  all,  at  intervals 
of  six  hours,  before  he  started. — A.  ffav- 
ward  [O.],  "'Whist  and  Whist-Players."' 

Grand  Coup. — The  grand  coup 
consists  in  throwing  away  a  super- 
fluous trump  to  avoid  the  lead;  or, 
in  taking  partner's  trick  by  trump- 
ing, in  order  to  be  able  to  throw 
the  lead  back  to  him;  or,  in  under- 
trumping  a  trick  in  order  to  avoid 
a  subsequent  lead.  • 

According  to  my  experience,  the  oppor- 
nity  for  playing  the  grand  coup  occurs 
about  once  in  a  thousand  rubbers;  to  an 
individual  player,  about  once  in  four  thou- 
sand rubbers.  I  can  only  remember  to 
this  date  [January,  1879]  *°  have  played  it 
eight  times. — "Cavendish"  [L.A.],  "Card- 
Table  Talk." 

Every  one  who  has  played  whist  much 
must  have  observed  the  not  unfrequent 
occasion  when  a  player  has  found  him- 
self, probably  in  the  last  three  tricks  of 
the  hand,  with  a  trump  too  many.  He 
has  been  obliged  to  trump  his  partner's 
trick,  to  take  the  lead  himself,  and  to 
lead  from  his  tenace  instead  of  being  led 
to,  by  which  a  trick  is  lost.  The  triumph 
of  the  great  whist-player  is  to  foresee  this 
position,  and  to  take  an  opportunity  of 
getting  rid  of  this  inconvenient  trump. — 
James  Clay  [L.  0+]. 

Granville,  Earl  of.— A  famous 
English  whist-player  and  diplomat, 
who  was  named  by  Lord  Henry 
Bentinck  (q.  v. )  as  one  of  the  four 
best  whist-players  he  ever  knew. 


Lord  Granville  was  born  October 
I2»  I773.  and  was  the  youngest  son 
of  the  first  Marquis  of  Stafford  by 
his  third  wife.  In  1804  he  was  am- 
bassador extraordinary  and  pleni- 
potentiary to  Russia,  and  subse- 
quently ambassador  to  the  court  of 
France.  He  was  created  Viscount 
Granville,  of  Stone  Park,  August 
12,  1815,  and  advanced  to  an  earl- 
dom May  10,  1833.  He  died  Janu- 
ary 8,  1846. 

When  Henry  Bentinck  was  asked  for 
the  names  of  the  best  whist-players  that 
he  knew,  Lord  Granville's  name  was  first 
on  his  list;  and  across  the  "silver  streak" 
an  even  greater  authority,  Deschapelles, 
the  finest  performer  at  the  game  that  the 
world  has  ever  produced,  was  repeatedly 
known  to  assert,  that  with  Lord  Gran- 
ville as  his  partner,  he  would  play  dum- 
my against  an  archangel. —  W.  P.  Court- 
ney [L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

Great  Game, Playing  a. — Playing 
with  the  object  of  making  as  many 
tricks  as  possible  out  of  the  hand, 
as  distinguished  from  the  more  cau- 
tious procedure  of  "  playing  for  the 
odd  trick"  (q.  v.). 

There  are,  generally  speaking,  two 
methods  by  which  tricks  may  be  made 
by_  cards,  to  -which  their  intrinsic  value 
might  not  necessarily  entitle  them.  One 
is  by  the  establishment  of  a  long  suit,  the 
holder  being  left  with  the  lead  after  the 
adverse  trumps  have  been  exhausted.  * 
*  *  This  course,  as  contradistinguished 
from  "playing  for  the  odd  trick,"  was 
styled  by  the  early  writers  as  "  playing  a 
great  game."— Emery  Boardman  [L+A.], 
"Winning  Whist." 

Great  Suit. — A  suit  of  more 
than  four  cards,  all  of  them  very 
strong;  a  strong  suit. 

Guarded. — A  high  card  is  said 
to  be  guarded  when  one  or  more 
smaller  cards  of  the  same  suit  are 
held  with  it,  to  be  played  upon 
higher  cards  that  may  be  led  by  the 
adversary. 

The  second  card  of  a  suit  is  said  to  be 
guarded  if  you  hold  a  small  one  to  play 
against  the  best  card.  Two  "guards" 


GUERILLA  TACTICS 


196 


HAMILTON,  C.  D.  P. 


are  generally  required  for  a  third-best 
card.— "The  Whist  Table." 

This  combination  is  an  important  one, 
having  an  advantage  analogous  to  that 
of  the  tenace;  namely,  that  if  the  suit  is 
led  by  your  left-hand  adversary,  you  are 
certain  (bar  trumping)  to  make  your 
second-best  card.—  William  Pole  [L.  A  +] , 
"  Theory  of  IVhist." 

Guerilla  Tactics.— The  tactics 
employed  by  players  who  employ 
short-suit  leads  in  preference  to 
leads  from  long  suits.  So  named 
by  long-suit  extremists  who  hold 
that  method  of  play  in  contempt. 

"G.  W.  P."— See,  "  Pettes,  G. 
W." 

Hamilton,  C.  D.  P.— One  of  the 

most  thorough  and  masterly  expo- 
nents of  the  modern  scientific 
game,  was  born  at  Cochranville, 
Chester  county,  Pa.,  on  December 
10,  1851.  His  parents  were  strict 
Quakers,  and  he  was  educated  in 
Quaker  private  schools.  From 
early  childhood  he  displayed  a 
fondness  for  games,  and  at  twelve 
years  of  age  he  was  the  champion 
checker-player  of  the  village.  He 
became  infatuated  with  chess  at  the 
age  of  fourteen,  and  made  his  first 
set  of  chessmen  from  spools  which 
came  from  his  mother's  sewing- 
basket.  Later  he  became  famous 
as  a  composer  and  solver  of  chess 
problems,  and  his  compositions  in 
this  line  have  been  published  by 
chess  editors  the  world  over. 

He  made  his  first  pack  of  cards 
from  cardboard  bought  at  the  vil- 
lage store,  and  learned  about  every 
game  of  cards  from  all-fours  to 
whist,  and  was  deemed  an  expert, 
especially  at  cribbage  and  sixty-six. 
His  attention  was  called  to  book 
whist  early  in  the  seventies,  and 
this  opened  up  a  new  and  delight- 
ful vista  to  him.  In  1880  he  began 
to  read  and  study  the  game,  in  com- 
pany with  three  other  players,  at 


Easton,  Pa. ,  where  he  still  resides. 
They  were  known  as  the  Easton 
Quartette,  and  met  at  each  other's 
homes  twice  every  week.  For  four 
years  they  did  little  else  in  their 
leisure  moments  ' '  but  play,  talk, 
read,  study,  dream,  and  discuss 
whist,"  to  use  Mr.  Hamilton's  own 
expression.  All  this  time  he  made 
notes  of  every  new  theme  and  play 
that  came  up  in  practice,  and  soon 
he  had  several  hundred  sheets  filled 
with  valuable  observations.  He 
read  every  work  on  whist  which  he 
could  buy  or  borrow,  and  became 
convinced  that  existing  text-books 
were  not  as  thorough  and  exhaust- 
ive as  they  should  be  to  meet  the 
wants  of  students,  who  might  be  as 
eager  to  learn  as  he  himself  was. 
So  he  resolved  to  write  a  book  on 
the  game,  and  for  four  years  more 
he  devoted  his  spare  moments  to 
this  congenial  task,  and  "  Modern 
Scientific  Whist"  was  the  result. 
It  was  all  written  at  night,  mostly 
after  the  rest  of  the  family  had  re- 
tired. A  large  share  of  the  time 
was  taken  up  in  analyzing  and 
proving  that  his  position  was  sound, 
and  he  often  spent  weeks  on  a 
single  phase  or  maxim.  Starting 
without  prejudice  or  bias,  he  con- 
tinued with  a  determination  to 
reject  anything  he  found,  by  de- 
monstration, to  be  unsound,  no 
matter  how  it  might  run  counter  to 
his  previous  views. 

This  thoroughness  of  method, 
and  honesty  of  purpose,  was  at 
once  recognized  in  "  Modern  Scien- 
tific Whist,"  and  its  publication,  in 
1894,  placed  him  at  one  bound 
among  the  foremost  whist-authors 
of  the  day.  It  was  pronounced  the 
most  complete  work  that  had  yet 
been  published  on  the  game,  and  the 
chapters  on  second  and  third-hand 
play,  as  well  as  those  on  discarding 
and  critical  endings,  were  found  to 
be  a  revelation.  A  second  edition 


HAMILTON,  C.  D.  P. 


197 


HAMILTON  LEADS 


was  published  in  1896,  with  an  ap- 
pendix, in  which  the  author  gave 
his  views  upon  several  whist  ques- 
tions of  the  day.  While  a  staunch 
and  able  supporter  of ' '  Cavendish, " 
the  long-suit  game,  and  American 
leads  in  the  main,  he  nevertheless 
differs  from  "Cavendish,"  and 
agrees  with  Mr.  Trist,  in  leading 
the  original  fourth  best  on  second 
round  from  ace  and  four  or  more, 
instead  of  the  fourth  best  remain- 
ing, as  practiced  by  the  great  Eng- 
lish advocate  of  American  leads. 
He  also  devotes  a  chapter  to  the 
Hamilton  modifications  of  Ameri- 
can leads,  as  originated  and  prac- 
ticed by  the  famous  team  from  the 
Hamilton  Club,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  fully  endorses  the  improve- 
ments. (See,  "Hamilton  Leads.") 
He  also  gives  Mr.  Green's  three 
signal  an  extended  analysis,  and 
suggests  that  it  be  given  a  practical 
test.  (See,  "Three  Signal.") 

Dr.  Pole,  in  "The  Evolution  of 
Whist,"  praises  Mr.  Hamilton's 
book  very  highly  as  "the  great 
American  work  which  must  be 
hereafter  regarded  as  the  fiiya 
Pifihiov  of  whist.  He  adopts,  of 
course,"  continues  Dr.  Pole,  "all 
the  new  latter-day  modes  of  com- 
munication between  the  partners, 
but  he  largely  extends  the  system; 
he  follows  up  the  influence  this  has 
on  the  general  play  of  all  the 
hands,  and  shows  how  great  this 
influence  has  been.  *  *  *  It  is 
a  sign  of  the  uncertainty  and  want 
of  finality  that  still  prevails  in  the 
latter-day  game,  that  although  Mr. 
Hamilton's  book  is  founded  on  the 
same  system  that  is  explained  in 
the  latest  editions  of  '  Cavendish,' 
yet  there  are  many  points  on  which 
the  two  authorities  do  not  agree,  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  review  of  the 
book  in  the  Field  of  May  26,  1894. 
However,  the  book  is  very  interest- 
ing, as  showing  not  only  the  aston- 


ishing change  which  the  new 
improvements  have  wrought  in  the 
game,  but  the  remarkable  earnest- 
ness with  which  they  appear  to  be 
studied  in  the  New  World. " 

Mr.  Hamilton  is  one  of  the  leading 
whist  experts  of  America,  and  as  an  anal- 
yst probably  has  no  superior  in  this 
country. —  Whist  [L.  A.],  September,  f8yj. 

Mr.  Hamilton's  aptitude  for  investiga- 
tion and  analysis,  coupled  with  his  expe- 
rience, has  made  him  extremely  acute  as 
well  as  sound  in  reaching  the  pith  of  any 
knotty  problem,  or  question  of  difference 
in  whist  system  or  whist  play.  As  a 
whist-player  he  is  flexible,  adaptable,  im- 
perturbable, and  deliberate.  He  is  a  mas- 
ter of  whist  strategy  and  resource  in 
difficult  situations.—  Whist  [L.  A.},  Feb- 
ruary, 1893. 

Hamilton  Leads.  —  American 
leads,  with  certain  modifications, 
made  by  Milton  C.  Work  and  his 
fellow-players  of  the  Hamilton 
Club  team,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
practiced  by  them  in  their  play. 
These  modifications  consist  in  (i) 
leading  ten  (instead  of  queen)  from 
queen,  jack,  ten;  and  (2)  in  leading 
fourth  best  (instead  of  ten)  from 
king,  jack,  ten.  The  result  is  the 
simplification  of  the  queen  lead, 
which  by  the  American  leads  is  led 
from  three  combinations,  and 
leaves  partner  in  doubt  as  to 
whether  king  or  jack  is  also  held. 
By  the  Hamilton  arrangement  this 
doubt  is  removed. 

The  Hamilton  modifications  have 
found  so  much  favor  with  leading 
players  and  authorities  that  by 
many  it  is  thought  their  incorpora- 
tion into  the  system  of  American 
leads  will  eventually  be  universal, 
although  "  Cavendish"  at  present 
still  holds  out  mildly  against  them, 
because  he  is  afraid  the  fourth-best 
lead  from  king,  jack,  ten  is  a  trick- 
losing  one.  (See,  also,  "American 
Leads,  Changes  in.") 

Another  innovation,  which  is  being 
used  by  many  good  players,  is  the  lead 
of  fourth  best  from  king,  knave,  ten,  and 


HAMILTON  LEADS 


198 


HAMILTON  LEADS 


Others,  in  order  to  simplify  the  queen 
lead.—  Kate  Wheelock  [L  A.],  "Whist 
Rules,"  1896. 

A  recent  examination  of  the  king, 
knave,  ten  combination  convinces  the 
writer  that  the  fourth  best,  and  not  the 
ten,  should  be  led  from  this  holding.  If 
the  lead  of  the  ten  from  this  combination 
is  abandoned,  it  is  then  self-evident  to  all 
whist-players  that  the  system  of  Ameri- 
can leads  will  be  improved  by  adopting 
the  lead  of  the  ten  from  queen,  knave, 
ten,  etc.,  as  this  eliminates  all  uncer- 
tainty, and  renders  all  the  high-card 
leads  free,  practically,  from  duality  of 
inference.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [Z..  A.}, 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

With  other  pla3-ers  I  analyzed  840  hands 
containing  this  combination  [king,  jack, 
ten],  and  obtained  the  following  result: 
In  528  hands,  it  made  no  difference 
whether  the  ten  or  the  fourth  best  was 
led;  in  203  hands,  the  lead  of  the  fourth 
best  won  217  tricks  over  the  lead  of  the 
ten;  and  in  109  hands,  the  lead  of  the  ten 
won  126  tricks  more  than  the  lead  of  the 
fourth  best.  The  results  were  conclu- 
sive, that  the  change  to  the  fourth  best 
from  king,  jack,  ten,  etc.,  •with  the 
change  to  the  ten,  from  queen,  jack,  ten, 
etc.,  was  *  *  *  a  trick-winner.—  T.  E. 
Otis  [L.  A.],  Whist, January,  1896. 

That  the  Hamilton  idea  simplifies  the 
leads,  and  would  be,  in  the  long  run,  ad- 
vantageous to  the  leader  and  his  partner, 
goes  without  saying,  were  it  not  that  the 
risk  is  run  of  losing  tricks  by  leading 
small  from  king,  knave,  ten,  etc.,  which 
is  its  necessary  complement.  The  argu- 
ment then  is  narrowed  to  this:  Is  it  better 
to  run  the  stated  risk  for  the  sake  of  giv- 
ing valuable  information  at  once?  This 
question  is  not  susceptible  of  decision  by 
calculation;  it  can  only  be  determined  by 
a  long  series  of  experiments.  Those  who 
adopt  the  Hamilton  scheme  are  of  opinion 
that  the  occasional  failure  to  obtain  com- 
mand in  kinsr,  knave,  ten  suits  is  of  less 
importance  than  the  certainty  of  giving 
definite  information  by  the  first  card  led; 
those  who  reject  the  Hamilton  lead,  of 
course,  hold  the  contrary.  And,  as  before 
observed,  when  bands  of  experts  differ  on 
a  given  proposition,  the  probability  is 
there  is  not  much  to  it  either  way. — "Cav- 
endish" [L.  A.],  Scribner's  Monthly,  July, 
1897. 

It  is  merely  a  modification  of  the  sys- 
tem of  American  leads,  which,  it  is 
thought,  removes  from  them  their  great- 
est objection,  to  wit,  uncertainty  as  to  the 
combination  of  high  cards  from  which 
the  queen  is  led.  *  *  *  The  only  ob- 
jection that  can  be  urged  to  the  lead  of 
the  ten  rather  than  the  queen  from  the 
queen,  jack,  ten  combination  is  that  it 
conflicts  with  the  lead  of  the  ten  from 
king,  jack,  ten.  This  system  proposes  to 


do  away  with  the  latter  lead  altogether, 
making  the  king,  jack,  ten  a  combina- 
tion from  which  the  fourth  best  is  led. 
*  *  *  The  argument  in  favor  of  the 
fourth-best  lead  from  this  combination 
seems  to  be  a  strong  one  It  is;  that  the 
lead  of  the  ten,  irom  king,  jack,  ten, 
gives  too  great  information  to  the  second- 
hand adversary,  as  it  enables  him,  with 
ace,  queen,  and  one  or  ,more  small  cards, 
or  with  queen  and  one  small  one,  to  most 
advantageously  cover  the  ten  with  the 
queen.  The  information  that  the  lead  of 
the  ten  conveys  to  the  third  hand  does 
not,  in  any  measurable  degree,  offset  this, 
and  the  only  argument  that  can  be  used 
in  favor  of  its  retention,  is  that  it  is  neces- 
sary for  the  purpose  of  forcing  a  high 
card  to  take  the  trick  in  the  case  where 
the  partner  has  not  either  the  ace,  queen, 
or  nine.  It  is  hard  to  understand,  how- 
ever, why  it  is  more  necessary,  for  the 
Eurpose  of  forcing  a  high  card, to  lead  ten 
•om  king,  jack,  ten  than  from  ace,  jack, 
ten,  as  the  latter  is  the  stronger  suit;  and 
yet  a  high-card  lead  from  ace,  jack,  ten 
has  never  been  advocated. 

The  players  of  the  Hamilton  team, who 
have  given  the  subject  a  thoughtful  and 
careful  test,  in  a  long  series  of  important 
matches,  state  as  their  unanimous 
opinion,  as  the  result  of  that  test,  that  in 
practical  play  the  cases  in  which  tricks 
are  lost  by  the  fourth-best  lead  from  king, 
jack,  ten  are  nearly  offset  by  cases  in 
which  the  retaining  of  the  ten  in  the 
original  leader's  hand  gives  him  the 
strength  necessary  to  eventually  estab- 
lish his  suit.  If  this  opinion  is  sound, 
there  can  be  no  question  that  the  doing 
away  of  the  ten  lead  from  king,  jack,  ten 
is  an  advantage,  as  it  will  be  admitted 
that  all  the  information  it  gives  is  far 
more  valuable  to  the  opponent  than  to  the 
partner.  Should  this  lead  be  abandoned, 
there  can  be  no  possible  objection  to  the 
substitution  of  the  ten  for  the  queen  from 
queen,  jack,  ten,  and  the  strongest  objec- 
tion ever  urged  against  the  system  of 
American  leads  is  thereby  removed. 

The  queen,  if  this  modification  is 
adopted,  becomes  a  five-card-suit  lead 
without  exception,  and  always  shows  the 
presence  of  the  king.  The  ten  is  led 
only  from  queen,  jack,  ten,  and  while  it 
does  not,  on  the  first  trick,  show  the 
number  of  the  suit,  the  second  trick  gen- 
erally gives  that  information,  as  the  jack 
is  played  or  led,  as  the  case  may  be,  with 
five  or  more,  the  queen  with  exactly  four. 

With  this  system  adopted,  the  third 
hand,  of  course,  beats  a  ten  led  by  his 
partner,  as  he  formerly  did  a  queen,  and 
jfinesses  with  the  ace;  but  with  king 
and  one  small,  or  ace,  king,  and  one 
small,  plays  the  king  in  order  to  un- 
block.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.], 
"  Whist  of  To-day,"  1896. 


HAMILTON  TROPHY 


199 


HAMILTON  TROPHY 


Hamilton  Trophy. — The  cham- 
pionship trophy  of  the  American 
Whist  League  for  teams  of  four  rep- 
resenting League  clubs.  The  trophy 
was  tendered  to  the  League,  at  its 
first  congress  in  Milwaukee,  1891, 
by  Dr.  M.  H.  Forrest,  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Hamilton  Whist 
Club,  of  Philadelphia,  and  a  man 
of  wide  culture,  who  had  traveled 
extensively.  Dr.  Forrest's  esteem 
for  the  game  found  expression  in 
the  gift,  which  he  tendered  in  a  let- 
ter which  was  read  at  the  congress. 
He  imposed  no  conditions  upon  the 
trophy,  except  that  it  should  be 
contended  for  at  duplicate  whist  by 
teams  of  four  representing  League 
clubs.  Dr.  Forrest  was  made  an 
honorary  member  of  the  League. 
He  died  in  1894.  The  trophy  was 
at  first  also  frequently  spoken  of  as 
the  Forrest  trophy. 

At  the  sixth  congress  of  the 
League,  in  1896,  it  was  decided 
"that  the  Hamilton  Club  Trophy 
be  kept  as  a  perpetual  trophy,  to  be 
played  for  at  each  annual  congress, 
and  to  be  held  by  the  club  win- 
ning it  until  the  next  succeeding 
congress." 

The  trophy  is  in  the  form  of  a 
silver  bowl,  about  fourteen  inches 
in  height.  The  shank  is  square  in 
form,  and  ornamented  with  the  fig- 
ures of  the  four  kings  chased  in 
relief.  The  bowl  is  ornamented 
with  chased  figures,  and  the  base 
with  four  aces  in  relief.  It  has 
been  successively  won  by  teams 
of  four  from  the  following  clubs: 

1892  —  Capital  Bicycle  Club, 
Washington,  D.  C.  (Messrs.  H.  N. 
Low,  W.  T.  Bingham,  J.  P.  Wooten, 
and  L.  G.  Eakin). 

1893— Minneapolis  Chess,  Check- 
ers, and  Whist  Club  ( Messrs.  J.  H. 
Briggs,  J.  F.Whallon,  O.  H.  Briggs, 
and  George  L.  Bunn). 

1894  —  University  Whist  Club, 
Chicago,  111.  (Messrs.  J.  L.  Waller, 


W.  Waller,  J.  H.  Baldwin,  and  H. 
Trumbull). 

1895— Hyde  Park  Whist  Club, 
Chjcage,  111. (Messrs.  R.  M.  Rogers, 
J.  T.  Mitchell,  W.  J.  Walker,  and 
R.  L.  Parsons). 

1896  —  Hamilton  Whist  Club, 
Philadelphia  (Messrs.  Milton  C. 
Work,  Gustavus  Remak,  Jr.,  E.  A. 
Ballard,  and  Frank  P.  Mogridge). 

1897— Philadelphia  Whist  Club 
(Dr.  Joseph  S.  Neff,  E.  Stanley 
Hart,  Leoni  Melick,  and  W.  T.  G. 
Bristol,  with  T.  A.  Whelan  as  sub- 
stitute for  Mr.  Melick,  during  the 
latter's  illness). 

The  one  criticism  that  Whist's  New 
England  correspondent  feels  constrained 
to  make  upon  the  seventh  congress  is 
concerning  the  plan  of  the  championship 
or  Hamilton  Trophy  contest.  It  was  too 
long  and  arduous,  just  as  it  has  always 
been,  and  still  the  individual  matches 
played  were  not  long  enough  to  satisfy 
the  old  war  horses.  An  endeavor  to 
shorten  it  was  made  this  year.  What  did 
the  attempt  amount  to?  The  winner  of 
the  contest  had  to  play  204  deals  in  five 
days,  an  average  of  forty-one  per  diem, 
which  is  inconsiderably  less  than  the 
forty-eight  that  used  to  be  required,  and  is 
too  much  when  the  inconclusive  charac- 
ter of  each  match  is  considered.  As  a 
consequence,  the  finals  of  the  champion- 
ship contest  were,  as  usual,  a  trial  of  en- 
durance, in  which  several  men  were 
wrecked.  One  of  the  New  England  mem- 
bers of  the  1897  tournament  committee 
wanted  to  have  the  preliminaries  of  the 
championship  contest  fought  put  before 
the  congress,  but  the  plan  received  scant 
notice.  The  idea  was  to  divide  the  coun- 
try into  not  more  than  six  or  seven  sec- 
tions, have  a  series  of  club  matches  in 
each  section  during  the  winter  and 
spring,  and  admit  to  the  congress  contest 
only  the  winners  in  the  several  sections. 
This  plan  is  now  being  discussed. — New 
England  Corr.,  Whist,  August,  1897. 

The  chief  interest,  of  course,  centres  in 
the  play  for  the  Hamilton  Trophy,  which 
carnes  with  it  the  championship  for 
teams  of  four.  A  different  method  has 
been  tried  at  every  congress,  and  none 
of  them  has  been  entirely  satisfactory. 
Most  of  the  plans  proposed  have  been 
based  on  some  scheme  for  limiting  the 
entries  or  dividing  them  into  sections, 
the  winner  of  each  to  meet  in  the  finals. 
*  *  *  No  scheme  of  play  for  the  cham- 
pionship can  ever  be  satisfactory  in 
which  the  winner  has  not  actually  de- 


HAND 


200          HANDS,  DIFFICULT 


feated  every  other  contestant,  either  in 
the  trial  heats  or  in  the  final. 

The  tournament  committee  evidently 
agree  with  this  view,  for  they  propose 
that  the  preliminary  rounds  shall  be 
played  on  Tuesday  afternoon  and  even- 
ing, under  the  Howell  system  for  fours, 
every  team  entered  actually  meeting  and 
playing  against  every  other.  For  the 
benefit  of  those  not  familiar  with  this 
method  it  may  be  explained  that  each 
team  of  four  sits  at  its  own  table  and 
plays  one  deal,  or  as  many  as  the  individ- 
ual matches  will  consist  of.  The  N  and 
S  pair  remain  at  that  table  and  in  that 
position  during  the  entire  play  of  the 
tournament,  but  the  E  and  W  pair  move 
round  the  room  from  table  to  table.  In 
doing  so  they  of  course  meet  and  play 
against  the  N  and  S  pair  on  every  other 
team.  The  scheme  of  moving  the  trays  is 
such  that  when  the  E  and  W  pair  of  team 
A  play  against  the  N  and  S  pair  of  team 
D,  the  deal  that  they  play  will  be  s-ame 
that  will  be  played  by  the  E  and  W  pair 
of  team  D  when  they  get  round  to  the 
N  and  S  pair  of  team  A.  The  play  on 
this  deal,  or  on  two  or  three  deals,  if 
there  are  so  many  at  each  table,  forms  a 
match  between  these  two  clubs,  and  the 
team  winning  the  most  matches  makes 
the  high  score.  At  the  end  of  these  two 
sittings  the  eight  clubs  with  the  highest 
match  score  will  be  selected  to  play  the 
finals,  all  those  failing  to  get  as  good  as 
eighth  place  being  dropped.  Each  of  the 
eight  teams  will  then  play  a  match  of 
twenty-four  deals  against  each  of  the 
seven  other  survivors,  and  the  winner  of 
the  most  matches  will  be  the  champion 
team  for  iS-jS-'gg.  As  the  last  match  will 
be  played  on  Saturday  afternoon,  the 
evening  will  be  available  to  settle  any 
possible  ties.—  R.  F.  Foster  [S.  a],  New 
York  Sun,  November  28, 1897. 

Hand. — The  thirteen  cards  held 
by  a  player  at  whist;  also,  collec- 
tively, one  deal  of  the  cards.  The 
second,  third,  and  fourth  hands  are 
the  players  who  play  after  the  leader 
in  each  round,  in  the  order  indi- 
cated. 

Never  play  a  backward  game  with  a 
strong  hand.—/?.  F.  foster  [S.  0.],"  Whist 
Tactics." 

No  intimation,  by  word  or  gesture, 
should  be  given  by  a  player  as  to  the  state 
of  his  hand  or  of  the  game. — Etiquette  of 
Whist  (English  Code}. 

This  |/>35,oi3,559,6pol  is  the  number  of 
different  hands  which  any  single  player 
at  whist  may  obtain. —  William  Pole  \L. 
A+],  "Philosophy  of  Whist." 


Never  know  of  good  hands,  or  of  poor 
ones.  *  *  *  The  credit  lies  in  playing 
each  baud  properly. — G.  W.  Pettes  {L.  A. 
P.],  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 

In  all  the  recorded  games  of  duplicate 
whist,  there  is  not  one  in  which  the  same 
hand  was  played  twice  in  the  same  way. 
— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Tactics." 

If  you  have  a  moderate  hand  yourself, 
sacrifice  it  to  your  partner;  he,  if  he  be  a 
good  player,  will  act  in  the  same  manner. 
—  Thomas  Mathews  \L.  O.],  "Advice  to  the 
Young  Whist-Player." 

No  player  should  in  any  manner  what- 
soever give  any  intimation  as  to  the  state 
of  his  hand,  or  of  the  game,  or  of  ap- 
proval or  disapproval  of  a  play. — Etiquette 
of  Whist  (American  Code). 

A  general  order  belongs  to  each  hand 
held:  to  the  first,  play  from  your  master 
suit;  to  the  second,  play  your  lowest  card; 
to  the  third,  play  your  highest  card;  and 
to  the  fourth,  play  whatever  will  take  the 
trick.  The  rule  is  positive;  the  excep- 
tions are  powerful. — G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A. 
P.},  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 

The  variety  of  hands  that  can  be  held 
are  infinite.  It  is  useless  to  speak  of  a 
million,  because  a  million  is  an  incom- 
prehensible number;  but  we  know  that 
some  men  can  hold  trump  and  court  cards 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  sickening, 
while  others  appear  to  get  neither  trumps 
nor  court  cards. —  Westminster  Papers  [L+ 
O.]. 

Hands,  Arrangement  of. — See, 
"Cards,  Arrangement  of." 

Hands,  Difficult,  to  Lead  from. 

— The  question,  Which  is  the  most 
difficult  hand  at  whist  to  lead  from  ? 
is  a  fascinating  one,  considering 
the  many  billions  of  combinations 
that  are  possible  with  the  cards  It 
is  a  fact,  also,  that  what  appears  to 
be  a  difficult  and  dangerous  lead, 
may  turn  out  to  be  fortunate  and 
advantageous  owing  to  the  combi- 
nation of  cards  in  the  other  hands; 
and.  vice  versa,  what  seems  a  tol- 
erably safe  lead  may  turn  out  dis- 
astrously. An  appro xiniate  idea 
of  some  of  the  most  difficult  hands 
to  lead  from  was  recently  obtained 
by  Milton  C.  Work  in  the  whist 
column  of  the  Philadelphia  Press, 
by  means  of  a  prize  competition. 


HANDS,  DIFFICULT          2OI 


HANDS,  DIFFICULT 


The  nine  most  striking  examples 
of  such  hands  were  selected  and 
submitted  to  a  committee,  which 
determined  the  correct  leads,  and 
briefly  gave  the  reason  in  each  case, 
in  the  Press  of  November  21,  1897. 
We  give  the  hands,  the  names  of 
those  proposing  them  as  the  most 
difficult,  and  the  decision  of  the 
committee  in  each  case  as  to  the 
proper  lead: 

No.  i— From  W.  E.  P.  Duvall,  of  Balti- 
more, Md. 

Trump,  King  Diamonds. 

Spades 10,  5,  3,  2 

Hearts 8,  6,  5,  4,  2 

Clubs 2 

Diamonds Jack,  3,  2 

Lead  ten  of  spades;  the  best 
strengthening  and  least  deceptive 
play;  any  other  is  more  apt  to  re- 
sult fatally. 

No.  2—  From  A.  Harvey  McCay,  of  Bal- 
timore, Md. 

Trump,  Queen  Diamonds. 

Spades King,  Jack 

Hearts Ace,  Queen 

Clubs 6,  4,  3,  2 

Diamonds King,  Jack,  9,  8,  2 

Lead  six  of  clubs;  it  forces  a  lead 
up  to  some  tenace,  and  may  give 
partner  a  ruff. 

No.  3— From  F.  W.  Benson,  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

Trump,  Queen  Diamonds. 

Spades 4,  3,  2 

Hearts 4,  3,  2 

Clubs 4,  3,  2 

Diamonds 5,  4,  3,  2 

Lead  four  of  spades,  hearts,  or 
clubs;  less  apt  to  be  damui;i:ig  than 
a  trump  lead. 

No.  4 — From  Frank  P.  Mogridge,  of 
Philadelphia.  Pa. 

Trump,  Three  Spades. 

Spades Ace,  King,  10,  9,  4,  2 

Hearts 10,  9,  7,  3,  2 

Clubs Queen 

Diamonds Jack 

Lead  ten  of  hearts;  safest  play; 
trumps  can  be  led  after  a  force 
without  danger. 


No.  5 — From  C.  F.  Lindsay,  of  Wash- 
ton,  D.  C. 

Trump,  Queen  Hearts. 

Spades Ace,  Queen,  4 

Hearts Jack,  3,  2 

Clubs Queen,  6,  5 

Diamonds 7,  6,  5,  2 

Lead  seven  of  diamonds;  the 
least  apt  to  result  fatally  of  the  four 
choices. 

No.  6 — From  James  S.  Peckham,  of 
Newport,  R.  I. 

Trump,  King  Spades. 

Spades Ace,  Queen,io,9,7,5,3 

Hearts 5,  4,  3,  2 

Clubs King,  2 

Diamonds None 

Lead  ace  of  spades;  about  as  good 
a  chance  of  catching  the  king  by 
leading  the  ace  as  any  other  way; 
if  unsuccessful  in  this  respect,  will 
at  least  force  a  lead  up  to  the  part- 
ner. 

No.  7— From  William  S.  Fenollosa,  of 
Salem,  Mass. 

Trump,  Three  Spades. 

Spades King,  Jack,  10,  8 

Hearts King,  9,  6,  5 

Clubs Queen,  10,  7,  2 

Diamonds Ace 

Lead  any  spade,  except  king;  the 
all  round  strength  justifies  a  trump 
lead. 

No.  8— From  Charles  W.  Dana,  of 
Wilkesbarre,  Pa. 

Trump,  Nine  Hearts. 

Spades Ace,  King,  10,  7,  5 

Hearts Queen,  10,  8,  2 

Clubs Queen,  6 

Diamonds King,  8 

Lead  ace  of  spades;  the  most  con- 
servative play;  the  fall  on  the  first 
trick  will  determine  whether  to  con- 
tinue the  suit  or  shift  to  a  trump. 

No.  9— From  Mrs.  James  M.  Reagan,  of 
Drifton,  Pa. 

Trump,  Six  Clubs. 

Spades None 

Hearts King,  Jack,  7,  2 

Clubs Ace,  Jack,  10,  9 

Diamonds Ace,  Jack,  8,  6,  2 

Lead  ace  of  diamonds,  instead  of 
fourth  best,  because  the  hand  is 


HANDS,  ILLUSTRATIVE        2O2 


HEARTS 


blank  in  one  suit;  there  is,  there- 
fore, probably  some  player  who  is 
very  short  of  diamonds. 

These  examples  are  very  interest- 
ing, not  only  on  account  of  the 
difficulties  presented  in  the  choice 
in  each  instance,  but  as  showing 
how  professed  long-suit  advocates 
will  frequently  make  use  of  short 
suit,  or  otUer  irregular  tactics,  in  ex- 
treme cases. 

Hands,  Illustrative.— See,  "Il- 
lustrative Hands." 

Hands,   Instead  of  Points. — A 

writer  in  Whist  for  March  and 
June,  1892,  argues  that  to  fix  a  cer- 
tain number  of  points  as  a  game  of 
whist  is  irrational  and  unnecessary. 
The  players,  he  holds,  should  enjoy 
absolutely  equal  privileges;  i.  e., 
they  should  play  four  or  a  multiple 
of  four  hands.  Every  trick  taken 
should  be  counted,  and  the  score 
should  be  the  difference  in  the 
number  of  tricks  taken  by  the  two 
sides. 

We  have  seen  something  of  this 
kind  followed  by  players  at  straight 
whist,  who  made  up  a  party  for  an 
evening's  play.  No  special  number 
of  hands  was  agreed  upon,  but 
they  played  as  long  as  they  felt  in- 
clined. All  the  tricks  taken  by 
each  side  were  counted,  instead  of 
those  over  a  book,  and  the  side 
which  scored  the  largest  number 
of  tricks  during  the  sitting  was  the 
victor  by  that  many  points.  (See, 
also,  "Scoring.") 

Hands  Played  by  Correspond- 
ence.—  See,  "Whist  Match  by 
Correspondence. ' ' 

Hands,  Unclean.  —  Cleanliness 
is  next  to  godliness,  and  this  ap- 
plies with  considerable  force  to  the 
hands  of  the  players  at  the  whist 
table.  A  writer  in  Eraser's  Maga- 


zine tells  a  story  to  the  effect  that 
Charles  Lamb,  noticing  Hazlitt's 
soiled  hands  while  playing  with 
him,  drily  observed,  "  If  dirt  was 
trumps,  what  hands  you  would 
hold!"  Courtney,  in  his  "  English 
Whist  and  Whist-Players,"  alludes 
to  the  story,  but  puts  Martin  Burney 
in  place  of  Hazhtt,  and  makes  a  rel- 
ative of  the  latter  declare  that  Lamb 
never  originated  the  joke,  but  that 
it  ' '  was  made  by  a  gentleman  who 
never  uttered  a  second  witticism  in 
the  whole  course  of  his  life,  and 
who  thought  it  a  little  hard  to  be 
robbed  of  this  unique  achieve- 
ment." 

Harvard -Yale   Whist    Match.— 

See,  "Whist  in  Colleges  and  Uni- 
versities." 

Hayward,  Abraham. — A  well- 
known  contributor  to  the  English 
magazines,  who  wrote  a  notable 
article  on  "  Whist  and  Whist- Play- 
ers" for  Eraser's  Magazine  (vol. 
79,  page  487),  which  has  often  been 
referred  to  by  subsequent  writers. 
He  was  a  contributor  also  to  the 
Quarterly  Review^  and  was  sup- 
posed by  many  to  have  written  for 
it  the  article  on  "  Modern  Whist," 
which  appeared  January,  1871,  al- 
though "  Cavendish"  informs  us 
that  this  is  a  mistake,  and  that  Dr. 
Pole  was  its  author.  Hayward 
played  whist  at  the  Athenaeum 
Club;  he  was  not  a  player  of  the 
highest  rank,  but  had  great  abili- 
ties as  a  critic. 

Head. — To  head  is  a  phrase 
used  in  England,  meaning  to  cover. 
The  head  of  a  suit  means  the 
highest  card  or  cards  in  it. 

Hearts. — One  of  the  four  suits 
into  which  a  pack  of  cards  is  di- 
vided; one  of  the  two  red  suits. 
In  the  original  Spanish  cards,  from 


HIGH-CARD  ECHO 


203 


HOLDINGS 


which  modern  cards  are  derived, 
hearts  were  represented  by  cups 
(copas).  The  Italians  have  the 
same  {coppe).  The  Germans 
early  adopted  hearts  (Herzen),  and 
the  French  did  the  same,  naming 
them  ccsurs.  English  cards  being 
derived  from  the  French,  hearts 
have  become  the  recognized  em- 
blem. 

High-Card  Echo.— This  echo 
consists  in  playing,  third  hand,  an 
unnecessarily  high  card  upon  a 
small  card  led.  when  winning  or 
attetnping  to  win  the  trick.  The 
idea  is  to  show  four  of  the  suit  led, 
and  it  is  more  frequently  used  in 
trumps  than  plain  suits. 

The  high-card  echo  is  a  recent  innova- 
tion in  the  third-hand  play  on  small  card 
led.—/?.  F.  Foster  [5.  O.],  "Whist  Tac- 
tics" 1896. 

High  -  Card  Game. — Generally 
speaking,  the  manner  of  play  fre- 
quently adopted  by  novices,  where- 
by they  lead,  successively,  all  the 
aces,  kings,  etc.,  from  their  best 
suits  for  the  temporary  advantage 
of  taking  a  few  tricks.  Soon,  how- 
ever, the  hand  is  left  bare  and  use- 
less. "Of  all  the  systems  of 
whist -play,"  says  Foster,  in  his 
"Whist  Strategy"  (1894),  "this  is 
the  most  discouraging  to  a  part- 
ner. ' ' 

E.  C.  Howell,  however,  has  made 
the  high-card  game  one  of  the  five 
methods  of  play,  which  are  used  in 
his  short-suit  system  under  varying 
conditions  of  the  hand.  When  a 
player  leads  high  cards  (not  accord- 
ing to  the  system  of  American 
leads,  but  from  the  top  downward), 
he  says  to  his  partner,  according  to 
Mr.  Howell:  "Partner,  here  is  a 
very  strong  suit,  the  only  thing  in 
my  hand  worth  considering.  Let 
me  get  what  I  can  out  of  it.  and 
then  look  out  for  yourself. ' '  This, 


however,  is  quite  different  from  the 
bumblepuppy  play  of  jumping 
from  suit  to  suit  in  search  of  trick- 
winners,  and  ruining  what,  if  other- 
wise used,  might  have  proved  a 
great  hand. 

High-Card  Leads. — The  leads 
from  high-card  combinations;  the 
leads  other  than  fourth  best,  in  the 
system  of  American  leads  (g.  v.)\ 
the  lead  of  ace,  king,  queen,  jack, 
or  ten. 

The  opening  of  a  high  card  from  cer- 
tain combinations  is  universally  adopted 
for  the  purpose  of  trick-winning.  The 
choice  of  the  particular  high  card  is  a 
matter  of  convention,  simply  to  give  in- 
formation. The  information  given  is 
either  (i)  as  to  the  remaining  high  cards 
in  the  hand  (old  system);  or  (2)  the  num- 
ber of  small  cards  in  the  hand  (Ameri- 
can leads).—  Ellis  Ames  Ballard  [L.  A, 
H.},  Whist,  April,  1894. 

High  Cards.— The  five  highest 
cards,  from  ace  to  ten  inclusive. 
Some  writers  on  whist,  notably  G. 
W.  Pettes,  include  the  nine  among 
the  high  cards. 

Try  to  remember  as  many  as  possible  of 
the  high  cards  played,  particularly  those 
of  your  own  and  partner's  long  suits,  that 
yon  may  know  when  they  are  estab- 
lished.—C.  E.  Coffin  [L.  A.],  "Gist  of 
Whist:' 

High  cards  in  plain  suits  are  usually 
looked  upon  as  more  desirable  than  small 
trumps,  because  they  are  always  good  for 
tricks  as  long  as  the  adversaries  are  able 
to  follow  suit,  and  are  powerful  forcing 
cards  when  the  strength  of  trumps  is 
acainst  you.— R.  F.Foster  \S.  O.],'' Whist 
Strategy,"  1894. 

High  cards  are  led  to  take  the  trick  and 
escape  being  trumped,  to  catch  other 
high  cards  in  opponents'  hands,  or  to 
force  out  higher  cards  and  promote  the 
rank  of  those  held  by  the  leader;  and 
also  to  indicate  the  character  of  the  suit, 
and  the  number  of  cards  held  in  it. — 
Fisher  A  mes  [L.  A .] . 

History  of  Whist.— See,  "Whist, 
History  of." 

Holdings. — The  cards  held  by 
the  various  players;  the  hands. 


HOLDING  UP 


204 


HONORS 


Holding  Up. — To  hold  up  is  to 
underplay,  in  order  to  retain  the 
commanding  card  of  a  suit;  not 
to  take  a  trick  when  you  can;  as, 
for  instance,  king  being  led,  the 
second  hand,  having  the  ace,  does 
not  put  it  on.  (See,  also,  "Under- 
play.") 

This  is  a  species  of  underplay,  and  con- 
sists in  retaining  the  best  card  in  hand 
for  a  round  or  two,  in  order  to  play  it  with 
greater  effect  later.  It  is  quite  effective 
when  used  with  good  judgment,  particu- 
larly in  the  trump  suit,  or  in  plain  suits 
after  the  trumps  are  put. — Emery  Board- 
man  [L+A.],  "Winning  Whist." 

Home  Player. — One  who  plays 
whist  at  home,  instead  of  at  the 
club,  or  in  matches;  a  player  of 
domestic  whist;  a  player  of  limited 
experience.  In  another  sense,  the 
home  players  are  the  players  who 
accept  a  challenge,  and  engage  the 
visiting  or  challenging  team. 

By  home  player  is  meant  one  who,  from 
the  comparative  seclusion  of  a  small 
place  having  no  club,  or  from  personal 
choice,  plays  the  game  mostly  at  home — 
in  his  own  family  circle,  or  with  imme- 
diate neighbors.— Casstus  M.  Paine  \L. 
A.],  Whist,  November,  1892. 

Honorary  Members  of  the 
League.  — The  by-laws  of  the 
American  Whist  League  (article  2, 
section  5)  provide  that  "individual 
whist-players,  on  nomination  by 
the  executive  committee,  may  be 
made  honorary  members  of  the 
League  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 
any  annual  meeting.  Honorary 
members  shall  not  be  liable  for  any 
fee,  nor  shall  they  be  eligible  to 
office  or  privileged  to  vote  at  any 
meeting  of  the  League,  unless  they 
are  otherwise  qualified." 

The  honorary  members  of  the 
League,  with  the  dates  of  their  elec- 
tion, are  as  follows:  Henry  Jones 
("Cavendish"),  April  17,  1891;  N. 
B.  Trist,  April  17,  1891;  Fisher 
Ames,  July  22,  1892;  M.  H.  For- 
rest (since  deceased),  July  22,  1892; 


A.  W.  Drayson,  June  22,  1893;  Wil- 
liam Pole,  June  22,  1893. 

Honors. — The  ace,  king,  queen, 
and  jack  of  trumps.  Also,  espe- 
cially in  America,  the  four  highest 
cards,  beginning  with  ace,  in  any 
suit.  In  the  whist  offshoots, 
known  as  "bridge,"  "cayenne," 
etc. ,  the  ten  is  also  included  among 
the  honors. 

The  exact  date  when  the  ace, 
king,  queen,  and  jack  were  first 
called  honors  it  would  be  difficult 
to  fix.  It  appears,  however,  to  be 
somewhere  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  when  the 
primitive  game  of  "  trump"  be- 
came "ruff  and  honours."  The 
attachment  of  the  extra  value  to 
the  four  highest  cards  of  the  trump 
suit  thus  marked  an  important  era 
in  the  development  of  the  game, 
which  soon  thereafter  became 
"whisk,"  and  subsequently 
' '  whist. ' '  Upon  the  introduction  of 
short  whist  (five  points,  instead  of 
ten  as  in  the  old  Hoyle  game),  the 
honors  were  retained  and  counted 
at  their  full  value,  instead  of  being 
cut  in  two,  or  at  least  materially  re- 
duced, as  they  should  have  been. 
Thus  it  is  possible  in  whist,  as  now 
played  in  England,  for  a  player, 
singly,  or  in  conjunction  with  his 
partner,  to  hold  the  four  honors 
and  count  four  points,  leaving  only 
one  more  point  to  be  made  by  ac- 
tual play  in  order  to  win  the  game. 
Thus  luck  becomes  a  larger  element 
than  skill.  In  America,  honors  are 
not  counted  in  the  game,  which  is 
made  seven  points,  a  compromise 
between  the  old  ten-point  game  and 
the  too-short  game  of  five  points, 
and  thus  skill  becomes  the  more 
important  factor  in  the  game  in  this 
country. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the 
American  mode  of  scoring  has 
caused  at  least  one  English  author 


HONORS,  SCORING 


205 


HOWELL,  EDWIN  C. 


to  revise  and  issue  an  edition  of  his 
chief  work  to  conform  to  it.  ' '  Cav- 
endish," in  1895,  published,  in  New 
York  and  London,  an  "American 
edition"  of  his  world-famous  "  Laws 
and  Principles  of  Whist,"  in  which 
he  says:  "  In  the  present  edition 
the  play  has  been  made  to  conform 
to  the  American  standard,  and  the 
examples  and  hands  have  been  re- 
cast with  the  same  object."  Thus 
we  have  the  progressive  spectacle 
of  an  English  author  writing  a  text- 
book on  whist,  and  treating  it  as 
played  by  single  games  instead  of 
rubbers;  omitting  all  references  to 
.singles,  doubles,  trebles,  and  rub- 
ber points,  and  abolishing  the 
ancient  custom  of  counting  honors. 

It  is  no  secret  that  the  committee  ap- 
pointed in  1863  to  revise  the  laws  of  whist 
[in  England]  had  the  question  of  the  re- 
duction of  honors  brought  before  them; 
but  they  feared  to  make  so  large  an  al- 
teration in  the  game,  lest  the  new  laws 
should  only  meet  with  partial  adoption. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  "Card Essays." 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  by  our 
English  laws  honors  count  too  much,  and 
thus  chance,  or  luck,  has  too  much  influ- 
ence on  the  result  of  the  game.  My  part- 
ner and  I  may  be  at  the  score  of  three, 
and  the  adversaries  also  at  the  score  of 
three;  by  careful  play  I  may  win  the  odd 
trick,  but  the  adversaries  hold  two  by 
honors  and  score  game,  and  the  odd 
trick,  which  I  won,  is  not  of  the  slightest 
advantage  to  me.  Again,  when  the  score 
is  love-all,  I  hold  four  by  honors,  but  lose 
the  trick;  the  score  is,  therefore,  four 
to  me,  one  to  the  adversaries.  In  the 
next  hand  the  adversaries  hold  four  by 
honors,  but  I  win  the  trick;  and,  as  tricks 
count  before  honors,  I  win  a  double  on 
that  game,  though  I  and  the  adversaries 
held  similar  cards.  Had  the  order  of  the 
cards  been  reversed,  and  the  adversaries 
had  first  held  the  four  by  honors,  then 
they  would  have  won  a  double  on  the 
game.  These  chances  necessarily  reduce 
the  chances  of  good,  sound  play,  and  tend 
to  make  whist  more  a  game  of  chance 
than  of  skill.  *  *  *  Eliminating  honors, 
and  making  the  game  seven  instead  of 
five,  are,  I  consider,  great  improvements 
in  whist— A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A  +],  "  Whist 
Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 

Honors,  Scoring. — In  the  Eng- 
lish game,  honors  must  be  called  or 


audibly  announced  at  the  end  of 
the  hand,  before  the  trump  card 
of  the  following  deal  has  been 
turned,  or  they  cannot  be  scored. 
Once  claimed,  they  may  be  scored 
at  any  time  during  the  game. 

The  English  code  (section  3), 
provides  that  honors  shall  be  reck- 
oned as  follows:  If  a  player  or  his 
partner,  either  separately  or  con- 
jointly, hold  the  four  honors,  they 
score  four  points;  any  three  honors, 
they  score  two  points;  only  two 
honors,  they  do  not  score,  being 
even. 

Howell,  Edwin  C. — A  leading 
short-suit  advocate  and  player, 
originator  of  the  Howell  game.  He 
was  born  April  21,  1860,  at  Nan- 
tucket,  Mass.,  the  son  of  a  clergy- 
man who  did  not  allow  cards  to  be 
played  in  the  family  circle.  Young 
Howell  made  their  acquaintance  at 
college,  and  to  use  his  own  expres- 
sion, it  was  "  poker  first,  and  then 
bumblepuppy."  Chess  was  his 
favorite  game,  at  which  he  excelled. 
However,  he  soon  learned  to  play 
whist,  for  Foster  speaks  of  him 
(Whist,  September,  1893)  as  fol- 
lows: "  He  could  play  whist  in 
championship  form  twelve  years 
ago,  to  my  knowledge,  and  years 
before  that  he  was  the  best  player 
at  Harvard.  He  was  an  honor  man 
at  college  in  mathematics." 

Mr.  Howell  was  graduated  from 
Harvard  in  1883,  and  went  to  Balti- 
more, where  he  taught  school  for  a 
time.  He  gave  much  attention  also 
to  chess,  and  became  the  amateur 
champion  of  the  city.  It  was  there 
that  he  met  Mr.  Foster,  when  the 
latter  was  first  beginning  to  take  an 
interest  in  whist. 

In  1887  Mr.  Howell  entered  the 
newspaper  business,  and  in  1889  he 
went  to  Boston,  where  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Herald  staff.  There, 
he  modestly  tells  us,  he  "  began  to 


HOWELL,  EDWIN  C. 


206 


HOYLE,  EDMOND 


study  whist  in  earnest."  In  1893 
he  became  a  charter  member  and 
the  first  secretary  of  the  American 
Whist  Club,  and  in  December  of 
that  year  there  appeared  in  Whist 
the  first  of  a  series  of  interesting 
and  valuable  papers  from  his  pen 
on  the  probabilities  of  whist.  He 
played  as  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Whist  Club  team  at  the  Phila- 
delphia, Minneapolis,  and  Brook- 
lyn congresses  of  the  American 
Whist  League.  In  1894  his  high 
abilities  as  a  player  were  demon- 
strated in  the  whist  match  by  cor- 
respondence (g.  v.)  instituted  by 
R.  F.  Foster.  Whist^  in  reporting 
the  result,  February,  1895,  said: 
"If  individual  duplicate  is  any 
test,  and  the  '  Probabilities  of 
Whist'  are  of  any  value,  their 
champion  deserves  his  victory,  for 
E.  C.  Howell  has  fought  hard  for 
both."  Out  of  the  sixteen  well- 
chosen  players  who  took  part  in 
this  correspondence  tourney,  Mr. 
Howell  won  first  place,  both  in  his 
eight  and  in  the  sixteen.  In  the 
New  England  Whist  Association 
contests,  he  subsequently  repre- 
sented the  Boston  Press  Club;  and, 
in  1897,  the  Howell  Whist  Club,  of 
which  he  is  president.  At  Put-in- 
Bay,  in  1897,  he  played  on  the 
team  of  the  Boston  Duplicate  Whist 
Club.  He  has  been  secretary  of  the 
New  England  Whist  Association 
since  its  organization. 

In  the  early  part  of  1896  ap- 
peared "  Howell's  Whist  Open- 
ings," a  successful  volume,  setting 
forth  his  system  of  play,  which 
Foster  christened  "the  Howell 
game."  This  game,  the  Howell 
Whist  Club  and  its  team,  under 
Mr.  Howell's  captaincy,  is  pledged 
to  play,  and  its  popularity  is 
steadily  increasing  in  New  Eng- 
land. Foster's  influence  had  much 
to  do  with  Mr.  Howell's  develop- 
ment as  a  whist  author,  and  with 


the  game  advocated  in  his  book, 
"although, "says  Mr.  Howell,  "he 
subsequently  objected  to  the  color 
of  the  child's  eyes,  and  is  now 
'  groping  for  the  true  path '  in 
whist." 

During  the  summer  of  1897,  Mr. 
Howell  published  the  ' '  Howell 
Method  of  Duplicate  Whist  for 
Pairs,"  consisting  of  indicating 
cards,  with  instructions  and  sample 
score  sheets,  which  adapt  to  gen- 
eral use  the  system  of  playing  every 
pair  against  every  other.  The 
schedules  on  which  the  method  is 
based  are  essentially  the  same  as 
Safford's,  but  were  discovered  quite 
independently.  (See,  "  Duplicate 
Whist  Schedules. ")  Mr.  Howell  is 
also  joint  author,  with  F.  K.  Young, 
of  "  Minor  Tactics  of  Chess." 

Howell  Game,  The. — The  system 
of  whist-play  advocated  by  Edwin 
C.  Howell  in  his  "Whist  Open- 
ings "  (1896),  whereby  he  attempts 
to  provide  for  the  play  of  five  dif- 
ferent styles  of  games,  each  suited 
to  some  peculiarity  of  the  hand. 
Although  long-suit  strategy  (with- 
out American  leads)  is  to  some  ex- 
tent used,  under  exceptionally 
favorable  circumstances,  the  system 
in  its  entirety  is  a  short-suit  sys- 
tem. (See,  "Short-Suit  Leads — 
Howell's.") 

Hoyle,  Edmond.  —  Edmond 
Hoyle,  by  his  ardent  admirers 
styled  the  "  Father  of  Whist,"  was 
born,  according  to  what  seems  the 
most  trustworthy  authority,  in  1679, 
although  a  widely  accepted  date  is 
1672.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
called  to  the  bar,  and  he  styles 
himself  "  a  gentleman"  in  the  first 
edition  of  his  book.  Pole  says: 
"  It  is  clear  he  was  a  man  of  good 
education,  and  moved  in  good 
society."  He  was  possibly  one  of 
the  players  who  frequented  the 
Crown  Coffee-House,  in  Bedford 


HOYLE,  EDMOND 


207 


HOYLE,  EDMOND 


Row,  about  the  year  1730,  when 
whist  was  taken  up  by  the  leading 
spirits  of  that  resort.  It  had  a 
rather  unsavory  reputation  as  a 
tavern  game,  played  chiefly  by 
gamblers  and  sharpers,  and  was  in 
a  primitive  and  undeveloped  stage, 
so  far  as  its  structure,  laws,  etc., 
were  concerned.  Hoyle  was  greatly 
impressed  with  its  merits  and  possi- 
bilities, and  after  having  studied 
and  mastered  it,  he  determined  to 
teach  it  professionally,  and  to  take 
it  out  of  the  hands  of  the  gamblers 
by  exposing  their  tricks,  although 
some  authorities  suspect  Hoyle  of 
having  been  something  of  a  gam- 
bler himself,  and  a  man  who  lived 
by  his  wits.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  certain  that  better  whist 
prevailed,  and  that  his  fame  as  an 
instructor  spread  throughout  the 
world.  It  is  recorded  that  in  1741 
he  was  living  in  Queen  Square, 
London,  successfully  pursuing  his 
vocation  as  the  first  teacher  of 
whist.  It  appears  that  he  had 
drawn  up  manuscript  notes  of  rules 
and  directions  for  his  pupils,  and 
copies  of  these  having  been  surrep- 
titiously obtained,  and  put  in  circu- 
lation, he  determined  to  publish 
them  himself  in  book  form,  under 
due  protection  of  the  law.  Thus,  in 
1742,  appeared  his  famous  volume, 
with  a  long  title,  beginning  as  fol- 
lows: "A  Short  Treatise  on  the 
Game  of  Whist,  Containing  the 
Laws  of  the  Game,  and  also  Some 
Rules  Whereby  a  Beginner  May, 
with  Due  Attention  to  Them, 
Attain  to  the  Playing  it  Well." 
Several  editions  were  rapidly  ex- 
hausted, and  thus  the  game  was 
thoroughly  studied  by  thousands 
who  would  otherwise  have  remained 
in  ignorance  of  its  true  merits.  The 
game  itself  was  much  improved, 
being  precisely  the  form  of  long 
whist,  with  honors,  as  it  has 
come  down  to  the  present  day. 


"The  essential  difficulty  to  be  met 
with  in  the  game  of  whist,"  533-3 
Dr.  Pole,  "  always  has  been,  and  is 
still,  the  fact  of  all  the  cards  except 
the  player's  own  (and  the  turn-up 
when  he  is  not  the  dealer)  being 
concealed  from  him.  In  the  primi- 
tive game  this  difficulty  was  simply 
ignored.  The  player  considered 
his  own  hand  alone,  and  did  the 
best  he  could  with  it.  Hoyle  soon 
saw  the  influence  that  the  concealed 
cards  had  on  the  art  of  trick- 
making;  he  taught  the  policy  of 
considering  them,  though  they 
could  not  be  seen;  and  he  showed 
the  possibility  of  inferring,  to  some 
extent,  what  any  hand  contained 
by  the  cards  which  fell  from  that 
hand  in  the  course  of  play.  This 
was  the  great  lesson  of  attention  to 
the  'fall  of  the  cards,'  which  was 
one  of  the  most  salient  features  of 
his  instruction." 

In  the  early  editions  the  author 
offers  for  a  guinea  to  disclose  the 
secret  of  his  "  artificial  memory, 
which  does  not  take  off  your  atten- 
tion from  your  game."  The  suc- 
cess of  his  first  book  encouraged 
Hoyle  to  bring  out  similar  manuals 
on  "Backgammon,"  "Piquet," 
"Quadrille,"  and  "Brag."  An 
amusing  skit,  "The  Humours  of 
Whist"  ( 1743),  satirized  the  teacher 
and  his  pupils,  and  alluded  to  the 
dismay  of  sharpers  who  found  their 
secrets  made  known.  The  princi- 
pal characters  are:  Professor  Whis- 
ton  (Hoyle),  who  gives  lessons  in 
the  game;  Sir  Calculation  Puzzle, 
an  enthusiastic  player  who  mud- 
dles his  head  with  Hoyle's  calcu- 
lations and  always  loses;  pupils, 
sharpers,  and  their  dupes.  In  the 
prologue  Hoyle's  devotion  to  the 
game  is  thus  alluded  to: 

Who  will  believe  that  man  could    e'er 

exist. 
Who  spent  near  half  an  age  in  studying 

whist? 


HOYLE,  BDMOND 


208 


HOYLE,  EDMOND 


Grew  £rey  with  calculation,  labor  hard, 

As  if  life  s  business  centered  in  a  card? 

That  such  there  is,  let  me  to  those  ap- 
peal, 

Who  with  such  liberal  hands  reward  his 
zeal. 

Lo!  Whist  becomes  a  science,  and  our 
peers 

Deign  to  turn  schoolboys  in  their  riper 
years. 

Other  satirists  also  poked  fun  at 
Hoyle.  In  the  Rambler  for  May 
8,  1750,  appears  an  epistle  from  "A 
Lady  that  had  Lost  her  Money," 
who  states  that  she  was  a  pupil  of 
Hoyle,  who,  when  he  had  given 
her  not  above  forty  lessons,  de- 
clared she  was  one  of  his  best 
scholars.  The  World  of  February, 
1753,  comments  on  the  "  Offensive 
Manners  of  Whist-players,"  and 
suggests  the  publication  of  a  book, 
to  be  called  "  Rules  of  Behavior  for 
the  Game  of  Whist,"  "in  imita- 
tion of  the  great  Mr.  Hoyle."  The 
same  journal,  in  April,  1754,  re- 
marks that  while  the  science  of 
whist  "has  been  rendered  syste- 
matical by  the  philosophic  pen  of 
Mr.  Hoyle,  the  art  still  requires 
treatment,"  and  that  a  gentleman, 
now  in  the  Old  Bailey  prison,  at  his 
leisure  hours,  has  nearly  completed 
a  work  which  will  ' '  make  the  art 
clear  to  the  meanest  capacity."  In 
I755.  Col  man  and  Thornton,  in  The 
Connoisseur,  remarked  that  Hoyle, 
having  "left  oft  teaching,"  the 
formation  of  a  school  was  in  order, 
"  where  young  ladies  of  quality 
might  be  instructed  in  the  various 
branches  of  lurching,  renouncing, 
finessing,  winning  the  tenace,  and 
getting  the  odd  trick,  in  the  same 
manner  as  common  misses  are 
taught  to  write,  read,  and  work  at 
their  needle."  John  Carteret  Pilk- 
ington,  in  his  memoirs,  speaks  of 
gratifying  the  mania  of  the  fine 
ladies  of  theday^br  "cards,  cards, 
cards,"  by  "a  paraphrase  upon 
Hoyle,  which,  neatly  bound  in 
turkey,  a  lady  may  read  at  church 


instead  of  her  prayer-book."  Ho- 
garth, the  caricaturist,  introduced 
into  the  breakfast  scene,  in  "  Mar- 
riage a  la  Mode,"  a  volume  lying 
on  the  carpet  in  the  centre  of  the 
room,  and  inscribed  "Hoyle  on 
Whist." 

Hoyle  was  frequently  mentioned 
in  the  literature  oi  the  day,  as  we 
have  already  seen.  In  1752  his 
name  is  enshrined  in  a  ' '  Hymn  to 
Fashion."  His  teachings  are  com- 
mented upon  in  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine  for  February,  1755.  Also 
in  Fielding's  novel,  "Tom  Jones" 
(book  13,  chapter  5);  in  Alexander 
Thomson's  epic  entitled,  "  Whist" 
(1792),  and  in  Byron's  "Don  Juan" 
(canto  3,  verse  90),  which  first  ap- 
peared in  1821. 

Very  little  else  is  known  of 
Hoyle,  except  that  he  gave  up  per- 
sonal teaching  in  1755,  and  that  in 
1769  the  newspapers  contained  ac- 
counts of  his  death,  mentioning 
him  as  a  well-known  public  char- 
acter. A  writer  shortly  afterwards 
quotes  from  the  parish  register  of 
Marylebone,  showing  that  he  was 
buried  on  August  23,  1769,  and 
adds:  "  He  was  ninety  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  his  demise."  In  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  1769,  page 
463,  his  death  is  said  to  have  taken 
place  August  29,  1769,  at  Welbeck 
street,  Cavendish  Square,  and  his 
age  is  given  as  ninety-seven.  He 
was  buried  in  Marylebone  church- 
yard. His  will,  dated  September 
26,  1761,  was  proved  in  London  on 
September  6,  1769;  the  executors 
were  his  sister,  Eleanor,  a  spinster, 
and  Robert  Crispin  (Notes  and 
Queries,  7th  ser.,  vii,  481-2).  No 
authentic  portrait  is  known;  the 
picture  by  Hogarth,  exhibited  at 
the  Crystal  Palace  in  1870,  repre- 
sents a  Yorkshire  Hoyle,  and  not 
the  Hoyle  of  whom  Byron  said: 

Troy  owes  to  Homer  what  whist  owes  to 
Hoyle. 


HOYLE,  EDMOND 


209 


HOYLE,  EDMOND 


This  parallel,  in  the  opinion  of 
Dr.  Pole,  hardly  does  justice  to  the 
latter,  ' '  for  he  was  far  more  than 
the  historian  of  whist;  he  may  es- 
sentially be  considered  its  founder. " 

Hoyle  was  the  first  to  write  sci- 
entifically on  whist,  or,  indeed,  on 
any  card  game.  His  ' '  Short  Trea- 
tise" soon  became  popular.  He 
was  a  careless  editor,  but  possessed 
a  vigorous  style  of  writing  and 
much  originality.  He  seems  to 
have  profited  by  the  experience  of 
the  best  players  of  the  day,  and  in- 
troduced many  improvements  in 
his  successive  editions.  The  "Short 
Treatise"  was  entered  at  Stationer's 
Hall  on  November  17,  1742,  by  the 
author,  as  sole  proprietor  of  the 
copyright.  The  price,  one  guinea, 
gave  rise  to  piracies,  of  which  the 
first  appeared  in  1743.  Hoyle's  own 
second  edition  (1743),  with  addi- 
tions, was  sold  at  two  shillings,  "  in 
a  neat  pocket  size."  The  third  and 
fourth  editions  were  published  in 
1743;  in  the  fourth  edition  the  laws 
were  reduced  to  twenty-four,  and 
so  remained  until  the  twelfth  edi- 
tion, when  the  laws  of  1760  were 
given.  In  the  eighth  edition  ( 1748) 
thirteen  new  cases  are  added,  to- 
gether with  the  treatise  on  quad- 
rille, piquet,  and  backgammon. 
The  ninth  edition  (1748)  appeared 
as  "  The  Accurate  Gamester's  Com- 
panion."  The  tenth  edition  (1750 
and  1755)  bears  the  same  title  as 
the  eighth,  with  which  it  is  identi- 
cal. For  many  years  every  genu- 
ine copy  bore  the  signature  of 
Hoyle.  In  the  fifteenth  edition 
( 1770)  it  is  reproduced  from  a  wood 
block.  Hoyle's  laws  of  1760,  re- 
vised by  members  of  White's  and 
Saunders',  ruled  whist  until  1864, 
when  they  were  superseded  by  the 
code  drawn  up  by  the  Arlington 
(now  Turf)  and  Portland  Clubs. 
After  Hoyle's  death,  C.  Jones  re- 
vised many  editions.  The  book 

14 


has  been  frequently  reprinted  down 
to  recent  times.  The  word  '  'Hoyle' ' 
came  to  be  used  as  representative 
of  any  book  on  games.  An  "Amer- 
ican Hoyle"  was  published  about 
1860.  "A  Handbook  of  Whist  on 
the  Text  of  Hoyle"  was  published 
by  G.  F.  Pardon  in  1861,  and 
"  Hoyle's  Games  Modernized,"  by 
the  same  editor,  in  1863,  1870,  and 
1872.  "The  Standard  Hoyle,  a 
Complete  Guide  Upon  all  Games  of 
Chance,"  appeared  in  New  York, 
1887.  A  French  translation, 
"Traite"  Abreg<5  de  Jeu  de  Whist," 
was  issued  in  1764,  1765,  and  1776, 
as  well  as  in  the  "Academic  Uni- 
verselle  des  Jeux,"  1786.  A  Ger- 
man translation,  "Anweisung  zum 
Wistspiel,"  was  printed  at  Gotha, 
1768.  An  exhaustive  list  of  the 
publications  of  Hoyle  was  pub- 
lished in  English  Notes  and  Queries 
in  1889,  by  Julian  Marshall. 

Hoyle  was  more  than  the  chronicler — 
he  was  practically  the  inventor  of  the 
game.  To  him,  in  a  metaphorical  sense, 
might  be  applied  the  words  used  of  the 
Roman  emperor,  "He found  it  brick,  and 
left  it  marble."—  W.  P.Courtney  [L+O.], 
"English  Whist." 

A  teacher  was  urgently  needed,  and  the 
occasion  produced  the  man.  The  sage 
was  Hoyle — the  mighty  Edmond  Hoyle — 
whose  name  and  death  are  about  the  only 
solid  facts  definitely  ascertained  about 
him.  The  incidents  of  his  life  are  almost 
a  blank.  He  was  a  preceptor  in  whist, 
giving  lessons  in  the  gay  science  at  Bath 
and  London,  and  for  a  time  he  conde- 
scended to  "wait  on  ladies  of  quality,  at 
their  own  houses,  to  give  them  lectures" 
in  the  art;  but  this  was  before  1755. —  W. 
P.  Courtney  [L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

The  fifth  edition  of  Seymour's  "  Com- 
pleat  Gamester"  was  printed  in  1734,  and 
in  it  he  designated  whist  as  a  "  very  an- 
cient game  among  us."  Hoyle  has  erro- 
neously been  styled  its  father.  His  trea- 
tise was  not  printed  until  1742,  and  there 
is  no  evidence  that  he  devised  a  lead  or 
invented  a  play.  He  did  but  set  down  in 
pamphlet  form  the  current  business  of 
the  day  concerning  it.  He  was  a  recog- 
nized gambler,  who  made  calculations 
upon  chances  and  arranged  tables  of 
computations  for  laying  wagers  upon  all 
manner  of  games  and  sports. — G.  W. 
Pettes  (L.  A.  P.},  "Whist  Universal.-" 


HOYLE  GAME,  THE          2 IO      "  HUMOURS  OF  WHIST  " 


Hoyle  Game,  The. — Whist  as 
taught  and  played  by  Edmond 
Hoyle  and  his  school;  the  old 
English  game  of  long  whist,  ten 
points,  with  honors  counting. 

This  game  {fives  great  scope  to  personal 
skill,  which  is  indeed  its  main  charac- 
teristic and  its  chief  requirement,  as  it 
depends  chiefly  on  personal  skill  for 
its  successful  practice.  It  embodies  no 
enunciation  of  any  general  system  of 
play,  or  of  any  fundamental  guiding 
principles;  attention  is  directed  to  a  great 
variety  of  isolated  occurrences  that  may 
be  met  with,  and  advice  is  given  as  to 
what  should  or  may  be  done  in  each  case; 
so  that  the  player,  keeping  these  exam- 
ples in  mind,  may  use  his  own  discretion 
in  their  application  when  analogous  cases 
arise.  And  by  frequent  practice,  the 
power  becomes  matured  of  dealing  suc- 
cessfully, and  often  brilliantly,  with  the 
many  chance  combinations  that  may  pre- 
sent themselves  in  the  course  of  play. 
For  this  reason,  the  Hoyle  game  has  al- 
ways been  peculiarly  acceptable  to  intel- 
ligent and  clever  players,  as  giving  them 
an  opportunity  of  exercising  their  powers 
of  profiting  by  them.  It  may  be  said  to 
have  prevailed  in  the  best  whist  circles 
unchanged  for  more  than  a  century  after 
its  introduction.  *  *  It  still  retains  a 
large  hold  on  whist-players. —  William 
Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Hoyle  Player. — A  whist-player 
who  plays  the  old-fashioned  game 
of  Hoyle,  or  after  the  manner  of 
Hoyle  and  his  school,  in  whose  day 
the  idea  of  playing  both  hands  as 
one  had  not  yet  been  evolved, 
and  scientific  whist,  as  played  to- 
day, was  entirely  unknown.  There- 
fore, a  Hoyle  player  is,  practically, 
an  old  fogy;  one  opposed  to  new 
and  improved  methods. 

But  the  Hoyle  player  will  probably 
answer:  "  It  may  be  so,  but  I  do  not  like 
nor  want  your  improvement.  I  decline 
to  submit  my  play  to  the  tyranny  of  sys- 
tematic rules  and  principles,  or  to  the 
fancies  ot  my  partner.  I  prefer  the  free- 
dom ot  acting  as  my  own  judgment  may 
direct  me;  I  do  not  approve  your  com- 
bined action,  I  can  take  care  of  myself;  I 
shall  play  what  I  think  proper,  and  my 
partner  can  do  the  same.  Take  your 

Khilosophy  to  the  women  and  the  tyros 
>r  whom  you  wrote  it,  and  do  not  bring 
it  to  me."—lVilliamPole[L.A+]t"Evo- 
lution  of  Whist."' 


"Humbug  Whist."— A  variety 
of  double-dummy,  in  which  the  two 
players  sit  facing  each  other.  After 
the  cards  are  dealt  they  examine 
their  own  hands,  but  not  those  of 
the  dummies.  If  a  player  is  dis- 
satisfied with  his  hand  he  may  take 
up  the  hand  on  his  right  instead.  In 
case  the  dealer  exchanges  his  hand 
thus,  the  trump  remains  the  same,  al- 
though he,  of  course,  loses  the  turn- 
up card.  Only  the  hands  held  by  the 
living  players  are  played,  and  each 
deals  in  turn,  there  being  no  deal 
for  the  dummies.  The  five-point 
English  game,  with  honors  count- 
ing, is  generally  played.  In  some 
places  the  game  is  played  with 
variations;  as,  for  instance,  giving 
the  dealer  the  privilege  of  announc- 
ing trump,  after  examining  his 
hand,  instead  of  turning  up  the 
last  card. 

"Humbug  whist"  is  a  variety  of  double- 
dummy,  in  which  the  players  may  ex- 
change their  hands  for  those  dealt  to  the 
dummies,  and  the  dealer  may  sometimes 
ninke  the  trump  to  suit  himself.— A1.  F. 
Foster  \S.  <?.]. 

"Humours    of  Whist."— The 

full  title  of  this  amusing  brochure, 
which  followed  closely  upon  the 
publication  of  Hoyle's  "Short 
Treatise,"  was:  "The  Humours  of 
Whist,  a  Dramatic  Satire;  as  acted 
every  day  at  White's  and  other 
coffee-houses  and  Assemblies."  As 
stated  in  the  article  on  Hoyle,  the 
principal  characters  were  Professor 
Whiston,  or  Hoyle,  in  other  words, 
and  Sir  Calculation  Puzzle.  The 
latter  gives  some  amusing  explana- 
tions of  his  bad  luck  at  whist.  For 
instance:  "That  certainly  was  the 
most  out-of-the-way  bite  ever  heard 
of.  Upon  the  pinch  of  the  game, 
when  he  must  infallibly  have  lost 
it,  the  dog  ate  the  losing  card,  by 
which  means  we  dealt  again,  and, 
faith,  he  won  the  game."  Some  of 
his  elaborate  methods  of  calculating 


"  HUMOURS  OF  WHIST  "      2 1 1 


IGNORANT  PLAYERS 


chances  at  play  are  given  in  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"  We  were  nine-all.  The  adver- 
sary had  three  and  we  four  tricks. 
All  the  trumps  were  out.  I  had 
queen  and  two  small  clubs,  with 
the  lead.  Let  me  see:  It  was  about 
two  hundred  and  twenty-two  and 
three  halves  to — 'gad,  I  forgot  how 
many— that  my  partner  had  the  ace 
and  king;  ay,  that  he  had  not  both 
of  them,  seventeen  to  two;  and  that 
he  had  not  one,  or  both,  or  neither, 
some  twenty-five  to  thirty-two.  So 
I,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the 
game,  led  a  club;  my  partner  takes 
it  with  the  king.  Then  it  was  ex- 
actly four  hundred  and  eighty-one 
for  us  to  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  to  them.  He  returns  the  same 
suit,  and  I  win  it  with  my  queen, 
and  return  it  again;  but  the  devil 
take  that  Lurchum,  by  passing  his 
ace  twice,  he  took  the  trick,  and 
having  two  more  clubs  and  a  thir- 
teenth card,  egad,  all  was  over." 

The  supporters  of  Hoyle  are  full 
of  admiration  for  his  book.  Chief 
among  them  is  Sir  Calculation 
Puzzle,  who  says:  "There  never 
was  so  excellent  a  book  printed. 
I'm  quite  in  raptures  with  it.  I 
will  eat  with  it,  sleep  with  it,  go  to 
Parliament  with  it,  go  to  church 
with  it.  I  pronounce  it  the  gospel 
of  whist-players."  Lord  Slim  re- 
marks: "  I  have  joined  twelve  com- 
panies in  the  Mall,  and  eleven  of 
them  were  talking  about  it.  It's 
the  subject  of  all  conversation,  and 
has  had  the  honour  to  be  intro- 
duced into  the  cabinet.  Why, 
thou'lt  be  laughed  intolerably  un- 
less you  can  tell  how  many  hun- 
dred and  odd  it  is  for  or  against  one 
that  your  partner  has  or  has  not 
such  a  card  or  such  a  card." 

Alderman  Jobber  is  much  in- 
censed at  his  son's  taking  lessons 
of  Professor  Whiston  instead  of 
attending  to  his  business.  He 


breaks  in  upon  the  two,  and  asks 
the  Professor  to  "desist  his  visits 
for  the  future." 

"Prof. — O,  sir,  there  was  no  ne- 
cessity for  this  abruptness.  I  shall 
certainly  obey  you.  I  don't  want 
half  a  word.  For  know,  sir,  it  is  a 
favour  that  I  attend  your  son. 

"  Young  Jobber — O  yes,  sir,  a 
prodigious  favor. 

"Aid.— Favour,  blockhead! 

" Prof. — Yes,  sir,  a  favour;  for  at 
this  instant,  half-a-dozen  dukes, 
and  as  many  earls,  lords,  and 
ladies,  are  waiting  for  me." 

And  so  he  makes  his  exit,  while 
the  young  man  whispers:  "Pray 
don't  mind  the  old  gentleman,  Mr. 
Professor,  he's  non  compos.  Please 
accept  of  these  five  pieces." 

The  Professor  is  elsewhere 
handled  in  this  fashion: 

"Beau.— Ha!  ha!  ha!  I  shall 
dye!  Yonder  is  Lord  Finesse  and 
Sir  George  Tenace,  two  first-rate 
players;  they  have  been  most  lav- 
ishly beat  by  a  couple  of  'prentices. 
Ha!  ha!  ha!  They  came  slap  four 
by  honours  upon  them  at  almost 
every  deal. 

" Lord  Rally — I  find,  Professor, 
your  book  does  not  teach  how  to 
beat  four  by  honours!  Ha!  ha!  ha! 

"Prof,  (aside) — Curse  them:  I'd 
rather  have  given  a  thousand 
pounds  than  this  should  have  hap- 
pened. It  strikes  at  the  reputation 
of  my  treatise. 

"Lord  Rally — In  my  opinion, 
there  is  still  something  wanting  to 
cotnpleat  the  system  of  whist;  and 
that  is,  a  Dissertation  on  the  Lucky 
Chair !  ( Company  laugh. ) 

"Prof.— Hal  ha!  ha!  Your  Lord- 
ship's hint  is  excellent  I'm  obliged 
to  you  for  it." 

Ignorant  Players. — Players  who 
have  not  yet  learned  the  game 
properly,  but  very  often  imagine 
they  know  all  about  it,  thereby 


ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS       212        ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS 


making  themselves  great  nuisances 
at  the  whist-table.  Ignorant  play- 
ers, confirmed  in  their  ignorance, 
often  rejoicing  in  it,  and  scorning 
the  book  game,  may  be  set  down 
as  bumblepuppists. 

There  is  a  stage  in  the  progress  of  most 
whist-players  where  they  think  they 
know  it  all.  It  is,  however,  an  early 
stage,  and  when  they  have  emerged  from 
it  they  begin  to  know  something  about 
whist. — fisher  Ames  \L.  A.~\. 

The  pretence  of  ignorance  as  to  eti- 
quette is  often  as  disgusting  as  the  com- 
mission of  the  offense.  Repeat  day  after 
day  that  such  a  thing  is  wrong,  and  you 
find  the  offense  again  committed;  and 
again  you  receive  a  denial  that  the  offend- 
ing party  knew  that  he  was  doing  wrong, 
and  thus  insult  is  added  to  injury. — The 
Westminster  Papers  [L+  O.] . 

Illustrative  Hands.— The  hands 
in  a  game  of  whist  shown  in  a  dia- 
gram recording  the  play  and  pub- 
lished for  information,  instruction, 
or  criticism.  Although  it  is  only  of 
late  years  that  the  full  value  of  this 
mode  of  instruction  has  been  recog- 
nized, illustrative  hands,  or  at  least 
descriptive  hands,  were  published 
as  early  as  the  time  of  Hoyle.  In 
1743,  shortly  after  the  publication 
of  his  celebrated  "Short Treatise," 
there  was  published  in  London  a 
satire,  "The  Humours  of  Whist" 
(q.  v.),  which  contained  an  example 
of  the  latter  portion  of  a  hand  in 
which  the  game  is  won  by  a  bril- 
liant coup.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  this  may  have  been  devised 
and  taught  by  Hoyle  himself. 
"  Cavendish"  ingeniously  supplied 
the  earlier  portion  of  the  hand,  so 
that  we  have  here  the  earliest  ex- 
ample of  illustrative  play  published. 
Spades  are  trumps,  the  six  being 
turned  by  Z  (Sir  Calculation  fiz- 
zle) ,  who  is  Y's  partner.  A  ( Shuf- 
fle} and  B  (Lurchum)  are  the  other 
partners.  The  score  is  nine-all 
(equivalent  to  four-all  at  short 
whist,  the  present  English  game, 
or  six -all  in  the  American  game). 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
13 

6  0 

3  * 
V  2 
V  3 
<?  4 
9  + 
10* 
*IO 

*  J 

70 
<9  6 

100 

QO 

20 
2  * 

<3  7 
£>  8 
<?10 
4  * 
5  * 
*  K 

KO 
A  + 

AO 
K  * 

<?  9 
<9  J 
6  * 

V  K 

V  Q 

V  A 
7  * 
8  * 
4  4 
*  6 
*  A 

Q  * 

J  * 

*  2 

*Q 

*  5 

*  3 
30 
8  0 
90 

*  9 
4  0 
5  0 
J  0 

*  8 

*  7 

9  5 

Score:  A-B,  7;  Y-Z,  6. 

The  part  described  in  the  "  Hu- 
mours of  Whist"  begins  at  trick 
eight,  where  Lurchum's  (B's)  play 
is  very  good.  He  allows  Y  to  win 
with  the  king  of  clubs,  that  his 
partner  may  be  led  up  to.  "  Sir 
Calculation  Puzzle's  (Z's)  play," 
says  "Cavendish,"  "is  very  bad. 
At  trick  nine  he  should  finesse  the 
nine  of  clubs.  Not  having  done 
so,  he  should  see  that  the  ace  of 
clubs  is  being  held  up  against  him, 
and  at  trick  ten  should  lead  the 
four  of  diamonds.  If  Sir  Calcula- 
tion finesses  the  club  at  trick  nine, 
then  comes  Shufflers  turn  to  play  a 

food  coup.     Having  won  with  the 
nave  of  clubs  at  trick  nine,  he 
should  lead  the  six  of  hearts  at 
trick  ten,  and  next  the  seven  of 
diamonds  (not  the  queen)." 

Twelve  years  after  the  above  ex- 
ample, still  in  Hoyle's  time,  there 
was  published  in  a  literary  journal 
called  The  Connoisseur,  for  March 
20,  1755,  a  description  of  a  complete 
game;  and  though  the  cards  are  not 
given  in  detail,  enough  is  said  to 


ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS       213       ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS 


enable  a  skillful  and  experienced 
reader  to  discover  how  they  must 
lie.  "  Cavendish"  has  again  suc- 
cessfully made  out  the  hand,  which 
is  a  peculiar  one  in  this  respect, 
that  each  player  has  only  three 
suits,  and  that  to  no  trick  do  all  the 
players  follow  suit.  It  is  repub- 
lished  in  Pole's  "  Evolution  of 
Whist,"  together  with  a  third 
model  whist  hand,  which  origi- 
nally appeared  in  1791,  two  years 
after  Hoyle's  death,  in  an  epic 
poem,  "Whist,"  by  Alexander 
Thomson.  There  is  connected  with 
this  hand  the  following  little  love 
story:  Pusillo,  before  demanding 
the  hand  of  Smilinda,  desires  to 
ascertain  whether  she  can  keep  her 
temper  at  cards.  The  opportunity 
presents  itself  at  whist,  when  Smi- 
linda and  he  are  partners  against 
Aunt.  Rebecca  and  Squire  Booby. 
In  order  to  try  his  lady  love,  Pusillo 
purposely  omits  to  trump  an  oppo- 
nent's winning  card,  thereby  losing 
the  game.  At  this 

She  started  up,  she  stamp'd,  she  raged, 

she  swore; 
Proclaimed  her  wrong,  and   threw  the 

cards  away, 
Nor  longer  in  his  presence   deign'd  to 

stay! 

Of  course,  the  match  was  off,  and 
although  Smilinda  subsequently 
repented,  and  wrote  to  him  "no 
longer  to  resent  her  rude  mistake," 
Pusillo  was  inexorable.  The  play 
of  the  hand  is  not  of  a  very  high 
order. 

Coming  down  to  more  recent 
times,  we  find  the  first  suggestion 
of  the  value  of  illustrative  hands, 
or  diagrams,  as  a  means  of  instruc- 
tion in  "The  Whist-Player,"  the 
first  edition  of  which  was  published 
in  London,  1856,  by  "  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  B."  (H.  C.  Bunbury). 
"The  only  merit  to  which  this 
treatise  can  lay  claim,"  says  the 
author,  "is  novelty  in  the  plan 


pursued.  It  being  generally  al- 
lowed that  no  one  can  learn  the 
game  of  whist,  and  acquire  a  facility 
of  readily  playing  the  different 
hands,  without  having  the  cards 
spread  out  before  him;  and  being 
aware  of  the  silly  objection  most 
people  entertain  against  being 
found  'learning  to  play  cards,' 
although  they  will,  without  hesita- 
tion, openly  sit  down  to  learn  to 
play  anything  else  (a  distinction 
without  a  difference)  —  the  idea 
struck  me  that  a  book  of  instruc- 
tion might  be  so  contrived  as  to  do 
away,  in  a  great  measure,  with  the 
necessity  of  strewing  a  pack  of 
cards  on  the  table,  viz. :  by  annex- 
ing sketches  or  drawings  of  the 
different  suits  or  hands  which  the 
writer's  instructions  attempt  to  ex- 
plain, and  to  which  the  reader  can 
without  trouble  immediately  refer. 
I  imagine  that  the  memory  will  be 
materially  assisted  by  recalling 
these  pictured  impressions." 

This  was  a  good  beginning,  but 
Dr.  Pole  went  still  further  when,  in 
Macmillari's  Magazine  for  Decem- 
ber, 1861,  he  suggested  that  "it 
would  be  a  great  boon  if  some  good 
authority  would  publish  a  set  of 
model  games  at  whist,  with  ex- 
planatory remarks,  found  so  useful 
in  chess,  for  example. ' '  This  sug- 
gestion led  to  the  publication  of 
"Cavendish's"  great  work,  "The 
Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist," 
which  was  the  result  of  actual  play, 
and  in  which  the  desired  illustra- 
tive hands  were  freely  given.  Dr. 
Pole  himself,  in  an  appendix  to  his 
"Theory  of  Whist,"  gives  five  in- 
teresting hands  illustrating  the 
long-suit  theory,  and  he  says  in  a 
foot-note:  "  This  mode  of  illustrat- 
ing whist  by  model  games  was  first 
suggested  by  the  author  of  the 
present  work  in  Macmillari's  Maga- 
zine for  December,  1861."  The 
London  Field,  the  Westminster 


ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS       214       ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS 


Papers  (London),  and  numerous 
books  on  whist  published  since 
"  Cavendish"  first  set  the  example, 
have  described  whist-play  by  means 
of  illustrated  or  model  hands.  In 
this  country  they  have  been  a  regu- 
lar monthly  feature  of  Whist  ( Mil- 
waukee, Wis.,)  ever  since  its  first 
publication.  In  a  recent  number 
of  that  journal  (September,  1897), 
John  W.  Rogers,  of  Mansfield, 
Mass.,  makes  the  following  sugges- 
tion, which  is  endorsed  by  the 
editor:  "  Would  not  your  readers 
be  interested  in  airing  their  opin- 
ions as  to  proper  leads  of  hands 
which  you  might  publish?  The 
cards  to  be  dealt — one  hand  pub- 
lished, requesting  correspondents  to 
give  best  opening  lead  of  hands, 
and  their  reasons  therefor.  The 
replies  from  short-suiters,  middle- 
of-the-road,  or  intermediate  card 
leaders,  straight  long-suiters,  invi- 
tation card  leaders,  etc.,  might,  it 
seems  to  me,  furnish  very  interest- 
ing reading.  The  later  publication 
of  the  hands  as  dealt.witn  results  of 
different  systems  suggested,  should 
help  the  game,  and  would  at  least 
prove  of  interest  to  outsiders. ' ' 

Twenty  examples  of  illustrative 
hands  are  given  by  G.  W.  Pettes  in 
his  "  American  Whist  Illustrated," 
and  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton's  "  Modern 
Scientific  Whist"  is  largely  ex- 
plained by  the  use  of  diagrams  and 
hands.  Foster's  "Whist  Tactics" 
contains  112  hands  taken  from 
actual  play,  and  many  are  also 
found  in  HowelPs  "  Whist  Open- 
ings." In  fact,  nearly  all  the  recent 
writers  on  whist  use  illustrative 
hands  with  good  effect.  (See,  also, 
"Duke  of  Cumberland's  Hand," 
and  "  Phenomenal  Hands.") 

Hands  [taken  from  actual  play]  show- 
ing good,  bad,  and  indifferent  play,  with 
comments,  are  considered  of  more  value 
than  the  illustration  of  pre-arranged 
hands.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.}. 


The  author  feels  that  nothing  in  point 
of  illustration  of  principles,  can  be  so  in- 
structive as  a  selection  of  hands  played 
completely  through,  and  accompanied"^ by 
copious  explanations. — "Cavendish"  [Z. 
A.],  "  Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist" 

The  publication  of  even  a  large  number 
of  hands  to  illustrate  one  side  or  the  other 
should  be  received  with  caution  so  far  as 
they  are  to  be  regarded  as  proving  any- 
thing. The  variety  of  combinations  is 
immense,  and  almost  any  eccentric  play 
will  sometimes  win  tricks.  Hands  can  be 
picked  out  to  support  almost  any  theory. 
—Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.],  Whist,  Oct. -Nov., 
1896. 

You  will  find  in  the  latter  part  of  "  Cav- 
endish," in  the  Field  occasionally,  and  in 
the  Westminster  Papers,  what  are  termed 
"illustrated  hands" — that  is,  the  whole 
fifty-two  cards  arranged  in  the  four  hands 
— and  the  play  given  by  which  a  certain 
number  of  tricks  were  won,  on  one  side 
or  the  other.  To  arrange  the  cards  as 
given,  and  to  work  out  the  hands,  is  an 
excellent  method  to  discover  and  impress 
on  the  memory  what  may  be  done  with 
the  cards.— A.  W.  Dray  son  [L+A+], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 


Illustrative  Hands,  Recording. 

— Numerous  methods  of  recording 
and  illustrating  whist-play  have 
been  devised  during  the  past  thirty- 
five  years.  Illustrative  hands,  in 
order  to  be  most  useful  and  effec- 
tive, require  a  simple,  clear,  and 
attractive  system  of  notation,  such 
as  the  reader  will  find  used  through- 
out this  volume.  Our  purpose  in 
the  present  article  is  to  review  the 
various  stages  through  which  this 
highly-improved  and  satisfactory 
representation  has  been  arrived  at. 
We  have  already  traced  the  his- 
tory of  illustrative  hands.  The 
idea  of  publishing  hands  com- 
pletely played  through  as  a  means 
of  imparting  instruction  was  sug- 
gested by  chess,  and  first  employed 
by  "Cavendish"  in  a  systematic 
and  thorough  manner.  As  origi- 
nally conceived,  the  system  of  no- 
tation was  very  crude,  and  required 
a  constant  repetition  of  explanatory 
notes  to  make  it  understood.  Min- 
iature cards  in  type  were  then  un- 


ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS      215       ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS 


known,  and  the  size  and  suit  were 
shown  by  ordinary  type  and  figures. 
It  was  necessary  to  have  a  separate 
column  to  show  who  led  in  each 
trick,  and  another  column  to  show 
who  WOH.  The  cards  were  given 
in  the  order  in  which  they  fell, 
without  any  effort  to  keep  the  hand 
of  each  player  in  a  separate  col- 
umn. This  made  it  impossible  for 


the  reader  to  pick  out  the  hand  of 
any  individual  to  see  what  he  held 
to  justify  his  play,  and  necessitated 
a  separate  diagram,  giving  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  suits  among  the 
four  players.  The  following  dia- 
gram, from  the  first  number  of  the 
Westminster  Papers,  published  in 
April,  1868,  will  show  the  system  of 
illustrating  the  play  thirtyyears  ago: 


Trick  I., 

Trick  I., 

C  6 

3 

10 

A 

W  leads. 

won  by  Z. 

Trick  II., 

Trick  II., 

S   2 

Kv 

A 

4 

Z  leads. 

•won  by  X. 

Trick  III., 

Trick  III., 

X  leads. 

H3 

5 

Kg 

6 

won  by  Z. 

A  few  months  later,  we  find  the 
card  faces  taking  the  place  of  the 
initials  and  figures;  but  the  old 
arrangement  of  separate  columns, 


to  indicate  the  leaders  and  winners 
in  each  trick,  is  retained,  as  shown 
in  the  following  illustration,  which 
is  from  a  hand  published  in  1868  : 


Trick  I., 
A  leads. 

<? 
V 

9     <? 
V     <? 

S 

<v> 

Trick  I., 
•won  by  D. 

Trick  II., 
D  leads. 

* 

.'.     * 
4-  ' 
jj.    ••• 

*** 

*  * 
*  * 

*  * 

*  * 
*  + 

Trick  II., 
won  by  D. 

Trick  III., 
D  leads. 

* 
* 

H 

0 
0 

*  + 

•!• 
*    * 

Trick  III., 
won  by  C. 

In  December,  1868,  Sydney  King  same  column.  He  proposed  to 
suggested  the  foundation  of  the  do  away  with  the  two  side  col- 
present  system,  which  is  to  keep  umns,  and  to  indicate  the  winning 
the  hand  of  each  player  in  the  cards  by  placing  heavy  rules  on 


ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS     216     ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS 


each  side  of  them.  An  explan- 
atory note  stated  that  the  card 
under  the  margined  card  was  the 
next  one  led.  The  original  leader's 
hand  was  always  placed  in  the 
first  column,  the  dealer's  in  the 
last;  and  the  letters  A  and  B  were 
used  to  distinguish  the  leader  and 
his  partner  from  Z  and  X,  who 
were  the  dealer  and  his  partner. 
The  new  diagrams  presented  the 
following  appearance: 


tration  is  from   one    of   the  first 
hands  shown  in  this  way: 


V 

0    0 
0% 


This  system  of  notation  retained 
its  popularity  for  several  years,  the 
only  change  being  for  a  short  time 
in  1872,  when  the  wiuning  card 
was  entirely  enclosed  in  black  rules 
for  the  sake  of  greater  distinctness. 
This  was  found  to  be  troublesome 
and  expensive  to  set  up  in  type, 
and  soon  fell  into  disuse.  Several 
years  later  the  side  rules  were  also 
abandoned,  and  a  single  heavy  un- 
derline was  employed  to  designate 
the  winning  card  in  each  trick. 
This  method  is  still  in  use,  wherever 
the  old  style  card-faces  are  used  to 
show  the  hands,  and  it  has  the 
advantage  of  enabling  the  reader  to 
place  the  lead,  and  to  count  up  the 
winning  tricks  with  greater  ease; 
but  it  is  still  defective,  because  it 
fails  to  present  a  clear  picture  of 
the  distribution  of  the  suits  in  the 
various  hands.  Th  e  following  illus- 


As a  variation  from  the  column 
system,  some  writers  were  in  the 
habit  of  using  what  is  known  as 
the  "Catherine  wheel"  notation, 
in  which  the  four  cards  of  each 
trick  were  represented  as  they 
would  appear  upon  the  table,  a 
pointer  of  some  kind  being  placed 
between  the  leader's  card  and  that 
played  by  second  hand,  to  show 
the  order  in  which  the  cards  fell. 


This  system,  while  well  adapted 
for  analyzing  hands  trick  by  trick, 
takes  up  a  great  deal  of  space,  is 
very  expensive  in  type-setting,  and 
has  the  old  defect  of  requiring  a 
separate  diagram  to  show  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  suits  in  each 
player's  hand. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS       217       ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS 


In  order  to  save  space  and  com- 
position, the  earlier  newspapers 
adopted  the  initial  and  figure  sys- 
tem, keeping  the  hand  of  each 
player  in  a  separate  column,  and 
indicating  the  winning  card  by  an 
asterisk  or  cross,  as  shown  in  the 
following  example: 

THE  PLAY. 


Trick.  North.  East.  South.  West. 

1  2H  6H  4Dx  AH 

2  5S  3S  KS  7E>* 

3  30  6D  2D  A  D  x 

4  5D  JD  8D  KDx 

5  KCx  6C  3C  4C 


This  method,  while  enabling  the 
reader  to  follow  the  course  of  play, 
renders  it  very  difficult  for  him  to 
pick  out  the  distribution  of  the 
suits.  In  order  to  remedy  this  de- 
tect, it  was  suggested  by  R.  F. 
Foster,  in  1891,  to  place  the  initials 
of  the  black  suits  on  different  sides 
of  the  column  of  figures,  and  to 
distinguish  black  from  red  by  using 
upper  and  lower  case.  This  en- 
abled the  reader  to  pick  out  the 
number  of  each  suit  in  the  hand 
of  any  player  at  a  glance,  and 
added  greatly  to  the  interest  in  fol- 
lowing the  play.  The  following 
illustration  will  show  the  appear- 
ance of  the  same  cards  as  those  in 
the  last  diagram,  when  they  are 
arranged  on  this  plan: 

1  H2  H6  4D*          HA 

2  55  35          Ks  7D* 

3  30  6D         2D  AD* 

4  5  D  JD          8D  K  D* 

5  cK*         c6          03  04 

The  difference  in  the  upper  and 
lower  case,  and  the  necessity  for 
having  each  initial  always  on  its 
own  side,  led  to  many  mistakes  in 
proof-reading,  and  the  confusion 
which  resulted  often  spoiled  an  en- 
tire article.  But  the  system  was 
acknowledged  to  be  better  than  any 
before  suggested,  and  needed  only 
one  addition  to  make  it  perfect. 


This  was  a  very  simple  thing  when 
found,  but  for  six  years  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  occurred  to  any  one. 
It  was  to  take  the  ordinary  card- 
pips  and  make  those  for  the  red 
suits  with  outline  faces,  leaving 
those  for  the  black  suits  solid,  and 
then  to  arrange  them  so  that  only 
one  red  and  one  black  suit  should 
be  on  the  same  side  of  the  column 
of  figures  indicating  the  size  of  the 
cards.  This  is  now  generally 
known  as  Foster's  notation,  and 
was  introduced  to  the  whist  world 
by  the  New  York  Sun,  of  which  he 
is  the  whist  editor,  special  matrices 
being  cut,  from  which  fonts  of  self- 
spacing  type  were  cast.  The  clear- 
ness of  the  new  diagrams  were 
immediately  recognized,  the  reader 
being  able  to  see  not  only  the  exact 
distribution  of  the  suits,  but  the 
cards  remaining  in  each  player's 
hand  at  any  stage  of  the  game. 
Whist,  the  official  organ  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  adopted 
the  new  system  for  the  official  rec- 
ords and  illustrative  hands,  and  it 
is  now  used  by  all  the  leading  whist 
writers,  both  in  their  text-books 
and  in  newspaper  articles. 

The  examples  of  whist  strategy 
that  are  given  in  illustrative  hands 
are  now  frequently  taken  from  im- 
portant matches.  When  it  is  de- 
sired to  keep  a  record  of  the  play, 
the  cards  are  left  in  the  exact  order 
in  which  they  fall,  and  are  replaced 
iu  the  pockets  of  the  duplicate 
trays  without  shuffling.  They  are 
then  taken  to  the  official  scorers, 
who  lay  them  out  on  the  table  and 
put  down  the  size  of  each  card  on 
a  blank  prepared  for  the  purpose. 
These  blanks  have  sixteen  vertical 
columns  ruled  on  them,  four  for  the 
hand  of  each  player.  At  the  top 
of  these  columns  is  an  indicator  to 
show  the  four  suits,  and  in  record- 
ing the  hand  the  scorer  need  not 
put  down  the  initial  of  the  suit,  but 


IMPERFECT  PACK 


218 


INATTENTION 


places  the  size  of  the  card  in  the 
column  headed  by  the  mark  of  the 
suit  to  which  the  card  belongs.  The 
following  illustration  will  give  one 


an  idea  of  these  diagrams,  the 
hands  of  three  players  only  being 
shown: 


Tricks. 

<? 

* 

0 

• 

<? 

4 

0 

* 

<? 

* 

0 

* 

i 

2 

6 

4 

2 

5 

2 

K 

3 

5 

J 

8 

4 

K 

6 

3 

These  blanks  are  printed  on  thin 
paper,  so  that  five  or  six  copies  can 
be  taken  at  a  time  by  using  carbon 
between.  One  copy  is  given  to  the 
captain  of  each  team,  and  one  is 
filed  with  the  recording  secretary 
of  the  League.  Any  extra  copies 
are  usually  for  whist  editors,  who 
may  wish  to  make  a  detailed  analy- 
sis of  the  play. 

Imperfect  Pack. — A  pack  of 
cards  which  is  faulty,  unfair,  or 
unsuitable  for  play;  one  containing 
duplicate  cards,  or  from  which  a 
card  or  cards  are  missing,  or  which 
contains  cards  which  are  torn  or  so 
marked  that  they  can  be  identified. 

A  pack  may  be  imperfect  or  incorrect 
by  having  a  card  short,  or  from  having  a 
duplicate  card,  or  from  having  a  cardof 
the  other  pack  in  it.— Charles  Mossop  [L+ 
O.],  Westminster  Papers,  October  i,  1878. 

Suppose  a  pack  contains  two  fours  of 
spades,  instead  of  a  four  and  five;  this  is 
unimportant,  and  might  remain  long  un- 
detected. At  length  they  are  played  to- 
gether, and  immediately  perceived;  yes, 
and  ten  to  one  that  it  has  not  been  the  best 
player  who  has  first  made  the  discovery. 
This  affair  has  often  made  a  subject  for  a 
joke,  and  perhaps  a  bystander  would  be 
wrong  to  interfere  in  such  a  case.  We 
have  seen  it  carried  to  great  lengths-  the 
players  certainly  "were  very  unskillful;" 
out  it  was  strange  that  out  of  four  play- 
ers, uot  one  should  have  discovered  the 
defect.  *  *  *  For  two  hours  the  party 
had  been  playing  with  two  packs,  one  of 
which  had  no  aces,  and  the  other  no 
kings.  It  was  amusing  to  hear  the  dis- 


cussions at  every  round  on  the  odd  trick 
and  the  honors;  at  every  moment  they 
appeared  on  the  point  of  discovering  the 
deficiency,  and  then  again  their  atten- 
tion was  diverted  into  another  channel. — 
Deschapelles  [O.],  "Laws,"  Article  49. 

In. — Unplayed  cards  are  said  to 
be  "in,"  or  "  in  play." 

Inattention. — The  first  great  les- 
son which  Hoyle  strove  to  inculcate, 
in  the  then  limited  science  of  whist, 
was  for  the  player  to  watch  the  fall 
of  the  cards;  in  other  words,  to  pay 
strict  attention  to  the  play,  in  order 
to  be  able  to  remember  what  cards 
were  out,  and  to  draw  proper  infer- 
ences. Inattention  at  the  whist- 
table,  on  the  part  of  players  who 
ought  to  know  better,  has  lost 
many  games,  and  led  to  much  un- 
pleasantness between  partners. 

No  observant  player  can  have  failed  to 
notice  the  loss  he  suffers  by  momentarily 
taking  his  eyes  off  the  table.—  Westmin- 
ster Papers  [L+O.]. 

Fully  twenty  per  cent  of  the  points  lost 
by  any  average  player  may  be  set  down 
to  sheer  inattention.  Fortunately  for 
him,  his  adversaries  are  generally  guilty 
of  similar  carelessness. —  William  Cusact- 
Smilh[L.  O.]. 

Alleged  forgetfulness  at  whist,  as  in 
most  other  things,  is  far  more  frequently 
inattention  than  forgetfulness.  The  fall 
of  the  cards  has  not  been  watched,  and 
the  proper  inferences  have  not  been 
drawn  at  the  moment.  A  player  cannot 
be  said  to  have  forgotten  what  he  never 
kuew. — Eraser's  Magazine. 


INCOME  FROM  WHIST        219 


INFERENCES 


Income     from     Whist.  —  The 

habit  of  playing  for  stakes,  in- 
dulged in  in  England  for  a  century 
and  a  half,  has  produced  another 
curious  effect,  which  is  thus  no- 
ticed by  "Portland,"  in  "The 
Whist  Table:"  "There  are  many 
people  that  believe  a  certain  in- 
come is  to  be  derived  from  whist. 
We  have  on  record  men  that  eked 
out  their  income  by  this  means. 
They  succeeded  for  a  series  of 
years;  but  the  time  came  when 
they  had  their  season  of  adversity, 
and  their  winnings  melted  like 
snow  before  the  sun."  (See,  also, 
"Gambling.") 

Independent  Players. — A  cer- 
tain amount  of  independence  on  the 
part  of  a  whist-player  may  be  evi- 
dence of  his  mastery  of  the  game, 
and  of  his  knowledge  when  to  obey 
and  disobey  the  rules  to  advantage. 
But  if  carried  to  excess,  and  espe- 
cially when  backed  up  only  by  a 
very  limited  knowledge  of  the  game, 
this  so-called  independence  is  al- 
most as  bad  as  downright  bumble- 
puppy  (q.  v.). 

Besides  the  good  players  who  prefer  the 
old-fashioned  rules,  there  are  occasionally 
so-called  independent  players,  who  ridi- 
cule playing  according  to  rules  and  con- 
ventions at  all.  They  are  generally  great 
nuisances.  They  cannot  play  a  card 
without  following  some  conventional  sys- 
tem, some  rule  which  givest  or  is  intended 
by  them  to  give,  information;  only  they 
invent  their  own  rules  and  conventions, 
and  they  are  always  poor  and  ineffective 
compared  with  those  which  are  the  re- 
sult of  the  experience  of  the  best  players 
for  many  generations.  They  are  gener- 
ally worse  cranks  than  the  players  who 
are  too  closely  bound  by  the  rules. — 
Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.]. 

Indicators. — In  duplicate  whist, 
cards  or  other  devices,  placed  on 
the  tables  to  show  the  players 
•which  seats  they  are  next  to"  oc- 
cupy, when  playing  a  schedule 
containing  many  changes. 


Indifferent  Cards. — Two  or  more 
cards  of  a  suit  which  are  held  in 
sequence,  or  which  become  of 
equal  value  after  the  intermediate 
cards  have  been  played;  cards  of 
equal  value  for  trick  -making  pur- 
poses. 

Mr.  Trist  had  noticed  the  advantageous 
use  that  had  been  made  of  variations  in 
the  play  of  indifferent  high  cards — z.  e.t 
cards  of  equal  value  for  trick-making 
purposes. —  William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evo- 
lution of  Whist." 

Individual  Record. — The  record 
of  any  one  player,  especially  at 
duplicate  whist,  in  playing  which 
it  is  possible  to  accurately  deter- 
mine, not  only  the  relative  merits 
of  the  play  of  pairs,  teams,  or  clubs, 
but  of  single  players.  This  is  ac- 
complished by  means  of  play  con- 
ducted in  accordance  with  individ- 
ual schedules. 

Inferences. — Information  drawn 
from  the  play,  or  fall  of  the  cards, 
in  accordance  with  the  rules.  For 
instance,  if  your  partner,  having 
taken  the  trick,  does  not  return 
your  trump  lead,  you  infer  he  has 
no  more.  The  many  latter-day  re- 
finements in  whist  signals,  echoes, 
etc.,  make  it  more  difficult  at  all 
times  to  draw  the  correct  inferences, 
and  care  should  be  exercised  not  to 
arrive  at  too  hasty  conclusions. 
There  are  certain  conventional 
plays  from  which  inferences  may  be 
easily  and  accurately  drawn,  how- 
ever, especially  when  players  em- 
ploy the  same  system  of  play. 
In  fact,  the  chances  for  drawing  in- 
ferences are  so  frequent  that  every 
round  must  be  closely  watched. 
The  finest  players  are  those  who 
can  most  quickly  and  accurately 
detect  the  proper  inferences,  and 
make  the  best  use  of  them.  Here 
are  some  of  the  more  important  in- 
ferences that  may  be  drawn  from 
high-card  original  leads,  as  laid 
down  by  Hamilton: 


INFERENCES 


22O 


INFERENCES 


LE 

] 

NFERENCES. 

FIRST. 

SECOND. 

SHOWS. 

DENIES. 

NUMBER 

IN  SUIT. 

Ace 

King 

Queen 

Ace 
Ace 
Ace 
Ace 
Ace 
King 

Queen 
Jack 
Ten 
Nine 
Fourth 
Ace 

Jack 
Queen 
Queen  and  jack 
Queenj  or  jack  and  ten 
Two  higher 

King 
King 
King 
King 
King,  queen,  and  jack 
Queen 

4 
5  or  more 
4 
5  or  more 
5  or  more 

Kingi 
King* 
Kingi 

Queen 
Queen 
Jack 

Ace 
Two  small 
Ace  and  queen 

Jack 
Jack 

4 

4 

King* 

Jack 

Queen 

4 

King 
King 
King 
§ueen 
ueen* 
Queen  * 

Ten 
Nine 
Fourth 
Ace 
King 
King 

Queen  and  jack 
eueen  and  ten 
ueen 
King 
Ace 

Ace 
Ace  and  jack 
Ace  and  jack 
Jack 
Jack 
Jack 

4 

4 
4 
5  or  more 
6  or  more 
5  or  more 

Queen 
Hueen 
ueen 
Queen 
Queen 
Jack 

Jack 
Ten 
Nine 
Eight 
Small 
Ace 

Ten 

Jack 
Jack,  ten 
King,  ten,  nine 
King  and  two  higher 
King,  queen 

Ace,  king,  nine 
Ace,  king 
Ace,  king 
Ace,  jack 
Ace,  jack 

4 
5  or  more 
4 
5  or  more 
5  or  more 

King 

g 

Jack* 
Jack* 

King 

Queen 

Ace 

5 

Jack« 
Ten' 
Ten' 
Ten  8 

Queen 
King 
Jack 
Fourth 

King 
Jack 
King 
King,  jack 

Ace 
Ace,  queen 
Ace,  queen 
Ace,  queen 

6  or  more 
4 
5  or  more 
4  or  more 

1  King  winning. 

*  King  losing. 

*  Queen  winning. 

*  Queen  losing. 

If  partner  leads  a  trump,  the  com- 
mon inference  is  that  he  is  possessed 
of  great  strength,  and  wishes  trumps 
drawn.  If  he  leads  from  a  plain 
suit,  it  is  obvious  that  he  is  not  very 
strong  in  trumps,  but  that  the  suit 
led  is  his  strongest,  which  he  de- 
sires to  establish  (taking  for 
granted,  of  course,  that  he  plays 
the  long-suit  game).  If  he  leads  a 
small  card,  he  says  he  has  no  com- 
bination from  which  a  high-card 
lead  would  be  proper.  If  you  led 
originally,  and  partner  is  returning 
your  suit,  you  infer  that  he  has  not 
the  master  card  if  he  does  not  lead 


6  Jack  winning,  ace  not  in  third  hand. 
•Jack  losing,  or  ace  in  third  hand. 
'Ten  forcing  queen. 
8  Ten  winning. 

it,  and  that  it  is  against  you.  If  he 
returns  your  plain  suit  without 
showing  you  his  own  first,  you  infer 
that  he  has  no  good  long  suit,  and 
is  ready  to  play  your  game.  These, 
and  many  like  inferences,  are  drawn 
from  conventional  play.  Dr.  Pole 
treats  the  subject  exhaustively  in 
his  "Philosophy  of  Whist"  (pp. 
60-64),  and  Charles  E.  Coffin,  in 
"The  Gist  of  Whist,"  also  gives 
concise  and  minute  information,  in 
tabular  form,  showing  the  proper 
inferences  from  the  various  leads. 
All  the  leading  text-books  pay  care- 
ful attention  to  the  subject 


INFERENCES 


JNFERK-NCES. 


PSKJY 

'"i.i«-;i« 
Queen  « 
Quten 
Queen 
Queen 

e*4A 

Queec 
Jack 
Jack* 
Jack* 
Jack* 
Jack* 

Tea» 

Fourth 
Ace 
King 
King 
Jack 
Ten 
Nine 

I*1**}  S 

Small 
Ace 
King 
KJn« 
Queen 
Queen 

"S^Jqc  C 
Fourth 

$0B«WL                                              DEKIXS. 

NUMBER 
IN  SUIT. 

i    g"^1 

King 

King,  queen,  and  jack 
:    Queen 
fmck 
)«ck 

5  or  more 
4 
5  or  more 

4 
5  or  more 
5  or  more 
4 

4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
5  or  more 
6  or  more 
5  or  more 

5  or  more 
4 
<  or  more 
i  <.*r  more 

6 
5 
7  or  more 
6  or  more 
4 
5  or  more 
4  or  more 

t  -  :  .*  ,k                   Ace 
g.v.  t/i  Hi"-',  tt-u                        Ace  and  iack 
-•ii                                               Ace  and  jack 

Teachers  of  Whist. 

Ten                                           Ace.  king,  nine 
Jack                                         Ace.  kin«{ 
Jack,  ten                              i     Ace,  king 

>.  JenkSfn,  «»»«             Miss  3«jsie  E.  Allen 

King  and  two  higher           Ace.  jack 
King,  queen                                  

Ace,  oypta  ,- 

QueeMiss  Kate  Wheelaek. 

Ace,  king                                      

King                                      i     Ace 

ftfipuell.             Missfep'OS  E.  Clapp. 

King,  jack                                Ace,  queen 

*  King  winning. 


If  he 


sun,  it  i*  \>:  v. •?«.-, i'. 

strong  in  trump 

led  is  his  strongcM. 

sires     to     establish 

granted,   of  coursn-. 

the  long--sim  game). 

small  card,  he  says  1 

bi nation    from  which  a  high-c«'.p 

lead  would  be  proper.     If  you  leo 

originally,  and  partner  i*  returning 

your  suit,  you  infer  that  he  has  n->' 

the  nuister  card  if  he  does  not  \e*J 


*  Jack  winning,  ace  not  in  third  hand. 
*Jnck  losing,  or  ace  in  third  hand. 
'Ten  forcing  <;uetu. 
*Ten  winning. 

t.  »n-l  that  it  is  agninst  you.  If  he 
«^vm«  vour  plain  «uit  without 
Jj<  wng  «'ou  his  own  first,  you  infer 
•vr  -  v  S*.s  no  £ood  lon^  suit,  and 
•  r»r*idt  to  plaj-  your  Bailie.  These, 

tr.«<>y  like  i  nfcrences,  are  drawn 
•:i-«.-  »'^nventionoi".  p>ay.  Dr.  1'ole 
-•^-,'f-  tlit-  subject  exhaustivdv  in 

-FbiloscT.hy  of  Whist"  (pp. 
**.*>»•,  •:>.'•••>  ^j-.arles  V..  L-'li^!!,  in 
>"  Whist,"  i  yives 
iWK'y?  f.-.l  minute  iufoniislion,  in 
«:>±i'tT  r>-m,  Nuowinjf  the  pioper 
!  i  ft.  ?>.r  -.-«•••-  ;riri  the  various  K-ads. 
»•'•  :tt«-  U--.-'..'  ,;  text- books  j.aycare- 


INFORMATION 


221 


INFORMATION 


Draw  an  inference  from  each  play  made 
by  either  adversary  or  partner. — Milton 
C.  Work  [L.  A.  ff.],"  Whist  of  To-day." 

To  play  good  whist  it  is  necessary  to  be 
able  to  draw  the  important  inferences 
with  rapidity  and  accuracy. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  \L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

The  great  strength  of  the  expert  lies  in 
his  ability  to  draw  correct  inferences 
from  the  fall  of  the  cards,  and  to  adapt 
his  play  to  the  circumstances. — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter [S.  O.],  " Complete  Hoyle." 

The  chances  for  drawing  inferences  be- 
long to  every  round  played.  The  neces- 
sity for  close  attention  to  the  business  of 
the  game  is  enforced  by  this  considera- 
tion.— G.  W.Pettes  [L.A.P.],  "American 
Whist  Illustrated." 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  unsound 
players  often  deceive  unintentionally,  and 
all  players  sometimes  with  intention.  It 
is,  therefore,  necessary  to  be  on  your 
guard  against  drawing  inferences  too 
rigidly. — "Cavendish"  [L,  A.]. 

Information. — Intelligence  con- 
veyed by  means  of  the  play  of  the 
cards  at  whist.  Legitimate  infor- 
mation is  a  necessary  part  of  the 
game,  especially  so  between  part- 
ners, in  order  that  they  may  play 
their  combined  hands  to  the  best 
advantage.  To  some  extent  all 
whist  play  is  informatory,  although 
there  is  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  players,  and  especially  the 
experts,  as  to  how  much  informa- 
tion (especially  of  an  arbitrary 
nature)  should  be  given.  All  are 
agreed  that  too  much  information 
cannot  be  given  to  partner,  but 
whether  information  should  always 
be  given  him  at  the  risk  of  the  ad- 
versaries obtaining  and  making  use 
of  it  also,  is  the  mooted  point.  As 
a  rule,  players  of  the  long-suit 
game  and  American  leads  are 
ready  to  give  the  widest  publicity 
to  their  hands  for  the  sake  of  in- 
forming partner.  Short -suit  play- 
ers, and  especially  the  opponents 
of  the  American  leads,  pursue  the 
opposite  course. 

No  player  should  take  advantage  of 
information  imparted  by  his  partner 


through  a  breach  of  etiquette. — Etiquette 
of  Whist  (American  Code). 

The  more  plainly  you  demonstrate  your 
hand  to  your  partner.the  better. — Thomas 
Mathews  \L.  O.],  "Advice  to  the  Young 
Whist-Player,"  1804. 

No  sooner  does  the  play  begin  than  in- 
formation is  at  once  conveyed  as  to  the 
contents  of  the  various  hands,  by  means 
of  what  is  termed  the  fall  of  the  cards. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Philosophy  of 
Whist." 

Instead  of  the  maxim,  "  It  is  more  use- 
ful to  inform  your  partner  than  to  deceive 
your  adversary,"  I  would  substitute  this: 
"  Your  single  partner  can  do  more  good 
than  both  your  adversaries  can  do  harm, 
by  utilizing  information  you  may  give  by 
your  play.' — R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

Play  according  to  the  rules  and  conven- 
tions, so  as  to  give  as  much  information 
to  your  partner  as  you  can;  but  do  not  let 
these  stand  in  the  way  of  making  the  best 
score  possible  under  the  circumstances  of 
the  hand,  as  there  are  exceptions  to  every 
rule.— Clement  Dairies  [L.  A  f],  "Modern 
Whist." 

I  am  not  an  enemy  of  the  information- 
giving  game.  It  is  not  on  account  of  its 
informatory  character  that  I  object  to  the 
long-suit  game.  The  player  must  give 
information,  or  a  partnership  game  is 
out  of  the  question.  The  only  matter  of 
choice  is,  what  sort  of  information  is  the 
most  advantageous. — £.  C.  Howell  \_S.  ff.], 
"Howell's  Whist  Openings." 

Experience  has  shown  that  leads  which 
give  the  most  information,  are  also  those 
which  lead  to  the  greatest  success.  When, 
however,  to  give  this  information  to  both 
partner  and  adversaries,  and  when  to 
withhold  it,  becomes  a  question  for  rea- 
soning. Yet  every  person  who  desires  to 
become  a  first-class  •whist-player,  must 
know,  and  be  able  to  make  the  best  use 
of,  American  leads. — A.  W.  Dravson  [L+ 
A  +1,  "The  Art  of  Practical  Whist"  (Ap- 
pendix to  the  fifth  edition). 

The  new  school  adopted  the  golden 
maxim  of  Clay:  "  It  is  of  more  impor- 
tance to  inform  your  partner  than  to  de- 
ceive your  adversary."  The  experience 
of  twenty-five  years  has  exploded  that 
theory,  and  it  is  replaced  by  the  axiom 
that  "information  is  of  more  use  to  the 
strong  hand  than  to  the  weak."  In 
"Whist  Tactics,"  p.  136,  we  find:  "The 
modern  verdict  is  that  it  is  not  advisable 
to  give  information  to  weak  partners  or  to 
strong  adversaries."—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
Monthly  Illustrator,  1807. 

The  foundations  of  modern  whist  is 
giving  information,  and  the  chief  pillars 
are  the  number-showing  leads  and  the 


INFORM ATORY  GAME         222 


INSTINCT  IN  WHIST 


pjaiu-suit  echo.  It  is  claimed  that  these 
give  the  partners  an  insight  into  each 
other's  hands,  which  is  of  the  greatest 
value  and  importance.  But  there  is  nota 
line  in  any  published  work  on  whist 
telling  what  the  partners  can  do  with  this 
information  when  they  get  it,  that  can- 
not be  offset,  and  often  to  much  better 
advantage,  by  the  adversaries. — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Tactics." 

It  is  often  argued,  and  with  much  show 
of  reason,  that  as  almost  every  revelation 
concerning  your  hand  must  be  given  to 
the  whole  table,  and  as  you  have  two  ad- 
versaries and  only  one  partner,  you  pub- 
lish information  at  a  disadvantage.  No 
doubt  this  argument  would  have  consid- 
erable force  if  you  were  compelled  to  ex- 
pose the  whole  of  your  hand.  But  you 
possess  the  power,  to  a  great  extent,  of 
selecting  what  facts  shall  be  announced 
and  what  concealed.  Experienced  play- 
ers are  unanimous  in  admitting  that  it  is 
an  advantage  to  inform  your  partner  of 
strength  in  your  own  suits,  although 
some  advise  concealment  of  strength  in 
suits  in  which  the  adversaries  have 
shown  strength. — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.~\, 
"Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist." 

Informatory  Game. — The  style 
of  whist  in  which  information  is 
freely  exchanged  between  partners, 
even  at  the  risk  of  the  adversaries 
noting  and  profiting  by  it;  espe- 
cially the  long-suit  game  and 
American  leads,  as  advocated  by 
"  Cavendish"  and  his  school,  which 
freely  uses  all  manner  of  conven- 
tional signals;  the  modern  scien- 
tific game,  as  distinguished  from 
the  old  Hoyle  game,  and  distin- 
guished, also,  to  a  certain  extent, 
from  the  modern  short-suit  game. 

False  cards  are  the  great  modern 
weapon  against  the  informatory  game  of 
modern  whist.  By  their  systematic  use, 
especially  when  good  judgment  is  em- 
ployed, the  plain-suit  echo  and  all  such 
refinements  are  rendered  useless. — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  O.I,  "Whist  Tactics." 

Innovations. — New  things.novel 
modes  of  play,  or  departures  from 
established  usage,  introduced  into 
whist.  Innovations  may  prove  to 
be  only  fads  of  the  hour,  or  per- 
manent improvements. 


The  call  for  trumps,  the  system  known 
as  the  American  leads,  with  the  resulting 
eleven  rule,  comprise  the  great  innova- 
tions since  the  days  of  Hoyle,  Payne,  and 
Mathews. — Emery  Boardman  [L+A.], 
"  Winning  Whist." 

In  Play. — Un played;  said  of  the 
cards  which  are  still  held  by  any 
of  the  players.  (See,  also,  "In.") 

Instinct  In  Whist. — Many  play- 
ers who  do  not  attach  any  import- 
ance to  rule  or  reason,  are  fond  of 
saying  that  they  play  by  in- 
stinct. "  No  doubt  instinct  is  a 
very  valuable  quality  if  you  have 
it,"  says  the  editor  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Papers,  "and  some  players 
certainly  think  they  have  this  qual- 
ity in  the  same  way  that  a  pointer 
or  setter  has  it.  *  *  *  We  prefer  to 
be  guided  by  what  every  man  has 
if  he  chooses  to  use  his  faculties: 
the  power  to  observe;  the  power  to 
draw  inferences;  the  power  to  reason 
from  the  play  of  a  given  card,  and 
to  make  a  reasonable  deduction 
from  the  absence  of  any  cards." 

Interior  Cards. — Cards  from  the 
interior  of  a  suit;  intermediate 
cards.  The  phrase  is  used  by  E.  C. 
Howell  [S.  H.]  in  his  "Whist 
Openings;"  as  when,  for  instance, 
he  says:  "As  the  best  card  jack  is 
led  from  not  more  than  three  in 
suit,  but  as  an  interior  card  it  is  led 
also  from  queen,  jack,  and  one  or 
more  others,"  etc. 

Intermediate  Leads.  —  Leads 
made  with  cards  which  are  neither 
very  high  nor  very  low,  such  as 
jack,  ten,  nine;  much  used  in  the 
short-suit  game. 

The  short-suit  game  contemplates  the 
endowment  of  the  intermediate  cards  of 
all  suits,  trumps  included,  with  the  win- 
ning properties,  by  taking  advantage  of 
their  position  in  tenace,  by  underplay, 
and  by  strengthening  leads  which  shall 
be  judiciously  finessed  by  partner. —  Val. 
W.  Slarnes  [S.  O.],  "Short-Suit  Whist." 


INTERN ATIONAL  MATCH     223 


INVITE,  THE 


International  Match,  a  Pro- 
posed.— The  idea  of  an  interna- 
tional whist  match,  somewhat  after 
international  matches  at  chess, 
cricket,  etc.,  has  been  discussed  for 
several  years  past  in  this  country, 
but  nothing  practical  has  as  yet 
come  of  it.  The  organization  of 
the  Canadian  Whist  League,  it  is 
hoped  by  many,  may  eventually 
lead  to  a  contest  of  the  kind,  and 
perhaps  later  induce  England  to 
participate  also. 

At  the  fourth  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League  (1894), 
Robert  H.  Weems,  of  Brooklyn, 
secretary  of  the  League,  announced 
that  he  had  formally  challenged 
"  Cavendish"  to  play  America 
against  England,  and  that  he  had 
received  "  Cavendish's"  reply,  stat- 
ing that  the  latter  did  not  think 
there  was  any  chance  for  an  inter- 
national match,  one  of  the  chief 
difficulties  in  the  way  being  the  dif- 
ference between  English  and  Ameri- 
can play.  Another  similar  challenge 
was  sent  to  "Cavendish"  by  P.  J. 
Tormey,  president  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  Whist  Association,  during 
the  latter  part  of  1895,  and  this 
was  commented  upon  in  the 
December  number  of  Whist. 
In  the  London  field  of  April  4, 
1896,  appeared  a  communication 
from  Mr.  Weems,  to  the  following 
effect: 

' '  The  sixth  American  whist  con- 
gress will  convene  in  this  city 
[Brooklyn]  on  June  22, 1896.  There 
is  a  universal  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  whist-players  of  America  to 
have  an  international  match  during 
the  time  of  the  congress,  and  when 
the  American  players  are  congre- 
gated from  all  sections  of  the  coun- 
try. If  it  is  possible  to  arrange  for 
a  team  of  four  or  more  English 
players  to  visit  this  country,  to 
compete  against  a  team  to  be  se- 
lected here,  I  should  be  very  glad 


indeed  to  do  what  I  can  to  bring  it 
about." 

This  did  not  meet  with  any  re- 
sponse either,  and  on  May  7,  1896, 
Mr.  Tormey  closed  the  incident,  for 
the  time  being,  with  a  suggestion, 
which  also  was  not  acted  upon.  He 
proposed  that,  "if  we  cannot  coax 
or  induce  a  whist-team  across  the 
Atlantic  to  meet  us  at  the  Brooklyn 
congress,  let  us  send  one  to  Eng- 
land— and  beard  the  lion  in  his 
den."  His  firm,  he  stated,  would 
pay  the  entire  expenses  of  one  mem- 
ber of  such  a  team,  and  suggested 
the  idea  of  sending  the  team  that 
should  win  the  Hamilton  Trophy. 

In  the  Lead. — The  player  whose 
turn  it  is  to  lead  the  first  card  in  a 
round  is  in  the  lead. 

Intimations. — See,  "Conversa- 
tion." 

"  Invincible  Whist."— A  modi- 
fication of  the  game  of  whist  in- 
vented by  F.  T.  Ellithorp,  of  New 
York.  It  is  played  by  six  persons, 
with  a  full  pack  of  cards,  together 
with  the  joker  and  the  "  invincible" 
card.  It  is  played  with  partners, 
three  on  each  side.  The  cards  rank 
as  follows:  "  Invincible,"  joker, 
ace,  king,  etc.  All  tricks  over  four 
count  towards  game,  and  the  latter 
consists  of  five  points,  honors  not 
counting. 

"Invitation  Game,  The." — An 

opening  play  at  whist  whereby  the 
player  invites  his  partner  to  lead 
trumps,  if  strong  enough  to  lead 
them.  Used  in  some  of  the  short- 
suit  systems. 

Invite,  The. — The  lead  of  a  card 
in  a  suit  which  you  desire  your 
partner  to  return;  generally,  the 
lead  of  a  small  card  from  your  long 
or  strong  suit. 


INVITING  A  RUFF 


224 


IRREGULAR  PLAY 


Inviting  a  Ruff. — Playing  a  card 
•which  your  partner  or  adversary 
can  trump.  (See,  "  Force. ") 

Irregular  Lead. — A  lead  which 
is  made  contrary  to  the  usual  play, 
but  made  from  choice  by  the  player 
for  some  reason;  such  as,  for  in- 
stance, desiring  the  lead  through 
an  honor  turned,  in  which  case 
some  players  regard  an  irregular 
lead  as  a  signal  for  trumps.  "  Cav- 
endish" is  opposed  to  this  play, 
claiming  that  if  a  player  is  strong 
enough  to  call  for  trumps  he  should 
be  strong  enough  to  lead  them  him- 
self. "  Having  refrained  from  lead- 
ing them,  he  can  only  request,  and 
not  command,  a  trump  lead  from 
his  partner." 

An  irregular  original  lead  which 
a  player  makes  because  he  cannot 
help  himself,  is  also  called  a  forced 
lead  (q.  v.). 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  hand, 
when  no  special  importance  longer 
attaches  to  them,  irregular  leads 
are  frequent.  Whitfeld  says:  "  Ir- 
regular leads  usually  occur  late  in 
a  hand,  when  the  general  scheme 
of  play  has  already  been  decided 
on,  and  when  judgment,  based  on 
previous  observation  of  the  fall  of 
the  cards,  and  on  the  score,  over- 
rides rule."  No  rule  can  be  laid 
down  in  such  cases. 

Wishing  the  lead  through  an  honor 
turned  at  your  right,  open  irregularly 
(that  is,  lead  a  knave,  not  holding  king 
and  queen,  or  the  ten,  not  holding  queen 
and  knave,  etc.).  It  is  a  command  for 
your  partner  to  lead  trumps. — A.  W. 
Drayson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of  Practical 
Wtiist;'  1879. 

Irregular  may  be  another  word  for 
forced.  Irregularity  is  sometimes  another 
term  for  brilliancy.  An  irregular  lead  is 
a  finesse  upon  the  lead.  An  irregular 
lead,  unlike  the  play  of  a  false  card,  must 
be  made  only  when  it  can  do  the  partner 
no  harm.  Lewis,  of  London,  calls  a  well- 
judged  irregular  lead  one  of  the  triumphs 
of  common-sense  whist. — G.  W.  Pettes  [L. 
A.  P.],  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 


Plain  suits  are  led  irregularly,  either  to 
strengthen  the  partner,  to  call  through 
an  honor  turned,  to  throw  the  lead,  or  be- 
cause it  would  be  damaging  to  continue 
with  one's  long  suit.  When  playing 
against  long-suit  adversaries.lead  through 
the  left-hand  opponent,  where  the 
strength  of  the  suit  has  been  declared; 
but  with  the  short-suiters,  the  reverse  is 
the  case. — Emma  D,  Andrews  [L.  A.], 
"TheX  Y Zof  Whist." 

The  good  whist-player  is  not  a  machine. 
He  has  certain  conventional  base  lines, 
but  he  is  prepared  to  take  any  line  of 
strategy  the  development  of  the  hand 
suggests.  If  he  has  what  he  considers  an 
exceptional  hand,  he  is  free  to  open  it 
with  an  irregular  lead;  and  if  opponents 
disclose  the  strong  hands,  he  will  both 
play  and  lead  false  cards,  if  his  partner's 
hand  be  also  weak.  But  it  is  better,  and 
learners  will  progress  more  rapidly,  if 
they  will  learn  to  walk  before  they  try  to 
run. — Charles  S.  Boutcher  [L.  A.]. 

The  main  objection  to  an  irregular  lead 
is  that  it  is  irregular.  The  original  lead 
should  be  directive.  Then,  or  never,  can 
most  important  information  be  commu- 
nicated to  partner.  If  this  information  is 
withheld  for  the  sake  of  a  possible  subse- 
quent lead  through  an  honor,  the  original 
leader  is  paying  very  dear  for  his  whistle. 
Beyond  this,  it  may  be  that  irregularity 
of  the  lead  is  not  developed  until  too  late 
for  advantage  to  accrue  from  it;  mean- 
while partner  is  in  a  puzzle,  and  probably 
miscalculates  the  leader's  holdings  in  all 
suits. — "Cavendish'-  [L.  A.],  Scribner's 
Monthly,  July,  i&gj. 

There  is  one  case  in  which  an  irregular 
opening  has  found  such  universal  favor 
among  good  players  that  it  may  be  almost 
saidtohavebecomeconventional  and  that 
is  where  an  honor  is  turned  and  the  orig- 
inal leader  desires  to  have  it  led  through, 
either  by  reason  of  having  the  card  in 
sequence  below  it,  a  tenace  over  it,  or  be- 
cause he  has  the  card  immediately  above 
it,  and  hopes  that  his  partner  may  be  able 
to  lead  him  a  card  which  he  can  success- 
fully finesse.  In  such  case  it  has  grown 
to  be  a  custom  among  experts  all  over  the 
country  to  originally  lead  an  irregular 
card.  Such  a  lead,  with  an  honor  turned, 
is  considered  the  most  imperative  of 
trump  signals,  and  is  an  absolute  com- 
mand to  the  partner  to  get  the  lead  as 
expeditiously  as  possible  and  lead  trump. 
—Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  //.],  :< Whist  of 
To-day." 

Irregular  Play. — Play  which  is 
not  according  to  rules,  but  which 
may  have  some  exceptional  condi- 
tions to  justify  it.  The  higher 


IRREGULAR  WHIST 


225 


JACK 


whist  strategy  contains  numerous 
examples. 

They  [the  "good  bad  players"]  play 
what  we  may  term  an  irregular  game, 
and  they  play  this  irregular  game  well. — 
A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A  +],  "  The  Art  of 
Practical  Whist." 

Irregular  play  should  not  be  con- 
founded with  false  play.  *  *  *  The 
various  forms  of  finesse — underplay, 
holding  up,  throwing  high  cards — are  all 
irregular  play,  but  they  are  part  of  the 
strategy  of  the  game. — C.  D.  P.  Hamil- 
ton [L.  A.},  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

Irregular  Whist. — Mongrel 
whist;  also  whist  played  irregu- 
larly and  not  in  accordance  with 
the  rules;  bumblepuppy. 

Irregularities  in  the  Hand*. — 

Irregularities  in  the  hands  consist 
in  one  or  more  players  having 
either  too  many  or  not  the  requi- 
site number  of  cards. 

One  card  dealt  irregularly  may  be 
either  right  or  wrong.  As  long  as  the 
irregularity  is  confined  to  two  cards,  the 
error  is  easily  rectified;  but  when  it  ex- 
tends to  three,  the  possibility  of  correct- 
ness becomes  doubtful,  and  the  estab- 
lished rule  is  that  the  deal  is  lost. — 
Deschapelles  [0.],  "Traitt  du  Whist," 
A  rticle  31. 

If,  at  any;  time  after  all  have  played  to 
the  first  trick,  the  pack  being  perfect,  a 
player  is  found  to  have  either  more  or 
less  than  his  correct  number  of  cards  and 
his  adversaries  have  their  right  number, 
the  latter,  upon  the  discovery  of  such  sur- 
plus or  deficiency,  may  consult  and  shall 
have  the  choice:  (i)  To  have  a  new  deal; 
or,  (2)  to  have  the  hand  played  out,  in 
which  case  the  surplus  or  missing  card 
or  cards  are  not  taken  into  account. 
(3)  If  either  of  the  adversaries  also 
has  more  or  less  than  his  correct  num- 
ber, there  must  be  a  new  deal.  If  any 
player  has  a  surplus  card  by  reason  of  an 
omission  to  play  to  a  trick,  his  adversa- 
ries can  exercise  the  foregoing  privilege 
only  after  he  has  played  to  the  trick  fol- 
lowing the  one  in  which  such  omission 
occurred.— Laws  of  Ifhist  (American 
Code),  Section  jo. 

Under  the  heading,  "Irregularities  in 
the  Hands,"  the  Americans  have  made  an 
important  difference  in  the  law.  By  law 
44,  section  4.  English  code,  should  a 
player  have  fourteen  cards,  and  either  of 

15 


the  other  three  less  than  thirteen,  it  Is  a 
misdeal.  In  the  first  edition  of  "The 
Art  of  Practical  Whist,"  I  called  atten- 
tion to  the  defect  or  obscurity  of  this  law. 
By  the  American  code  an  attempt  is  made 
to  remedy  this  defect,  but  it  does  not 
seem  to  me  that  the  difficulty  is  entirely 
avoided.  Rule  19  of  the  American  code 
(ul  supra)  is  certainly  a  far  better  one 
than  our  English  law,  as  it  prevents  the 
careless  players  who  play  with  fourteen 
and  twelve  cards  from  scoring  anything 
if  a  new  deal  is  demanded.  If,  however, 
the  non-offending  players  elect  to  have 
the  hand  played  out,  they  may  have  over- 
rated their  strength,  and  may  lose  two  or 
three  on  the  hand.  That  which  I  sug- 
gested in  case  19,  "  The  Art  of  Practical 
Whist,"  seems  to  me  to  more  fully  meet 
the  case:  "If  two  partners  hold  twenty- 
six  cards,  between  them,  one  holding 
more,  the  other  less,  than  thirteen,  while 
the  adversaries  hold  thirteen  each,  no 
score  made  by  the  partners  holding  the 
unequal  number  of  cards  can  be  counted 
in  that  hand,  whereas  any  score  made 
by  the  partners  holding  thirteen  each  can 
be  counted." — A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
"Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 

"It    Didn't    Matter"     Player, 

The.— This  kind  of  self-sufficient 
and  generally  undesirable  partner 
is  thus  gently  pilloried  by  ' '  Caven- 
dish" in  his  "  Card-Table  Talk:" 
' '  A  companion  to  the  '  If  you  had' 
player  is  the  'It  didn't  matter' 
player.  My  partner  trumps  my 
best  card,  or  does  not  trump  a 
doubtful  card  after  I  have  called 
for  trumps,  or  commits  some  other 
whist  enormity.  We  win  the  game 
notwithstanding,  for  we  have  pro- 
digious cards.  If  I  suggest  that 
there  was  no  occasion  to  perpetrate 
the  enormity  in  question,  my  part- 
ner triumphantly  informs  me,  'It 
didn't  matter.'  This  view  is  alto- 
gether fallacious.  It  did  not  hap- 
pen to  matter  in  that  particular 
hand;  but  my  confidence  is  im- 
paired, and  it  will  matter  in  every 
hand  I  play  with  that  partner  for  a 
longtime  to  come." 

Jack. — The  fourth  card  in  value 
or  rank.  It  is  also  called  the  knave, 
especially  in  England.  The  two 
terms  are  synonymous,  and  inas- 


JACK 


226 


JENKS,  MRS.  M.  S. 


much  as  it  is  easier  and  more  simple 
to  use  the  letter  J  than  the  abbre- 
viation Kn,  in  designating  the  card 
by  iuitial,  the  general  usage  in  this 
country  largely  favors  it.  The  gen- 
eral adoption  of  the  index  or 
"squeezer"  marks  on  the  edges 
of  the  cards  also  affords  a  reason 
for  the  adoption  of  J  as  a  way  of 
indicating  it.  It  may  be  interest- 
ing to  those  who  prefer  "knave," 
on  account  of  its  long  use,  to  learn 
that  "jack"  is  the  older  term, 
and  that  at  one  time  it  was  consid- 
ered much  more  polite  and  respect- 
able than  "knave." 

According  to  the  system  of 
American  leads,  the  jack  is  led 
from  two  combinations,  in  suits  of 
five  or 'more:  (i)  From  ace,  king, 

?ueen,  jack,  and  one  or  more. 
2)  From  king,  queen,  jack,  and 
two  or  more.  G.  W.  Pettes  also  led 
jack  from  jack,  ten,  nine,  and  one 
or  more,  and  jack,  ten,  and  two 
small. 

The  old  system  of  leads  provides 
for  the  lead  of  jack  from  king, 
queen,  jack,  and  two  or  more;  from 
jack,  ten,  nine,  with  or  without 
small  ones;  and  from  jack  and  one 
or  two  others  (forced  leads). 

In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  game, 
jack,  followed  by  queen,  indicates 
the  high -card  game;  followed  by 
ace  or  king,  or  by  a  small  card,  it 
indicates  the  supporting-card  game, 
and  three  in  suit. 

Knave  is  now  being  led  only  from  king, 
queen,  knave,  and  others,  denying  ace, 
to  give  partner  information  that  (when 
winning)  the  suit  is  unestablished,  unless 
he  holds  the  ace.—  Kate  Wheelock  [L.  A.], 
"Whist  Rules,"  1897. 

The  term  "jack,"  for  the  Scandinavian 
chief  or  captain,  is  historically  correct. 
The  term  "knave"  is  comparatively 
modern  and  abusive;  though  now  fash- 
ionable, it  was  a  low  term  about  1720 
A.  D.— "Aquarius"  [L.  O.},  "The  Hands 
at  Whist,"  1884. 

Our  use  of  the  word  "jack"  is  simply 
for  convenience  in  distinguishing  it  from 


the  king  in  abbreviation.  *  *  *  view- 
ing the  matter  from  the  imagined  stand- 
point of  a  purist,  we  see  nothing  particu- 
larly elevating  in  the  word  "  knave." — 
Whist  [L.  A.],  December,  1893. 

Most  of  the  authorities,  and  many  of 
the  finest  players,  have  abandoned  the 
lead  of  knave  1'rom  knave,  ten,  nine,  etc. 
Analysis  demonstrates  that  there  is  little, 
if  any,  advantage  in  favor  of  the  lead  of 
the  knave  as  against  the  fourth  best. — C. 
D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.},  "Modern  Scien- 
tific Whist." 

Jenks,  Mrs.  M.  S. — Among  the 
women  of  this  country  who  have 
devoted  their  talents  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  whist,  and  who  have 
won  high  and  well-deserved  repu- 
tations as  teachers  of  the  game, 
Mrs.  Marta  S.  Jenks  occupies  a 
prominent  position.  Mrs.  Jenks 
was  born  at  Randolph,  Tenn.,  and 
received  her  education  in  a  convent, 
in  the  city  of  Memphis.  She  was 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  whist 
by  her  father,  at  an  early  age,  and 
was  able  to  play  an  intelligent  game 
while  still  in  her  teens.  In  early 
womanhood  she  removed  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  soon  after  was  mar- 
ried. She  became  well  known  in 
whist  circles  in  the  Quaker  City, 
and  in  1888,  with  her  husband,  re- 
moved to  Chicago.  There  she  en- 
gaged in  the  study  of  scientific 
whist,  with  three  other  ladies,  more 
as  a  matter  of  mental  discipline 
than  as  a  preparation  for  her  subse- 
quent work.  Early  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  however,  she  was  prevailed 
upon  to  devote  at  least  a  portion  of 
her  time  to  the  instruction  of  pupils. 
Her  success  proved  greater  than 
she  anticipated,  and  she  thereafter 
devoted  all  her  time  to  what  has 
since  become  a  profession. 

Mrs.  Jenks  has  been  very  success- 
ful as  an  instructor.  She  has  had 
many  very  interesting  pupils  in  her 
classes  in  Chicago  and  elsewhere; 
among  them  have  been  successful 
men  from  all  the  vocations  in  life, 
from  the  traveling  salesman  to  a 


"JEROBOAM  HAND"          227 


JUMPING  A  SUIT 


member  of  the  president's  cabinet 
And  many  of  the  brightest  and 
most  charming  women  of  the  land, 
also,  have  been  graduated  from  her 
school.  She  has  also  written  much 
upon  the  subject  of  whist  for  Whist 
and  other  journals,  especially  the 
Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  the  whist 
column  of  which  she  edited  with 
much  ability  for  ten  months,  suc- 
ceeding the  late  G.  W.  Pettes. 
Owing  to  the  increased  demands 
upon  her  time  as  a  teacher  she  was 
obliged  to  resign  the  position,  al- 
though she  still  remains  a  regular 
contributor  to  the  paper,  which  she 
represented  at  the  organization  of 
the  Woman's  Whist  League,  in 
Philadelphia,  1897.  From  there 
she  went  to  California  to  join  her 
husband,  who  had  settled  at  San 
Dimas,  in  February,  owing  to  ill 
health.  In  the  winter  of  iSgy-'gS 
she  returned  to  Chicago,  and  re- 
sumed her  teaching  there,  and  also 
in  Washington,  D.  C.  (See,  also, 
"Teachers  of  Whist,"  and  "  Whist 
as  an  Educator.") 

"Jeroboam     Hand."— In    the 

early  part  of  the  present  century, 
in  England,  if  a  player  held  cards 
of  overwhelming  strength  he  was 
said  to  have  a  "Jeroboam  hand," 
in  reference  to  the  division  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  when  Jeroboam  ob- 
tained ten  and  his  rival  but  two. 
The  phrase  is  now  obsolete. 

Johnson  on  Whist. — Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson,  in  the  Rambler  for  May, 
1750,  draws  the  character  of  a  lady 
who  was  obliged  to  drudge  at  whist 
until  she  was  "wearied  to  death 
with  the  game." 

Jones,  Henry. — See,  "Caven- 
dish." 

Judges  of  Appeals. — The  by- 
laws of  the  American  Whist  League, 
as  amended  in  1895,  pro  vide  for  "a 


board  of  three  judges  of  appeals, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  consider 
and  decide  all  questions  concerning 
the  interpretation  or  application  of 
the  laws  referred  to  them  by  any 
member  of  the  League.  Their  de- 
cisions shall  be  published  in  the 
official  organ  of  the  League." 

At  the  annual  congress,  in  1897, 
the  by-laws  were  so  amended  as  to 
abolish  the  judges  of  appeals,  and 
to  cause  the  duties  above  outlined 
to  hereafter  devolve  upon  the  pres- 
ident of  the  League.  The  motion 
for  the  change  was  made  by  Eugene 
S.  Elliott,  the  senior  member  of 
the  board,  or  "court,"  who  felt 
convinced  that  the  laws  of  whist 
are  so  plain  that  a  special  tribunal 
to  interpret  them  is  unnecessary, 
and  that  any  possible  questions 
that  might  arise  could  safely  be  left 
with  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
League. 

Judgment. — Good  judgment  in 
whist  is  an  important  and  highly 
necessary  quality.  Quick  percep- 
tion and  judgment  enables  the 
player  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the 
right  time.  Judgment  must  be  ex- 
ercised, not  only  in  opening  a  hand 
correctly,  but  in  adapting  the  play 
to  its  development  as  affected  by 
the  holdings  of  partner  and  the 
adversaries. 

A  certain  class  of  persons,  among  •whom 
we  often  find  players  of  considerable 
skill,  consider  that  the  play  of  a  hand  is 
entirely  a  matter  of  individual  judgment. 
It  would  be  so  if  the  player  had  full  data 
to  act  upon,  and  towards  the  end  of  a 
hand,  when  the  positions  of  the  cards 
may  be  pretty  well  known,  these  persons 
often  play  very  well.  But  they  forget  that 
during  a  large  portion  of  the  hand  no  suf- 
ficient data  exist  for  judgment,  properly 
so  called.—  William  Pole\L.  A+],  "Phil- 
osophy of  Whist." 

Jumping  a  Suit. — To  lead  a 
winning  card  in  one  suit  and  lead 
another  suit  next — a  play  sugges- 
tive of  an  exceptional  condition  of 


JUNIOR  WHIST  CLUB         228         KEILEY,  CHARLES  R. 


the  hand,  or  strongly  suggestive  of 
bumblepuppy. 

Junior  Whist  Club.— This  novel 
and  successful  organization  was 
started  in  Philadelphia,  early 
in  1897,  for  the  purpose  of  inter- 
esting the  young  men  in  a  game 
which  would  afford  them  good 
mental  training  and  discipline,  and 
draw  their  attention  away  from  less 
desirable  games.  The  movement 
was  started  by  Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews, 
president  of  the  Woman's  Whist 
League,  and  her  son,  T.  H.  An- 
drews, Jr.,  became  president  of  the 
Juniors;  J.  D.  Andrews,  vice-presi- 
dent; R.  Sterling  Dupuy,  secretary; 
and  Henry  L.  Fox,  treasurer. 

The  Juniors  acted  as  ushers  at 
the  first  congress  of  the  Woman's 
Whist  League,  in  April,  1897,  and 
on  May  20  of  the  same  year  they 
were  admitted  to  membership  in 
the  American  Whist  League,  their 
membership  being  given  in  the 
annual  report  as  twenty-six.  They 
are  also  charter  members  of  the 
Atlantic  Whist  Association.  They 
have  a  comfortable  club-house  of 
their  own,  and  have  taken  part  in 
a  number  of  important  matches 
against  older  players.  In  the  Phila- 
delphia inter-city  match  they  de- 
feated the  Hamilton  Club,  the  Art 
Club,  and  the  Columbia  Club — a  re- 
markable achievement.  They  sent 
a  pair  to  the  seventh  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  at  Put-in- 
Bay,  1897,  and  the  young  men  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  making 
top  score  for  their  side  (north  and 
south)  in  the  match  for  the  Brook- 
lyn Trophy.  In  the  Minneapolis 
Trophy  contest  for  club  pairs,  they 
stood  seventh  among  fifteen  con- 
testing pairs.  The  same  pair  made 
top  score  also  at  Jersey  City,  in  the 
match  for  the  Brooklyn  Trophy. 
This  record  for  the  year  1897  gives 
promise  for  still  better  things  in 


the  future.  We  may  add  that  the 
ages  of  the  Juniors  range  from  six- 
teen to  twenty-one  years. 

Keiley,  Charles  R. — A  leading 
advocate  of  the  short-suit  game, 
and  a  whist-teacher  of  recognized 
ability.  He  was  born  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  July  3,  1859;  received  his 
early  education  mostly  from  his 
father  (a  justice  of  the  Interna- 
tional Court  of  Appeals  of  Egypt), 
and  subsequently  attended  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia.  He  has  always 
been  a  contributor  to  the  press,  but 
engaged  in  various  business  enter- 
prises also  at  various  times,  includ- 
ing that  of  publisher. 

Mr.  Keiley  began  playing  whist 
in  Richmond,  his  old  home,  a 
number  of  years  ago,  and  con- 
tinued in  a  desultory  manner  until 
1885,  when  he  played  considerable 
"whist  d,  trois"  in  Paris,  and 
straight  whist  in  England.  After 
that  he  dropped  the  game  until  the 
early  nineties,  when  he  commenced 
playing  again,  and  was  extremely 
annoyed  at  being  outpointed  by 
men  who  were  not  in  the  same 
class  with  him  in  other  games. 
This  caused  him  to  take  up  whist, 
and  study  it  systematically.  Since 
then  he  has  taken  high  rank  as  a 
player,  and  also  as  an  instructor. 
He  has  represented  New  York  in 
the  inter-city  contests  for  teams  of 
eight  (as  a  member  of  the  first  four) ; 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  team 
of  the  Continental  Club,  of  New 
York;  captain  of  the  Cherry  Dia- 
mond Club's  team,  and  also  captain 
of  the  Whist  Club  team,  of  New 
York,  which  won  the  Challenge 
Trophy  at  the  sixth  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League.  He  or- 
ganized the  Syracuse  (N.  Y. )  Whist 
Club  (now  the  Chess,  Checker,  and 
Whist  Club),  and  has  been  whist 
editor  of  the  New  York  Mail  and 
Express,  Evening  Telegram,  and 


KEIM,  MRS.  GEORGE  DE  B.    229 


KING 


Herald.  His  first  venture  as  an 
author  was  "  Whist  Points,"  a  book 
for  beginners,  now  out  of  print.  In 
1897  he  published  another  volume, 
"  The  Laws  of  Bridge,"  and  in  the 
same  year  he  finished  his  most  im- 
portant work,  ' '  Common  Sense  in 
Whist."  This  book  is  devoted  to 
variations  in  the  long-suit  game; 
or,  in  other  words,  it  advises  a  long- 
suit  attack  whenever  the  chances 
for  its  successful  issue  are  favorable, 
but  argues  against  the  lead  of  the 
longest  suit  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  remainder  of  the 
hand.  It  is  an  amplification  of  the 
scheme  of  play  which  he  devised 
for  the  team  of  the  New  York  Whist 
Club. 

The  idea  of  playing  weak  suits 
down,  or  leading  from  the  "top  of 
nothing,"  originated  with  Mr. 
Keiley .  His  idea  was  always  to  tell 
partner  that  when  the  lower  card 
fell  from  the  leader's  hand  the  lat- 
ter had  no  more.  This  scheme  of 
play  necessitated  his  abandonment 
of  American  leads,  except  in 
trumps.  (See,  also,  "  Short-Suit 
Leads,  Keiley 's.") 

Keim,  Mrs.  George  de  Benne- 
wille. — An  efficient  whist  teacher, 
who  has  also  done  much  good  work 
in  organizing  whist  clubs  among 
the  ladies.  Mrs.  Keim  first  became 
interested  in  whist  after  her  mar- 
riage, owing  to  her  husband's  devo- 
tion to  the  game.  About  seven 
years  ago  she  began  to  study  the 
game  systematically,  during  her 
residence  in  Philadelphia,  being  a 
pupil  of  Miss  Gertrude  Clapp,  of 
New  York,  for  three  years.  Then 
she  studied  two  years  with  Mrs. 
Newbold,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
after  that  one  year  with  Mrs.  T.  H. 
Andrews.  She  began  to  teach  the 
game  herself  during  the  winter  of 
iSgS-'gy,  at  Richmond,  Va.,  her 
native  city.  The  desire  to  learn 


the  modern  game  had  not  yet  been 
awakened  in  that  city,  and  Mrs. 
Keim  found  some  difficulty  in  intro- 
ducing it.  By  degrees  she  was 
able  to  inspire  a  few  of  the  ladies, 
and  finally  she  succeeded  in  form- 
ing a  number  of  classes,  and  also 
in  establishing  two  whist  clubs, 
which  she  named  respectively  the 
Emma  D.  Andrews  Whist  Club  (in 
honor  of  Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews),  and 
the  Milton  C.  Work  Whist  Club. 
The  former  started  with  forty  and 
the  latter  with  thirty  members,  and 
both  joined  the  Woman's  Whist 
League.  In  1897  she  began  teach- 
ing in  New  Jersey,  at  Burlington, 
Beverley,  and  Edgewater  Park  (her 
place  of  residence),  and  at  the  lat- 
ter place  she  organized  another 
League  club,  named  also  the  Emma 
D.  Andrews,  of  which  she  herself 
is  president. 

Mrs.  Keim  teaches  the  long-suit 
system  with  American  leads,  and 
recommends  Work's  "Whist  of 
To-day  "  as  the  authority  on  the 
game.  She  is  also  a  good  player. 
In  the  ladies'  whist  tournament 
at  Philadelphia,  during  Novem- 
ber, 1897,  she  played  on  the  Cam- 
den  team,  and  succeeded  in  hold- 
ing second  place  at  the  close. 

King. — The  second  highest  card 
in  the  pack;  one  of  the  four  hon- 
ors counted  in  the  English  game; 
one  of  the  three  court  cards.  It 
is  led  more  frequently  than  any 
other  high  card. 

Under  the  system  of  American 
leads,  the  king  is  led  originally 
only  from  suits  of  four  or  less, 
when  accompanied  by  ace,  or 
queen,  or  both.  The  king  led, 
therefore,  indicates  a  suit  of  not 
more  than  four,  and  either  ace  or 
queen,  perhaps  both. 

Under  the  system  of  old  leads, 
the  king  is  led  only  when  the  card 
next  to  it  is  also  held  in  the  hand. 


KING 


230 


LANGUAGE,  A 


Thus,  from  ace,  king,  and  others; 
from  king,  queen,  and  others  (un- 
less these  others,  being  more  than 
two,  include  the  jack);  from  king 
and  two  others  (forced  lead),  if  you 
have  reason  to  believe  partner  has 
strength  in  the  suit;  and  from  king 
and  one  other  (forced  lead),  what- 
ever that  other  card  may  be. 

In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  sys- 
tem, king  followed  by  ace,  indi- 
cates the  high-card  game,  but 
greater  accompanying  strength 
than  ace  followed  by  king.  King, 
unaccompanied  by  ace,  indicates 
the  high-card  game,  with  probably 
queen,  jack,  and  others  in  hand. 

In  the  Hamilton  leads,  the  fourth 
best  instead  of  the  ten  is  led  from 
the  king,  jack,  ten  combination. 

The  question  is  often  asked, 
whether,  holding  king  and  one 
small  card,  the  king  should  be 
played,  secondhand,  on  a  low  card 
led  ?  Pole,  in  "  The  Philosophy  of 
Whist,"  holds  that  it  is  disadvan- 
tageous to  do  so ;  and  "Cavendish" 
agrees  with  him  that  the  small  card 
should  be  played,  but  recognizes 
the  fact  that  there  are  exceptions 
to  the  rule,  such  as  urgent  neces- 
sity for  stopping  the  trump  lead 
— queen  turned  up  to  the  left — ace 
turned  at  the  right,  etc.  In  America 
opinion  seems  divided  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  editor  of  Whist,  in  the 
issue  for  April,  1894,  stated  that  his 
observation  was  that  "the  king  is 
generally  played  in  our  leading 
dubs." 

Another  question  on  which  there 
is  a  diversity  of  opinion  is  whether 
the  second  hand,  holding  king 
singly  guarded,  should  cover  the 
queen  led.  Milton  C.  Work,  in  his 
A  Whist  of  To-day"  (page  41),  re- 
commends the  play,  but  the  editor 
of  Whist  (August,  1895,  issue)  says 
he  regards  it  as  "  one  of  the  worst 
trick-losing  plays  that  it  is  very 
well  possible  to  conceive  of,  al- 


though," he  admits,  "it  is  a  prac- 
tice followed  by  many  very  fine 
players." 

Having  king,  knave,  and  ten,  lead  the 
ten.  For  if  your  partner  holds  the  ace 
you  have  a  good  chance  to  make  three 
tricks  whether  he  passes  the  ten  or  not  — 
William  Payne  [L.  O.],  "  Whist  Maxims," 
1770. 

The  old  orthodox  habit  for  a  long  suit 
headed  by  king  and  queen,  was  to  begin 
with  the  king;  but  this  also  was  now  con- 
fined to  suitsof  fouronly;  for  longer  suits 
the  new  prescription  [by  "Cavendish," 
1888]  was  to  begin  with  the  queen. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

King  Card — See,"  MasterCard." 

Knave. — The  fourth  card  in  rank 
or  value;  the  jack  (q.  v. ). 

Lady  Whist  -  Players.  —  See, 
"Women  as  Whist-Players." 

Lamb,    Charles,    at     Whist.— 

Charles  Lamb,  the  gentle  essayist, 
who  portrayed  and  made  famous 
the  woman  whist-player  known  as 
Sarah  Battle,  was  himself  a  great 
admirer  of  the  game.  Talfourd,  in 
his  "  Memorials  of  Charles  Lamb," 
mentions  him  at  a  sitting  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Lamb  himself,  yet  unrelaxed  by 
the  glass,  is  sitting  with  a  sort  of 
Quaker  primness  at  the  whist-table, 
the  gentleness  of  his  melancholy 
smile  half  lost  in  his  intentness  on 
the  game;  his  partner,  the  author 
of  '  Political  Justice,'  is  regarding 
his  hand  with  a  philosophic  but  not 
a  careless  eye;  Captain  Burney,  only 
not  venerable  because  so  young  in 
spirit,  sits  between  them;  and  H. 
C.  R.,  who  alone  now  and  then 
breaks  the  proper  silence  to  wel- 
come some  incoming  guest,  is  his 
partner." 

Language,  A. — There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  whist  has  a  language  of 
its  own.  From  almost  every  card 


LAST  TRICK,  SEEING  THE    231 


LAWS  OP  WHIST 


played  some  inference  may  be 
drawn.  Each  partner  speaks  to  the 
other  as  plainly  as  though  he  em- 
ployed words,  when  both  are  mas- 
ters of  the  game  and  its  conven- 
tionalities. 


Whist  is  a  language,  and  every  card 
played  an  intelligible  sentence.— -James 
Clay[L.  0+]. 

All  whist-players  understand  that  the 
cards  speak.  Some  can  comprehend  all 
the  cards  say.  —  Westminster  Papers 
[L+0.]. 

It  is  well  that  the  whist  world  is  gov- 
erned substantially  by  the  same  code  of 
laws.  It  would  be  better  if  it  were  alto- 
gether so;  then  even  different  languages 
would  not  separate  good  whist-players. 
As  to  whist,  they  would  form  a  common 
brotherhood  the  world  over  and  therein 
speak  fluently  one  language. — A.J.  Mcln- 
iosh  [L.  A.],  "Modern  W/iist,"  1888. 

Four  gentlemen  or  ladies,  from  the  four 
quarters  of  the  earth,  perchance  meet  on 
board  a  train  or  ocean  steamer.  Each 
speaks  in  a  tongue  unknown  to  the  other. 
The  journey  promises  to  be  tedious, 
dreary,  lonesome,  and  even  disagreeable. 
Presently  one  produces  a  pack  of  cards, 
they  sit  around  a  table,  the  cards  are 
shuffled,  cut,  and  dealt,  and  thenceforth 
these  four  converse  with  an  intelligence 
and  an  eloquence  never  surpassed  by  the 
glibest  tongue  the  world  ever  heard.  Their 
language  is  whist— every  card  properly 
played  being  an  intelligible  sentence,  and 
they  can  each  understand  its  inflections, 
and  revel  in  its  infinite  variety  of  expres- 
sion until  the  journey  is  ended.  What  a 
beautiful  language  it  is ! — P.  J.  Tormey 
[L.A.],  Whist,  July,  1894. 

Last    Trick,    Seeing    the. — See 

"Quitted." 


Last  Trump. — A  most  important 
card  in  regaining  the  lead,  and 
bringing  in  an  established  suit. 
(See,  "Thirteenth  Trump.") 

Laws  of  Whist. — Rules  and  reg- 
ulations for  the  practice  of  whist, 
and  the  government  of  whist-play- 
ers. The  laws  have  certain  penal- 
ties attached  for  their  infraction, 
which  every  whist-player  should  be 


familiar  with,  submit  to  on  his  part, 
and  exact  from  others,  in  order  that 
good  whist  may  prevail.  "  Caven- 
dish" says:  "  Card  laws  are  intend- 
ed to  effect  two  objects:  ( i )  To  pre- 
serve the  harmony  and  determine 
the  ordering  of  the  table.  (2)  To 
prevent  any  player  from  obtaining 
an  unfair  advantage.  The  word  'un- 
fair '  must  be  taken  in  a  restricted 
sense.  It  does  not  mean  intentional 
unfairness.  This  is  not  to  be  dealt 
with  by  laws,  but  by  exclusion 
from  the  card  table." 

Whist-players  in  America  have 
generally  accepted  and  are  gov- 
erned by  the  American  code  (see, 
' '  Laws  of  Whist  —  American 
Code"),  which  is  based  on  the 
English  laws,  but  so  changed  and 
amended  as  to  suit  the  American 
game.  English  players  generally 
adhere  to  the  laws  of  short  whist, 
which  were  promulgated  in  1864, 
and  are  based  on  the  long-suit  code 
of  Hoyle,  as  amended  in  1760. 
Both  the  English  and  American 
laws  are  supplemented  by  ' '  The 
Etiquette  of  Whist"  (q.  v.\  a 
number  of  rules  which  are  in  effect 
laws,  although  it  would  be  difficult 
to  prescribe  any  penalties  for  their 
transgression  other  than  those  vis- 
ited upon  persons  who  are  guilty 
of  bad  manners  or  unfairness  in 
other  walks  of  life. 

Laws  for  the  playing  of  card  games 
were  framed  for  the  purpose:  (i)  Of  or- 
dering and  determining  the  conditions 
and  formalities  of  the  game;  (2)  of  pro- 
moting harmony;  (3)  of  establishing  and 
maintaining  equity. —  William  Cusack- 
Smith  [L.  O.}. 

The  law-makers,  anticipating  that 
through  inadvertence,  accident,  or  care- 
lessness the  rules  would  be  violated  by 
players,  and  that  thereby  the  player  vio- 
lating, and  his  partner,  would  obtain  an 
undue  advantage,  as  a  compensation  to 
the  adversaries  for  this  advantage  thus 
gained,  provision  is  made  under  the 
rules — generally  called  penalties — to 
equal  the  advantage. — A.J.McIntosh  [L. 
A.],  "Modern  Whist,"  jS88. 


LAWS  OP  WHIST 


232 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


Laws  of  Whist  —  American 
Code. — A  code  for  the  government 
of  American  whist  was  drawn  up 
under  the  guidance  of  George  W. 
Pettes,  and  adopted,  in  1889,  by  the 
Deschapelles  Club,  of  Boston,  Mass. 
It  contained  but  eighteen  sections, 
and  marked  a  radical  departure  from 
the  English  system  of  laws.  This 
code,  together  with  the  club  rules, 
may  be  found  in  Pettes'  "American 
Whist  Illustrated,"  pages  21-25. 

The  generally  accepted  and  re- 
cognized laws  for  the  American 
game  were,  however,  enacted  in 
1891,  at  the  first  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  at  Mil- 
waukee, Wis.,  and  in  framing  them 
the  English  code  was  taken  as  a 
basis,  and  practical  suggestions, 
made  in  a  letter  to  the  congress,  by 
N.  B.  Trist,  were  carried  out 
Among  other  things  he  said:  "  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  I  consider  the 
deduction  or  adding  of  points,  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  revoke,  as  penalties 
for  whist  offenses,  to  be  contrary  to 
the  principle  on  which  whist  laws 
should  be  based;  consequently,  I 
advise  that  we  profit  by  the  expe- 
rience of  our  English  cousins. 
They  already  have  an  elaborate 
code  of  laws,  which  is  authority  all 
over  England  and  in  many  clubs 
in  this  country,  and  which  will 
subserve  our  purpose  very  well,  by 
eliminating  from  it  all  matter  per- 
taining to  the  counting  of  honors, 
which  has  been  almost  universally 
abolished  in  this  country,  as  a 
blemish  on  a  game  which  claims  to 
be  scientific.  It  is  probable  that 
some  changes  also  in  the  mode  of 
scoring  will  be  proposed.  The 
English  system  does  not  seem  to  be 
popular,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  half-a-dozen  ways  of  counting 
prevail  in  this  country.  *  *  * 
In  my  opinion,  the  game,  where 
honors  are  not  counted,  should 
consist  of  seven  points." 


The  work  begun  by  the  first  con- 
gress was  continued  at  the  second 
congress,  in  New  York,  and  finished 
at  Chicago,  in  1893,  where  a  re- 
port was  made  by  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Theodore  Schwarz, 
chairman,  and  Nicholas  B.  Trist, 
Walter  H.  Barney,  C.  D.  P.  Hamil- 
ton, Fisher  Ames,  Cassius  M.  Paine, 
and  Henry  Jones  ("Cavendish"), 
who  had  given  the  matter  most 
careful  attention. 

The  new  code  reduced  the  num- 
ber of  laws  from  ninety-one  (in  the 
English  code)  to  thirty-nine,  and 
made  harmonious  the  great  diver- 
sity of  usage  in  vogue  in  this  coun- 
try. (See,  also,  "American  and 
English  Laws. ")  Broadly  speaking, 
the  American  code  is  based  upon 
the  following  postulations: 

1.  The  conduct  of  the  American 
game  should  be  governed  by  a  code 
based    on    whist  for  whist,    apart 
from  stakes. 

2.  Infractions  of  whist  laws  and 
rules  of  table  etiquette  are  unin- 
tentional. 

3.  No  player  takes  advantage  of 
information   afforded   by  breaches 
of  the  law. 

4.  Whist  laws  should  be  framed 
with  these  objects  in  view,  viz. :  To 
define  the  general  order  of  play,  to 
promote   closer   attention,   and  to 
maintain  decorum. 

5.  The  penalty  for  the  infraction 
of  a  law  is  not  for  the  purpose  of 
restitution  for  damages  (except  in 
the  case  of  the  revoke),  but  solely 
to  stimulate  precaution  and  repress 
improprieties  of  play. 

The  American  code  also  includes 
laws  for  the  government  of  dupli- 
cate whist  (see,  "  Duplicate  Whist, 
Laws  of"),  which  were  adopted  at 
the  fourth  congress  of  the  League, 
Philadelphia,  1894.  At  the  sixth 
congress,  held  at  Manhattan  Beach, 
Brooklyn,  1896,  a  standing  commit- 
tee on  laws  was  appointed  to  sug- 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


233 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


gest  such  revisions  of  the  code 
(both  for  straight  and  duplicate 
whist)  as  their  judgment  might  dic- 
tate. The  committee  invited  every 
whist  club,  and  every  individual 
member  who  had  any  suggestion 
or  recommendation  to  offer  on  the 
subject,  to  forward  the  same  at 
earliest  convenience.  The  report 
of  the  committee,  made  and  adopt- 
ed at  the  seventh  congress,  at  Put- 
in-Bay, 1897,  was  somewhat  of  a 
disappointment  to  those  who  be- 
lieved in  revision,  for  the  general 
code  was  left  untouched,  and  only 
the  laws  of  duplicate  were  amended. 
(See,  "Laws  of  Whist —Proposed 
Revision. " )  We  give  herewith  the 
laws  of  the  game  as  now  in  force: 

The  Game. — i.  A  game  consists 
of  seven  points,  each  trick  above 
six  counting  one.  The  value  of  the 
game  is  determined  by  deducting 
the  losers'  score  from  seven. 

Forming  the  Table. — 2.  Those 
first  in  the  room  have  the  prefer- 
ence. If,  by  reason  of  two  or  more 
arriving  at  the  same  time,  more 
than  four  assemble,  the  preference 
among  the  last  comers  is  deter- 
mined by  cutting,  a  lower  cut  giv- 
ing the  preference  over  all  cutting 
higher.  A  complete  table  consists 
of  six;  the  four  having  the  prefer- 
ence play.  Partners  are  determined 
by  cutting;  the  highest  two  play 
against  the  lowest  two;  the  lowest 
deals,  and  has  the  choice  of  seats 
and  cards. 

3.  If  two  players  cut  intermediate 
cards  of  equal  value  they  cut  again; 
the  lower  of  the  new  cut  plays  with 
the  original  lowest. 

4.  If  three  players  cut  cards  of 
equal  value  they  cut  again.     If  the 
fourth  has  cut  the  highest  card  the 
lowest  two  of  the  new  cut  are  part- 
ners, and  the  lowest  deals.     If  the 
fourth  has  cut  the  lowest  card  he 
deals,  and  the  highest  two  of  the 
new  cut  are  partners. 


5.  At  the  end  of  a  game,  if  there 
are  more  than  four  belonging  to  the 
table,  a  sufficient  number  of  the 
players  retire  to  admit  those  await- 
ing their  turn  to  play.     In  deter- 
mining which  players  remain  in, 
those  who  have  played  a  less  num- 
ber of  consecutive  games  have  the 
preference  over  all  who  have  played 
a  greater  number;  between  two  or 
more  who   have   played   an   equal 
number    the    preference  is    deter- 
mined by  cutting,  a  lower  cut  giv- 
ing the  preference  over  all  cutting 
higher. 

6.  To  entitle  one  to  enter  a  table, 
he  must  declare  his  intention  to  do 
so   before  any  one  of  the   players 
has   cut  for   the   purpose   of  com- 
mencing a  new  game  or  of  cutting 
out. 

Cutting. — 7.  In  cutting,  the  ace 
is  the  lowest  card.  All  must  cut 
from  the  same  pack.  If  a  player 
exposes  more  than  one  card,  he 
must  cut  again.  Drawing  cards 
from  the  outspread  pack  may  be 
resorted  to  in  place  of  cutting. 

Shuffling. — 8.  Before  every  deal, 
the  cards  must  be  shuffled.  When 
two  packs  are  used,  the  dealer's 
partner  must  collect  and  shuffle  the 
cards  for  the  ensuing  deal,  and 
place  them  at  his  right  hand.  In 
all  cases,  the  dealer  may  shuffle 
last. 

9.  A  pack  must  not  be  shuffled 
during  the  play  of  a  hand,  nor  so 
as  to  expose  the  face  of  any  card. 

Cutting  to  the  Dealer. — 10.  The 
dealer  must  present  the  pack  to  his 
right-hand  adversary  to  be  cut;  the 
adversary  must  take  a  portion  from 
the  top  of  the  pack  and  place  it  to- 
wards the  dealer;  at  least  four  cards 
must  be  left  in  each  packet;  the 
dealer  must  reunite  the  packets  by 
placing  the  one  not  removed  in  cut- 
ting upon  the  other. 

ii.  If,  in  cutting  or  in  reuniting 
the  separate  packets,  a  card  is  ex- 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


234 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


posed,  the  pack  must  be  reshuffled 
by  the  dealer  and  cut  again;  if 
there  is  any  confusion  of  the  cards, 
or  doubt  as  to  the  place  where  the 
pack  was  separated,  there  must  be 
a  new  cut. 

12.  If  the  dealer  reshuffles  the 
pack  after  it  has  been  properly  cut, 
he  loses  his  deal. 

Dealing. — 13.  When  the  pack 
has  been  properly  cut  and  reunited, 
the  dealer  must  distribute  the  cards, 
one  at  a  time,  to  each  player  in  reg- 
ular rotation,  beginning  at  his  left. 
The  last,  which  is  the  trump  card, 
must  be  turned  up  before  the  dealer. 
At  the  end  of  the  hand,  or  when  the 
deal  is  lost,  the  deal  passes  to  the 
player  next  to  the  dealer  on  his 
left,  and  so  on  to  each  in  turn. 

14.  There  must  be  a  new  deal  by 
the  same  dealer: 

I.  If  any  card  except  the  last  is 
faced  in  the  pack. 

II.  If,  during  the  deal  or  during 
the  play  of  the  hand,  the  pack  is 
proved  incorrect  or  imperfect;  but 
any  prior  score  made  with  that  pack 
shall  stand. 

15.  If,  during  the  deal,  a  card  is 
exposed,  the  side  not  in  fault  may 
demand    a    new    deal,     provided 
neither  of  that  side  has  touched  a 
card.     If  a  new  deal  does  not  take 
place,  the  exposed  card  is  not  liable 
to  be  called. 

16.  Any  one  dealing  out  of  turn, 
or  with  his  adversaries'  pack,  may 
be  stopped  before  the  trump  card  is 
turned,  after  which  the  deal  is  valid, 
and  the  packs,  if  changed,  so  re- 
main. 

Misdealing. — 17.  It  is  a  misdeal: 

I.  If  the  dealer  omits  to  have  the 
pack  cut,  and  his  adversaries  dis- 
cover the  error  before  the  trump 
card  is  turned  and  before  looking  at 
any  of  their  cards. 

II.  If  he  deals  a  card  incorrectly 
and  fails  to  correct  the  error  before 
dealing  another. 


III.  If  he  counts  the  cards  on  the 
table  or  in  the  remainder  of  the 
pack. 

IV.  If,  having  a  perfect  pack,  he 
does  not  deal  to  each  player  the 
proper  number  of  cards,  and  the 
error  is  discovered  before  all  have 
played  to  the  first  trick. 

V.  If  he  looks  at  the  trump  card 
before  the  deal  is  completed. 

VI.  If  he  places  the  trump  card 
face  downwards  upon  his  own  or 
any  other  player's  cards. 

A  misdeal  loses  the  deal,  unless, 
during  the  deal,  either  of  the  ad- 
versaries touches  a  card  or  in  any 
other  manner  interrupts  the  dealer. 

TheTrump  Card. — 18.  The  dealer 
must  leave  the  trump  card  face  up- 
wards on  the  table  until  it  is  his 
turn  to  play  to  the  first  trick;  if  it 
is  left  on  the  table  until  after  the 
second  trick  has  been  turned  and 
quitted,  it  is  liable  to  be  called. 
After  it  has  been  lawfully  taken  up, 
it  must  not  be  named,  and  any 

E layer  naming  it  is  liable  to  have 
is  highest  or   his   lowest    trump 
called  by  either  adversary.  A  player 
may,  however,  ask  what  the  trump 
suit  is. 

Irregularities  in  the  Hands. — 19. 
If,  at  any  time  after  all  have  played 
to  the  first  trick,  the  pack  being 
perfect,  a  player  is  found  to  have 
either  more  or  less  than  his  correct 
number  of  cards,  and  his  adversa- 
ries have  their  right  number,  the 
latter,  upon  the  discovery  of  such 
surplus  or  deficiency,  may  consult, 
and  shall  have  the  choice: 

I.  To  have  a  new  deal;  or,      . 

II.  To  have  the  hand  played  put, 
in  which  case  the  surplus  or  miss- 
ing card  or  cards  are  not  taken  into 
account 

If  either  of  the  adversaries  also 
has  more  or  less  than  his  correct 
number,  there  must  be  a  new  deal. 

If  any  player  has  a  surplus  card 
by  reason  of  an  omission  to  play  to 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


235 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


a  trick,  his  adversaries  can  exercise 
the  foregoing  privilege  only  after 
he  has  played  to  the  trick  following 
the  one  in  which  such  omission 
occurred. 

Cards  Liable  to  be  Called. — 20. 
The  following  cards  are  liable  to  be 
called  by  either  adversary: 

I.  Every  card  faced   upon  the 
table  otherwise  than  in  the  regular 
course  of  play,  but  not  including  a 
card  led  out  of  turn. 

II.  Every  card  thrown  with  the 
one  led  or  played   to  the  current 
trick.     The  player  must  indicate 
the  one  led  or  played. 

III.  Every   card    so    held   by  a 
player  that  his  partner  sees  any 
portion  of  its  face. 

IV.  All  the  cards  in  a  hand  low- 
ered or  shown  by  a  player  so  that 
his  partner  sees  more  than  one  card 
of  it. 

V.  Every    card    named   by  the 
player  holding  it. 

21.  All  cards  liable  to  be  called 
must  be  placed  and  left  face  up- 
wards on  the  table.     A  player  must 
lead  or  play  them  when  they  are 
called,  provided  he  can  do  so  with- 
out revoking.     The  call  may  be  re- 
peated at  each  trick  until  the  card 
is  played.     A  player  cannot  be  pre- 
vented from  leading  or  playing  a 
card  liable  to  be  called;  if  he  can 
get  rid  of  it  in  the  course  of  play, 
no  penalty  remains. 

22.  If  a  player  leads  a  card  better 
than  any  his  adversaries  hold  of  the 
suit,  and  then  leads  one  or  more 
other  cards  without  waiting  for  his 
partner  to  play,  the  latter  may  be 
called  upon  by  either  adversary  to 
take  the  first  trick,  and  the  other 
cards  thus   improperly  played  are 
liable  to  be  called;  it  makes  no  dif- 
ference whether  he  plays  them  one 
after  the  other,  or  throws  them  all 
on  the  table  together,  after  the  first 
card  is  played  the  others  are  liable 
to  be  called. 


23.  A  player  having  a  card  liable 
to  be  called  must  not  play  another 
until  the  adversaries  have  stated 
whether  or  not  they  wish  to  call 
the  card  liable  to  the  penalty.  If 
he  plays  another  card  without 
awaiting  the  decision  of  the  adver- 
saries, such  other  card  also  is  liable 
to  be  called. 

Leading  out  of  Turn. — 24.  If 
any  player  leads  out  of  turn,  a  suit 
may  be  called  from  him  or  his  part- 
ner the  first  time  it  is  the  turn  of 
either  of  them  to  lead.  The  pen- 
alty can  be  enforced  only  by  the 
adversary  on  the  right  of  the  player 
from  whom  a  suit  can  lawfully  be 
called. 

If  a  player,  so  called  on  to  lead  a 
suit,  has  none  of  it,  or  if  all  have 
played  to  the  false  lead,  no  penalty 
can  be  enforced.  If  all  have  not 
played  to  the  trick,  the  cards  erro- 
neously played  to  such  false  lead 
are  not  liable  to  be  called,  and  must 
be  taken  back. 

Playing  out  of  Turn. — 25.  If  the 
third  hand  plays  before  the  second, 
the  fourth  hand  also  may  play 
before  the  second. 

26.  If  the  third  hand  has  not 
played,  and  the  fourth  hand  plays 
before  the  second,  the  latter  may  be 
called  upon  by  the  third  hand  to 
play  his  highest  or  lowest  card  of 
the  suit  led;  or,  if  he  has  none,  to 
trump  or  not  to  trump  the  trick. 

Abandoned  Hands. — 27.  If  all 
four  players  throw  their  cards  on 
the  table,  face  upwards,  no  further 
play  of  that  hand  is  permitted. 
The  result  of  the  hand,  as  then 
claimed  or  admitted,  is  established, 
provided  that,  if  a  revoke  is  discov- 
ered, the  revoke  penalty  attaches. 

Revoking. — 28.  A  revoke  is  a  re- 
nounce in  error  not  corrected  in 
time.  A  player  renounces  in  error, 
when,  holding  one  or  more  cards 
of  the  suit  led,  he  plays  a  card  of  a 
different  suit. 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


236 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


A  renounce  in  error  may  be  cor- 
rected by  the  player  making  it, 
before  the  trick  in  which  it  occurs 
has  been  turned  and  quitted,  unless 
either  he  or  his  partner,  whether 
in  his  right  turn  or  otherwise,  has 
led  or  played  to  the  following  trick, 
or  unless  his  partner  has  asked 
whether  or  not  he  has  any  of  the 
suit  renounced. 

29.  If  a  player  corrects  his  mis- 
take in  time  to  save  a  revoke,  the 
card  improperly  played  by  him  is 
liable  to  be  called;  any  player  or 
players,  who  have  played  after  him, 
may  withdraw  their  cards  and  sub- 
stitute others;  the  cards  so  with- 
drawn are  not  liable  to  be  called. 

30.  The  penalty  of  revoking  is 
the  transfer  of  two  tricks  from  the 
revoking  side  to  their  adversaries; 
it  can  be  enforced  for  as  many  re- 
vokes as  occur  during  the  hand. 
The  revoking  side  cannot  win  the 
game  in  that  hand;  if  both  sides 
revoke,  neither  can  win  the  game 
in  that  hand. 

31.  The  revoking  player  and  his 
partner  may  require  the  hand,  in 
which  the  revoke  has  been  made, 
to  be  played  out,    and  score    all 
points  made  by  them  up  to  the 
score  of  six. 

32.  At  the  end  of  a  hand,  the 
claimants  of  a  revoke  may  search 
all  the  tricks.     If  the  cards  have 
been    mixed,    the   claim    may   be 
urged  and  proved,  if  possible;  but 
no  proof  is  necessary  and  the  re- 
voke is  established,  if,  after  it  has 
been  claimed,  the  accused  player  or 
his  partner  mixes  the  cards  before 
they  have  been   examined   to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  adversaries. 

33.  The  revoke  can  be  claimed 
at  any  time  before  the  cards  have 
been  presented  and  cut  for  the  fol- 
lowing deal,  but  not  thereafter. 

Miscellaneous. — 34.  Anyone, dur- 
ing the  play  of  a  trick,  and  before 
the  cards  have  been  touched  for  the 


purpose  of  gathering  them  together, 
may  demand  that  the  players  draw 
their  cards. 

35.  If  any  one,  prior  to  his  part- 
ner playing,  calls  attention  in  any 
manner  to  the  trick  or  to  the  score, 
the  adversary  last  to  play  to  the 
trick   may  require    the    offender's 
partner  to  play  his  highest  or  lowest 
of  the  suit  led,  or,  if  he  has  none, 
to  trump  or  not  to  trump  the  trick. 

36.  If   any  player  says,   "I  can 
win  the  rest, "  "  The  rest  are  ours, " 
' '  We  have  the  game, ' '  or  words  to 
that  effect,  his  partner's  cards  must 
be  laid  upon  the  table,  and  are  lia- 
ble to  be  called. 

37.  When  a  trick  has  been  turned 
and  quitted,  it  must  not  again  be 
seen  until  after  the  hand  has  been 
played.     A   violation   of   this   law 
subjects  the  offender's  side  to  the 
same  penalty  as  in  case  of  a  lead 
out  of  turn. 

38.  If  a  player  is  lawfully  called 
upon  to  play  the  highest  or  lowest 
or  a  suit,  or  to  trump  or  not  to 
trump  a  trick,  or  to  lead  a  suit,  and 
unnecessarily  fails  to  comply,  he  is 
liable  to  the  same  penalty  as  if  he 
had  revoked. 

39.  In  all  cases  where  a  penalty 
has  been  incurred  the  offender  must 
await  the  decision  of  the  adversa- 
ries.    If  either  of  them,  with  or 
without  his  partner's   consent,  de- 
mands a  penalty  to  which  they  are 
entitled,  such  decision  is  final.    If 
the   wrong    adversary   demands    a 
penalty,  or  a  wrong  penalty  is  de- 
manded, none  can  be  enforced. 

m  (See,  also,  "  Etiquette  of  Whist") 

Laws  of  Whist- English  Code. 

— Hoyle  first  gave  a  printed  exist- 
ence to  the  laws  of  whist  in  1742. 
The  fourteen  laws  then  issued  were 
subsequently  increased  to  twenty- 
four,  and  these  were  the  authority 
until  1760,  when  they  were  revised, 
and  the  revision  was  agreed  to  by 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


237 


LAWS  OP  WHIST 


the  members  of  White's  and  Saun- 
ders's  chocolate  houses.  These 
laws  provided  for  the  old  ten-point 
game,  or  long  whist,  of  Hoyle. 
They  remained  in  force  until  1864, 
when  the  supremacy  of  short  whist 
had  become  a  fact,  and  the  neces- 
sity for  a  change  in  the  laws  was 
keenly  felt  by  players  everywhere. 
The  first  to  suggest  a  revision,  and 
to  take  an  active  part  in  bringing  it 
about,  was  John  Loraine  Baldwin,  a 
well-known  player,  who  wrote  as 
follows  concerning  it  in  May,  1864: 
"Some  years  ago  I  suggested  to 
the  late  Hon.  George  Anson,  one 
of  the  most  accomplished  whist- 
players  of  his  day,  that  as  the 
supremacy  of  short  whist  was  an 
acknowledged  fact,  a  revision  and 
reformation  of  Hoyle's  rules  would 
confer  a  boon  on  whist-players  gen- 
erally, and  on  those  especially  to 
whom  disputes  and  doubtful  points 
were  constantly  referred."  Their 
views  coincided,  but  the  project 
was  for  a  time  abandoned.  In  1863 
Mr.  Baldwin  renewed  his  efforts, 
and  in  May  of  that  year  one  of  the 
chief  whist  clubs,  the  Arlington 
(now  called  the  Turf),  appointed  a 
committee  of  nine,  with  James  Clay 
as  chairman,  to  co-operate  in  the 
matter.  After  preparing  the  new 
code,  it  was  sent  to  another  leading 
club,  the  Portland,  and  considered 
by  a  committee  of  which  H.  D. 
Jones  (father  of  "  Cavendish")  was 
chairman.  The  suggestions  offered 
by  the  latter  committee  were  ac- 
cepted, and  on  April  30,  1864,  the 
code  was  formally  adopted  by  the 
Arlington  Club,  on  a  resolution 
signed  by  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  as 
chairman.  The  code  was  shortly 
after  published  in  conjunction  with 
James  Clay's  treatise  on  "Short 
Whist, ' '  and  was  at  once  adopted 
by  the  principal  clubs.  It  has  ever 
since  remained  the  standard  author- 
ity in  England  and  other  English- 


speaking  countries,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  United  States,  where  a 
new  code  is  now  in  force.  The 
English  code  consists  of  ninety-one 
sections,  as  follows: 

The  Rubber.— \.  The  rubber  is 
the  best  of  three  games.  If  the 
first  two  games  be  won  by  the  same 
players,  the  third  game  is  not 
played. 

Scoring. — 2.  A  game  consists  of 
five  points.  Each  trick  above  six 
counts  one  point. 

3.  Honors — i.e.,  ace,  king,  queen, 
and    knave,  of  trumps — are    thus 
reckoned: 

If  a  player  and  his  partner, 
either  separately  or  conjointly, 
hold — 

I.  The    four    honors,  they  score  four 
points. 

II.  Any  three  honors,  they  score   two 
points. 

III.  Only  two  honors,  they  do  not  score. 

4.  Those    players    who,    at    the 
commencement   of  a   deal,    are  at 
the  score    of    four,   cannot    score 
honors. 

5.  The  penalty  for  a  revoke  takes 

Precedence    of    all    other    scores, 
ricks  score  next;  honors  last. 

6.  Honors,  unless  claimed  before 
the  trump  card  of   the  following 
deal  is  turned  up,  cannot  be  scored. 

7.  To  score  honors  is  not  suffi- 
cient; they  must   be  called  at  the 
end  of  the  hand;  if  so  called,  they 
may  be  scored  at  any  time  during 
the  game. 

8.  The  winners  gain — 

I.  A  treble,  or  game  of  three  points, 
when  their  adversaries  have  not  scored. 

II.  A  double,   or  game  of  two  points, 
when  their  adversaries  have  scored  less 
than  three. 

III.  A  single,   or  game  of  one  point, 
when  their  adversanes  have  scored  three 
or  four. 

9.  The    winners  of  the    rubber 
gain  two  points,  commonly  called 
the  rubber  points,  in  addition  to 
the  value  of  their  games. 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


238 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


10.  Should  the  rubber  have  con- 
sisted of  three  games,  the  value  of 
the  loser's  game  is  deducted  from 
the  gross  number  of  points  gained 
by  their  opponents. 

11.  If  an    erroneous     score    be 
proved,  such  mistake  can  be  cor- 
rected prior  to  the   conclusion  of 
the  game  in  which  it  occurred,  and 
such  game  is  not  concluded  until 
the  trump  card  of  the  following  deal 
has  been  turned  up. 

12.  If  an  erroneous  score  affect- 
ing the  amount  of  the  rubber  be 
proved,  such  mistake  can  be  recti- 
fied at  any  time  during  the  rubber. 

Cutting. — 13.  The  ace  is  the  low- 
est card. 

14.  In  all  cases,  every  one  must 
cut  from  the  same  pack. 

15.  Should  a  player  expose  more 
than  one  card  he  must  cut  again. 

Formation  of  Table.  —  16.  If 
there  are  more  than  four  candidates 
the  players  are  selected  by  cutting, 
those  first  in  the  room  having  the 
preference.  The  four  who  cut  the 
lowest  cards  play  first,  and  again 
cut  to  decide  on  partners;  the  two 
lowest  play  against  the  two  highest; 
the  lowest  is  the  dealer,  who  has 
choice  of  cards  and  seats,  and  hav- 
ing once  made  his  selection  must 
abide  by  it. 

17.  When  there  are  more  than 
six  candidates  those  who  cut  the 
two  next  lowest  cards  belong  to  the 
table,  which  is  complete  with  six 
players;  on  the  retirement  of  one  of 
these  six  players  the  candidate  who 
cut  the  next  lowest  card  has  a  prior 
right  to  any  after-comer  to  enter 
the  table. 

Cutting  Cards  of  Equal  Value. — 
1 8.  Two  players  cutting  cards  of 
equal  value.unless  such  cards  are  the 
two  highest,  cut  again;  should  they 
be  the  two  lowest,  a  fresh  cut  is  ne- 
cessary to  decide  which  of  those  two 
deals. 

19.  Three  players  cutting  cards 


of  equal  value  cut  again.  Should 
the  fourth  (or  remaining)  card  be 
the  highest,  the  two  lowest  of  the 
new  cut  are  partners,  the  lower  of 
these  two  the  dealer;  should  the 
fourth  card  be  the  lowest,  the  two 
highest  are  partners,  the  original 
lowest  the  dealer. 

Cutting  Out. — 20.  At  the  end  of 
a  rubber,  should  admission  be 
claimed  by  any  one  or  two  candi- 
dates, he  who  has,  or  they  who 
have,  played  a  greater  number  of 
consecutive  rubbers  than  the  others 
is,  or  are,  out;  but  when  all  have 
played  the  same  number,  they  must 
cut  to  decide  upon  the  out-goers; 
the  highest  are  out. 

Entry  and  Re-entry. — 21.  A  can- 
didate wishing  to  enter  a  table  must 
declare  such  intention  prior  to  any 
of  the  players  having  cut  a  card, 
either  for  the  purpose  of  commenc- 
ing a  fresh  rubber  or  of  cutting  out. 

22.  In    the    formation    of   fresh 
tables,  those  candidates  who  have 
neither  belonged  to,  nor  played  at, 
any  other  table  have  the  prior  right 
of  entry;   the  others  decide  their 
right  of  admission  by  cutting. 

23.  Any  one  quitting  a  table  prior 
to  the  conclusion  of  a  rubber  may, 
with  consent  of    the  other  three 
players,  appoint  a  substitute  in  his 
absence  during  that  rubber. 

24.  A  player    cutting    into    one 
table,  whilst  belonging  to  another, 
loses  his  right  of  re-entry  into  that 
latter,  and  takes  his  chance  of  cut- 
ting in,  as  if  he  were  a  fresh  can- 
didate. 

25.  If  any  one  break  up  a  table, 
the  remaining    players    have    the 
prior  right  to  him  of  entry  into 
any  other;  and  should  there  not  be 
sufficient  vacancies  at  such  other 
table  to  admit  all  these  candidates, 
they    settle    their    precedence    by 
cutting. 

Shuffling. — 26.  The  pack  must 
neither  be  shuffled  below  the  table, 


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239 


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nor  so  that  the  face  of  any  card  be 
seen. 

27.  The  pack  must  not  be  shuf- 
fled during  the  play  of  the  hand. 

28.  A  pack,  having  been  played 
with,  must  neither   be  shuffled  by 
dealing  it  into  packets  nor  across 
the  table. 

29.  Each   player  has  a  right  to 
shuffle,  once  only,  except  as  pro- 
vided by  Rule  32,  prior  to  a  deal 
after  a  false  cut,  or  when   a  new 
deal  has  occurred. 

30.  The    dealer's    partner    must 
collect  the  cards  for  the  ensuing 
deal,  and    has    the    first  right    to 
shuffle  that  pack. 

31.  Each  player,  after  shuffling, 
must  place  the  cards,  properly  col- 
lected and  face  downwards,  to  the 
left  of  the  player  about  to  deal. 

32.  The  dealer    has  always  the 
right  to  shuffle  last;  but  should  a 
card   or   cards  be  seen  during  his 
shuffling,  or  while  giving  the  pack 
to  be  cut,  he  may  be  compelled  to 
reshuffle. 

The  Deal. — 33.  Each  player  deals 
in  his  turn;  the  right  of  dealing 
goes  to  the  left. 

34.  The  player  on  the  dealer's 
right  cuts  the  pack,  and  in  dividing 
it  must  not  leave  fewer  than  four 
cards  in  either  packet;  if  in  cut- 
ting, or  in  replacing  one  of  the  two 
packets  on  the  other,  a  card  be  ex- 
posed, or  if  there  be  any  confusion 
of  the  cards,  or  a  doubt  as  to  the 
exact  place  in  which  the  pack  was 
divided,   there    must    be    a    fresh 
cut. 

35.  When  a  player  whose  duty  it 
is  to  cut  has   once   separated  the 
pack,  he  cannot  alter  his  intention; 
he  can  neither  reshuffle  nor  recut 
the  cards. 

36.  When  the  pack  is  cut,  should 
the  dealer  shuffle  the  cards  he  loses 
his  deal. 

A  New  Deal. — 37.  There  must 
be  a  new  deal — 


I.  If  during  a  deal,  or  during  the  play 
of  a  hand,  the  pack  be  proved  incorrect 
or  imperfect. 

II.  If  any  card,  excepting  the  last,  be 
faced  in  the  pack. 

38.  If,  whilst  dealing,  a  card  be 
exposed  by  the  dealer  or  his  part- 
ner, should  neither  of  the  adversa- 
ries have  touched   the  cards,   the 
latter  can  claim  a  new  deal;  a  card 
exposed  by  either  adversary  gives 
that  claim  to  the  dealer,  provided 
that  his  partner  has  not  touched  a 
card;  if  a  new  deal  does  not  take 
place  the  exposed  card  cannot  be 
called. 

39.  If  during  dealing  a   player 
touch  any  of  his  cards,  the  adver- 
saries may  do  the  same  without  los- 
ing their  privilege   of  claiming   a 
new  deal,  should  chance  give  them 
such  option. 

40.  If,  in  dealing,  one  of  the  last 
cards  be  exposed,  and  the  dealer 
turn    up   the   trump   before  there 
is   reasonable  time  for  his  adver- 
saries to  decide  as  to  a  fresh  deal, 
they    do    not    thereby    lose    their 
privilege. 

41.  If  a  player,  whilst  dealing, 
look  at  the  trump  card,  his  adver- 
saries have  a   right  to  see  it,  and 
may  exact  a  new  deal. 

42.  If  a  player  take  into  the  hand 
dealt  to  him  a  card  belonging  to 
the  other  pack,  the  adversaries,  on 
discovery  of  the  error,  may  decide 
whether  they  will  have  a  fresh  deal 
or  not. 

A  Misdeal. — 43.  A  misdeal  loses 
the  deal. 

44.  It  is  a  misdeal — 

I.  Unless  the  cards  are  dealt  into  four 
packets,  one  at  a  time  in  regular  rota- 
tion, beginning  with  the  player  to  the 
dealer's  left. 

II.  Should  the  dealer   place    the    last 
card  (i.  e.,  the  trump)  face  downwards,  • 
on  his  own,  or  any  other  pack. 

III.  Should  the  trump  card  not  come 
in  its  regular  order  to  the  dealer;  but  he 
does  not  lose  his  deal   if  the  pack  be 
proved  imperfect. 


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240 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


IV.  Should    a   player    have    fourteen 
cards,  and  either  of  the  other  three  less 
than  thirteen. 

V.  Should  the  dealer,  under  an  impres- 
sion that  he  has  made  a  mistake,  either 
count  the  cards  on  the  table  or  the  re- 
mainder of  the  pack. 

VI.  Should  the  dealer  deal  two  cards  at 
once,  or  two  cards  to  the  same  hand,  and 
then  deal  a  third;  but  if  prior  to  dealing 
that  third  card  the  dealer  can,  by  altering 
the  position  of  one  card  only,  rectify  such 
error,  he  may  do  so,  except  as  provided 
by  the  second  paragraph  of  this  law. 

VII.  Should  the  dealer  omit  to  have  the 
pack  cut  to  him,  and  the  adversaries  dis- 
cover the  error,  prior  to  the  trump  card 
being  turned  up,  and  before  looking  at 
their  cards,  but  not  after  having  done 
so. 

45.  A  misdeal  does  not  lose  the 
deal  if,  during  the  dealing,  either 
of  the  adversaries  touch  the  cards 
prior  to  the  dealer's  partner  having 
done  so;  but  should  the  latter  have 
first  interfered  with  the  cards,  not- 
withstanding either  or  both  of  the 
adversaries  have  subsequently  done 
the  same,  the  deal  is  lost. 

46.  Should  three    players    have 
their  right  number  of  cards,  the 
fourth  have  less  than  thirteen,  and 
not  discover  such  deficiency  until 
he  has  played  any  of  his  cards,  the 
deal  stands  good;  should  he  have 
played,  he  is  as  answerable  for  any 
revoke  he  may  have  made  as  if  the 
missing  card,  or  cards,  had  been  in 
his  hand;  he  may  search  the  other 
pack  for  it,  or  them. 

47.  If  a  pack,  during  or  after  a 
rubber,  be  proved  incorrect  or  im- 
perfect, such  proof  does  not  alter 
any  past  score,   game,  or  rubber; 
that  hand  in  which  the  imperfec- 
tion was  detected  is  null  and  void ; 
the  dealer  deals  again. 

48.  Any  one  dealing  out  of  turn, 
or  with  the  adversary's  cards,  may 
be  stopped  before  the  trump  card  is 
turned  up,   after  which  the  game 
must  proceed  as  if  no  mistake  had 
been  made. 

49.  A  player  can  neither  shuffle, 
cut,  nor  deal  for  his  partner  with- 


out   the  permission    of  his  oppo- 
nents. 

50.  If  the  adversaries  interrupt  a 
dealer    while    dealing,    either    by 
questioning  the  score  or  asserting 
that  it  is  not  his  deal,  and  fail  to 
establish  such  claim,  should  a  mis- 
deal occur  he  may  deal  again. 

5 1.  Should  a  player  take  his  part- 
ner's deal,  and  misdeal,  the  latter 
is  liable  to  the  usual  penalty,  and 
the  adversary  next  in   rotation  to 
the  player  who  ought  to  have  dealt 
then  plays. 

The  Trump  Card.— 52.  The  deal- 
er, when  it  is  his  turn  to  play  to  the 
first  trick,  should  take  the  trump 
card  into  his  hand;  if  left  on  the 
table  after  the  first  trick  be  turned 
and  quitted,  it  is  liable  to  be  called; 
his  partner  may  at  any  time  re- 
mind him  of  the  liability. 

53.  After  the  dealer  has  taken  the 
trump  card  into  his  hand  it  cannot 
be  asked  for;  a  player  naming  it  at 
any  time   during  the  play  of  that 
hand  is  liable  to  have  his  highest 
or  lowest  trump  called. 

54.  If  the  dealer  take  the  trump 
card  intp  his  hand  before  it  is  his 
turn  to  play  he  may  be  desired  to 
lay  it  on  the  table;  should  he  show 
a   wrong   card,  this   card   may  be 
called,  as   also   a  second,  a  third, 
etc.,  until  the  trump  card  be  pro- 
duced. 

55.  If  the  djealer  declare  himself 
unable  to  recollect  the  trump  card, 
his  highest  or  lowest  trump  may  be 
called  at  any  time  during  that  hand, 
and,  unless  it  cause  him  to  revoke, 
must  be  played;  the  call   may  be 
repeated,   but  not  changed — i.  e., 
from    highest    to   lowest,    or   vice 
versa — until  such  card  is  played. 

Cards  Liable  to  be  Called.— 56. 
All  exposed  cards  are  liable  to  be 
called,  and  must  be  left  on  the 
table;  but  a  card  is  not  an  exposed 
card  when  dropped  on  the  floor,  or 
elsewhere  below  the  table. 


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241 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


The  following  are  exposed  cards: 

I.  Two  or  more  cards  played  at  once. 

II.  Any  card  dropped  with  its  face  up- 
wards, or  in  any  way  exposed  on  or  above 
the  table,   even  though  snatched  up  so 
quickly  that  no  one  can  name  it. 

57.  If  any  one  play  to  an  imper- 
fect trick  the  best  card  on  the  table, 
or  lead  one  which  is  a   winning 
card  as  against  his  adversaries,  and 
then    lead  again,  or    play  several 
such  winning  cards,  one .  after  the 
other,  without  waiting  for  his  part- 
ner to  play,  the  latter  may  be  called 
on  to  win,  if  he  can,  the  first  or  any 
other  of  those  tricks,  and  the  other 
cards  thus  improperly  played  are 
exposed  cards. 

58.  If  a  player,  or  players,  under 
the  impression  that  the  game  is 
lost,  or  won,  or  for  other  reasons, 
throw  his  or  their  cards  on  the  table 
face  upwards,   such  cards  are  ex- 
posed, and  liable  to  be  called,  each 
player's    by    the    adversary;     but 
should  one  player  alone  retain  his 
hand,  he  cannot  be  forced  to  aban- 
don it. 

59.  If  all  four  players  throw  their 
cards  on  the  table   face   upwards, 
the  hands  are   abandoned;  and  no 
one  can  again  take  up  their  cards. 
Should  this  general  exhibition  show 
that  the  game  might    have    been 
saved,  or  won,  neither  claim  can  be 
entertained,  unless  a  revoke  be  es- 
tablished.    The   revoking  players 
are  then  liable  to   the    following 
penalties:  they  cannot,  under  any 
circumstances,    win   the  game   by 
the  result  of  that  hand,  and  the  ad- 
versaries  may  add  three  to  their 
score,  or  deduct  three  from  that  of 
the  revoking  players. 

60.  A  card  detached  from  the  rest 
of  the  hand,  so  as  to  be  named,  is 
liable  to  be  called;  but  should  the 
adversary  name  a  wrong  card,  he  is 
liable  to  have  a  suit  called  when  he 
or  his  partner  have  the  lead. 

61.  If  a  player,  who  has  rendered 

16 


himself  liable  to  have  the  highest 
or  lowest  of  a  suit  called,  fail  to 
play  as  desired,  or  if  when  called 
on  to  lead  one  suit  lead  another, 
having  in  his  hand  one  or  more 
cards  of  that  suit  demanded,  he 
incurs  the  penalty  of  a  revoke. 

62.  If  any  player  lead  out  of  turn, 
his  adversaries  may  either  call  the 
card  erroneously  led,  or  may  call  a 
suit  from  him  or  his  partner  when 
it  is  the  next  turn  of  either  of  them 
to  lead. 

63.  If  any  player  lead    out   of 
turn,  and  the  other  three  have  fol- 
lowed him,  the  trick  is  complete, 
and   the  error  is  rectified;  but  if 
only  the  second,  or  the  second  and 
third,  have  played  to  the  false  lead, 
their  cards,  on  discovery  of  the  mis- 
take, are  taken  back.     There  is  no 
penalty  against  any  one  excepting 
the  original   offender,  whose  card 
may  be  called,  or  he,  or  his  part- 
ner, when  either  of  them  has  next 
the  lead,  may  be  compelled  to  play 
any  suit  demanded  by  the  adversa- 
ries. 

64.  In  no  case  can  a  player  be 
compelled  to  play  a  card  which 
would  oblige  him  to  revoke. 

65.  The  call  of  a  card  may  be  re- 
peated until  such  card  has  been 
played. 

66.  If  a  player  called  on  to  lead 
a  suit  have  none  of  it,  the  penalty 
is  paid. 

Cards  Played  in  Error,  or  not 
Played  to  a  Trick.— -67.  If  the  third 
hand  play  before  the  second,  the 
fourth  hand  may  play  before  his 
partner. 

68.  Should  the  third  hand  not 
have  played,  and   the  fourth  play 
before  his  partner,  the  latter  may 
be  called  on  to  win  or  not  to  win  the 
trick. 

69.  If  any  one  omit  playing  to  a 
former  trick,  and  such  error  be  not 
discovered  until  he  has  played  to 
the  next,  the  adversaries  may  claim 


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242 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


a  new  deal.  Should  they  decide 
that  the  deal  stand  good,  the  sur- 
plus card  at  the  end  of  the  hand  is 
considered  to  have  been  played  to 
the  imperfect  trick,  but  does  not 
constitute  a  revoke. 

70.  If  any  one  play  two  cards  to 
the  same  trick,  or  mix  his  trump  or 
other  card  with  a  trick  to  which  it 
does  not  properly  belong,  and  the 
mistake  be  not  discovered  until  the 
hand  is  played  out,  he  is  answer- 
able for  all  consequent  revokes  he 
may  have  made.  If  during  the  play 
of  the  hand  the  error  be  detected, 
the  tricks  may  be  counted  face 
downwards,  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  there  be  among  them  a 
card  too  many.  Should  this  be  the 
case,  they  may  be  searched  and  the 
card  restored.  The  player  is,  how- 
ever, liable  for  all  revokes  he  may 
meanwhile  have  made. 

The  Revoke. — 71.  Is  when  a 
player,  holding  one  or  more- cards 
of  the  suit  led,  plays  a  card  of  a 
different  suit. 

72.  The  penalty  for  a  revoke: 

I.  Is  at  the  option  of  the  adversaries, 
who,  at  the  end  of  the  hand,  may  either 
take    three    tricks    from    the    revoking 
player,  or  deduct  three  points  from  his 
score,  or  add  three  to  their  own  score; 

II.  Can  be  claimed  for  as  many  revokes 
as  occur  during  the  hand; 

III.  Is  applicable  only  to  the  score  of 
the  game  in  which  it  occurs; 

IV.  Cannot  be  divided — i.  e.,  a  player 
cannot  add  one  or  two  to  his  own  score 
and  deduct  one  or  two  from  the  revoking 
player. 

V.  Takes    precedence  of  every  other 
score;  e.  g.,  the  claimants  two,  their  op- 
ponents nothing,  the  former  add  three  to 
their  score,   and    thereby  win  a  treble 
game,  even  should  the  latter  have  made 
thirteen  tricks,  and  "held  four  honors. 

73.  A  revoke  is  established,  if  the 
trick  in  which  it  occur  be  turned 
and    quitted — «.   e.t   the  hand  re- 
moved from  that  trick  after  it  has 
been  turned  face  downwards  on  the 
table;    or  if   either    the  revoking 


player  or  his  partner,  whether  in 
his  right  turn  or  otherwise,  lead  or 
play  to  the  following  trick. 

74.  A  player  may  ask  his  partner 
whether  he  has  not  a  card  of  the 
suit    which     he     has    renounced; 
should  the  question  be  asked  before 
the  trick  is  turned  and  quitted,  sub- 
sequent turning  and  quitting  does 
not  establish   the  revoke,  and  the 
error  may  be  corrected,  unless  the 
question  be  answered  in  the  nega- 
tive, or  unless  the  revoking  player 
or  his  partner  have  led  or  played 
to  the  following  trick. 

75.  At  the  end  of  the  hand  the 
claimants  of  a  revoke  may  search 
all  the  tricks. 

76.  If  a  player  discover  his  mis- 
take in  time  to  save  a  revoke,  his 
adversaries,  whenever  they  think 
fit,  may  call  the  card  thus  played  in 
error,  or  may  require  him  to  play 
his  highest  or  lowest  card  to  that 
trick  in  which  he  has  renounced; 
any  player  or  players  who  have 
played   after    him    may   withdraw 
their  cards  and  substitute  others; 
the  cards  withdrawn  are  not  liable 
to  be  called. 

77.  If  a  revoke  be  claimed,  and 
the  accused  player  or  his  partner 
mix  his    cards    before  they  have 
been  sufficiently  examined  by  the 
adversaries,    the   revoke  is  estab- 
lished.    The  mixing  of  the  cards 
only  renders  the  proof  of  a  revoke 
difficult,  but  does  not  prevent  the 
claim,  and  possible  establishment, 
of  the  penalty. 

78.  A  revoke  cannot  be  claimed 
after  the  cards  have  been  cut  for 
the  following  deal. 

79.  The  revoking  player  and  his 
partner    may,   under    all    circum- 
stances, require  the  hand  in  which 
the  revoke  has  been  detected  to  be 
played  out. 

80.  If  a  revoke  occur,  be  claimed, 
and  proved,  bets  on  the  odd  trick, 
or  on  amount  of  score,  must  be 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


243 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


decided  by  the  actual  state  of  the 
latter  after  the  penalty  is  paid. 

81.  Should   the  players  on  both 
sides  subject  themselves  to  the  pen- 
alty of  one  or  more  revokes,  neither 
can  win  the  game;  each  is  punished 
at  the  discretion  of  his  adversary. 

82.  In  whatever  way  the  penalty 
be    enforced,    under    no    circum- 
stances  can  a  player  win  a  game 
by  the  result  of  the  hand  during 
which  he  has  revoked;  he  cannot 
score  more  than  four. 

Calling  for  New  Cards. — 83.  Any 
player  (on  paying  for  them)  before, 
but  not  after,  the  pack  be  cut  for 
the  deal,  may  call  for  fresh  cards. 
He  must  call  for  two  new  packs, 
of  which  the  dealer  takes  his 
choice. 

General  Rules.  —  84.  Where  a 
player  and  his  partner  have  an 
option  of  exacting  from  their  ad- 
versaries one  of  two  penalties,  they 
should  agree  who  is  to  make  the 
election,  but  must  not  consult  with 
one  another  which  of  the  two  pen- 
alties it  is  advisable  to  exact;  if 
they  do  so  consult,  they  lose  their 
right;  and  if  either  of  them,  with 
or  without  consent  of  his  partner, 
demand  a  penalty  to  which  he  is 
entitled,  such  decision  is  final.  This 
rule  does  not  apply  in  exacting  the 
penalties  for  a  revoke;  partners  have 
then  a  right  to  consult. 

85.  Any  one  during  the  play  of 
a  trick,  or  after  the  four  cards  are 
played,  and  before,  but  not  after, 
they  are  touched  for  the  purpose 
of  gathering  them  together,  may 
demand  that  the  cards  be  placed 
before  their  respective  players. 

86.  If  any  one,  prior  to  his  part- 
ner playing,  should  call  attention 
to  the  trick,  either  by  saying  that 
it  is  his,  or  by  naming  his  card,  or, 
without  being  required  so  to  do,  by 
drawing  it  towards  him,  the  adver- 
saries may  require  that  opponent's 
partner  to  play  the  highest  or  low- 


est of  the  suit  then  led,  or  to  win  or 
lose  the  trick. 

87.  In  all  cases  where  a  penalty 
has  been  incurred,  the  offender  is 
bound  to  give  reasonable  time  for 
the  decision  of  his  adversaries. 

88.  If  a  bystander  make  any  re- 
mark which  calls  the  attention  of  a 
player  or  players  to  an  oversight 
affecting  the  score,  he  is  liable  to 
be  called  on,  by  the  players  only, 
to  pay  the  stakes  and  all  bets  on 
that  game  or  rubber. 

89.  A  bystander,  by  agreement 
among  the  players,  may  decide  any 
question. 

90.  A  card    or    cards    torn    or 
marked  must  be  either  replaced  by 
agreement,  or  new  cards  called  at 
the  expense  of  the  table. 

91.  Any  player  may  demand  to 
see  the  last  trick  turned,  and  no 
more.      Under    no    circumstances 
can  more  than  eight  cards  be  seen 
during  the  play  of  the  hand,  viz., 
the  four  cards  on  the  table  which 
have  not  been  turned  and  quitted, 
and  the  last  trick  turned. 

(The  "  Etiquette  of  Whist,"  and 
laws  of  "  Dummy  "  and  "  Double- 
Dummy"  will  be  found  under 
these  heads.) 

The  laws  of  whist,  though  very  good  in 
the  principles  on  which  they  are  based, 
are,  it  must  be  confessed,  loosely  worded. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  day  the  draft- 
ing may  be  reconsidered.  If  this  were 
done  with  the  consent  of  the  clubs  that 
have  adopted  the  laws  (which  one  would 
think  could  be  readily  obtained),  a  boon 
would  be  conferred  upon  whist-plavers. — 
"Cavendish"  \_L.A.\,  "  Card-  Table  'Talk," 
1880. 

These  laws  fulfill  their  purpose  so  far  as 
promoting  harmony  and  maintaining 
equity.  But  they  are  not  well  worded; 
their  verbiage  is  excessive;  and  they  do 
not  everywhere  follow  in  appropriate  suc- 
cession. Some  are  merely  club  rules,  and 
others  might  be  dispensed  with  as  self- 
evident  and  superfluous.  In  the  event  of 
future  revision,  some  of  the  conditions  of 
the  game  might  be  reconsidered,  as  fol- 
lows: (i)  Four  by  honors  to  count  only 
two  points,  and  two  by  honors  one  point, 
towards  the  game.  (2)  No  game  to  be 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


244 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


won  by  honors  without  the  trick.  (3)  The 
penalty  for  a  revoke  to  be  exacted  as  fol- 
lows: (a)  The  revoking  player  ts  at  once 
forfeit  three  points  to  each  of  his  adver- 
saries. (i>)  The  revoking  side  not  to  score 
game  on  the  hand  during  the  play  of 
which  the  revoke  occurred.  (4)  A  trick, 
once  "turned  and  quitted,"  not  to  be  seen 
again  during  the  play  of  the  hand,  except 
to  prove  a  revoke.—  Sir  William  Cusack- 
Smith  [/..  0.]. 

Laws  of  Whist— Proposed  Re- 
vision.— Although  all  the  leading 
English  authorities  on  whist  agree 
that  the  English  code  is  defective, 
and  should  be  revised,  there  does 
not  seem  to  be  any  practical  move- 
ment looking  towards  revision. 
The  previous  code,  based  on  the 
Hoyle  game,  remained  in  force  for 
over  one  hundred  years,  until  the 
radical  change  in  the  game  from 
long  to  short  whist  made  it  abso- 
lutely necessary.  It  may  be  that 
an  event  of  similar  importance  in 
the  evolution  of  the  game  will  be 
necessary  before  the  present  code 
is  changed. 

In  America,  the  code  adopted  at 
Milwaukee,  in  1891,  was  revised 
two  years  later,  but  since  that  time 
the  American  Whist  League  has 
become  quite  conservative,  and  al- 
though a  committee  on  revision 
was  appointed  in  1896,  it  reported 
against  any  change  in  the  code 
in  1897  (see,  "American  Whist 
League"),  contenting  itself  with 
amending  the  laws  of  duplicate 
whist.  This  was  disappointing  to 
those  who  desire  to  see  the  code 
improved  whenever  necessity  for  it 
arises.  Among  the  suggestions 
submitted  to  the  committee,  at  the 
latter's  request,  were  the  following 
from  N.  B.  Trist,  who  has  taken  a 
prominent  and  active  part  in  per- 
fecting the  American  code  from 
the  very  beginning: 

Law  8. — After  "place  them,"  insert 
"properly  collected  and  face  down- 
wards." This  is  the  wording  of  the  Eng- 
lish law.  I  would  not  have  suggested 


this  addition  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that 
the  American  laws  for  cutting  and  deal- 
ing go  into  still  minuter  details. 

Same  Law  8.— Strike  out  the  last  sen- 
tence and  substitute  the  following:  "  The 
dealer  also  has  the  right  to  shuffle."  The 
English  law  allows  every  player  to  shuf- 
fle and  the  dealer  to  shuffle  last.  The 
wording  of  our  law  being  almost  the  same 
as  the  English,  has  given  rise  to  the  claim 
— made  in  Whist,  if  I  am  not  mistaken — 
that  all  the  players  had  the  right  to  shuf- 
fle. The  proposed  change  would  remove 
the  ambiguity. 

Law  10. — I  think  "either"  would  be 
better  than  "  each." 

Law  17,  VI. — After  "  manner,"  insert 
"  interferes  with."  This  would  perhaps 
give  greater  scope  tor  the  application  of 
the  law. 

Law  iS. — After  "  called  by,"  strike  out 
"either  adversary"  and  insert  "his 
right-hand  adversary  at  any  time  during 
the  play  of  that  hand,  before  he  plays  to 
any  current  trick,  or  before  the  trick  is 
turned  and  quitted,  in  case  the  offender 
gets  the  lead.  The  call  may  be  repeated 
until  the  card  is  played,  but  it  cannot  be 
changed."  As  our  law  stands,  it  is  a  dead 
letter,  as  nobody  can  tell  when  the  pen- 
alty is  to  be  exacted.  Some  hold  that  it 
must  be  done  immediately,  and  others 
that  there  must  be  a  trump  lead  on  which 
to  exercise  the  right.  The  person  who 
is  to  exact  the  penalty,  and  the  restriction 
as  to  time,  are  provisions  on  the  same 
lines  as  those  regarding  exposed  cards 
and  leading  out  of  turn — as  hereinafter. 

Law  20. — Strike  out  "  by  either  adver- 
sary." 

Same  Law,  I. — Add  "or  any  unseen 
cards  of  a  hand  faced  upon  the  table." 
This  is  to  cover  the  much -discussed  and, 
to  my  mind,  absurd  English  decision, 
that  if  a  hand  is  placed  face  upwards  on 
the  table  the  whole  thirteen  cards  can  be 
called,  although  only  the  top  one  can  be 
seen.  (See  Whist,  August,  1895.) 

Same  Law,  V. — Add  "  but  not  the  trump 
card  which  has  been  named  by  the  deal- 
er." Otherwise,  it  could  be  treated  as  an 
exposed  card,  which  would  not  do — as  a 
penalty  is  provided  for  naming  the  trump 
card. 

Law  23. — Re-enacted  as  under:  "  Only 
the  right-hand  adversary  can  call  an  ex- 
posed card;  if  he  plays  without  calling  it, 
the  player  having  the  exposed  card  may 
play  as  he  pleases.  Should  the  latter  ge't 
the  lead,  the  exposed  card  can  only  be 
called  before  the  trick  is  turned  and 
quitted."  This  is  an  attempt  to  get  over 
the  difficulty  of  a  player  having  to  wait 
the  pleasure  of  the  adversaries  about 
calling  or  not  calling. 

Law  24. — After  "  lawfully  called,"  insert 
"  and  who  will  lose  his  privilege  to  call  a 
suit,  unless  he  gives  notice  of  his  inten- 


LAWS  OP  WHIST 


245 


LAWS  OF  WHIST 


tion  to  do  so  before  the  trick  is  turned 
and  quitted."  Same  remarks  as  above 
apply. 

Law  28. — Add  a  third  paragraph  as 
under:  "  A  player,  however,  mav  ask  his 
adversaries  if  they  have  any  of  the  suit 
renounced;  but  the  question  establishes 
the  revoke  if  it  happens  that  it  is  his 
partner  who  has  renounced  in  error." 
(See  Whist,  August,  1895.) 

Law  30. — Instead  of  present  penalty 
substitute:  "  The  penalty  for  revoking  is 
the  adding  of  two  points  to  the  score  of 
the  adversaries."  For  reasons  given  at 
length  in  August  Whist,  1895,  I  consider 
the  present  penalty  a  bungling  affair,  and 
in  many  cases  totally  inadequate  as  a 
punishment  for  a  revoke.  The  change 
would  be,  in  my  opinion,  a  great  im- 
provement in  the  law. 

Law  39. — After  "is  final,"  insert  "if  a 
player  reminds  his  partner  to  enforce  a 
penalty,  or  if  the  wrong  adversary,"  etc. 

New  paragraph,  same  law.  "  A  player, 
however,  has  the  right  to  prevent  his 
partner  from  committing  any  irregular- 
ity, excepting  renouncing  in  error." 
These  changes  and  additions  to  settle 
two  much-disputed  questions.  (See  Wliist, 
August,  1894,  p.  48;  October,  1894,  p.  77; 
December,  1894,  p.  123;  January,  1895,  p. 
I45-) 

General  A.  W.  Drayson,  of  South- 
sea,  England,  some  of  whose  pre- 
vious suggestions  had  been  incor- 
porated in  the  original  American 
code,  also  responded  to  the  request 
of  the  committee.  His  suggestions 
were  as  follows: 

i.  As  the  value  of  the  game  is  deter- 
mined by  deducting  the  losers'  score  from 
seven  (Law  i),  the  penalty  for  a  revoke 
may  be  nil.  For  example,  north  and 
south  are  at  the  score  of  fivp,  east  and 
west  at  six.  North  and  south  win  two  by 
cards  and  game;  east  and  west  have  re- 
voked. By  Rule  30,  two  tricks  can  be 
transferred  from  east  and  west  to  north 
and  south,  but  this  makes  no  difference 
in  the  value  of  the  game,  as  north  and 
south  were  game  without  the  aid  of  the 
revoke.  Hence  no  penalty  can  be  in- 
flicted on  east  and  west  for  their  revoke. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  following  slight 
alteration  in  Law  30  would  meet  such  a 
case:  "30.  The  penalty  for  revoking  is 
the  transfer  of  two  tricks  from  the  revok- 
ing side  to  their  adversaries,  or  deducting 
two  from  the  score  of  the  revoking  play- 
ers." etc. 

By  Law  20,  Section  i,  "  Every  card  faced 
upon  the  table  otherwise  than  in  the  regu- 
lar course  of  play  (can  be  called)."  If  a 


p 
th 


player,  therefore,  place  his  cards  face  up- 
wards on  the  table,  the  whole  of  his  cards 
can  be  called,  though  he  only  expose  the 
top  card.  This  is  the  English  law,  and  it 
is  most  unjust  to  inflict  so  severe  a  pen- 
alty for  such  an  offense. 

I  venture  to  suggest  the  following  as  a 
remedy  for  this  injustice:  Jf  a  player 

lace  his  cards  face  upwards  on  the  table, 
he  card  or  cards  exposed  can  be  called,  and 
in  addition  one  extra  card  for  each  card 
exposed,  the  extra  card  being  that  immedi- 
ately below  the  exposed  card  or  cards. 

By  Law  n,  English  Code,  "  If  an  erro- 
neous score  be  proved,  such  mistake  can 
be  corrected  prior  to  the  conclusion  of  the 
game  in  which  it  occurred,  and  such 
game  is  not  concluded  until  the  trump 
card  of  the  following  deal  has  been  turned 
up."  I  cannot  find  in  the  American  laws 
any  reference  as  to  when  an  erroneous 
score  can  or  cannot  be  corrected.  It 
might  be  as  well  to  insert  such  a  law.  In 
the  event  of  such  a  law  being  introduced, 
say  that  after  the  game  is  finished  the 
score  cannot  be  corrected,  and  more  than 
one  game  is  to  be  played  by  the  same 
partners,  we  might  encounter  this  diffi- 
culty: Suppose  north  and  south,  at  the 
score  of  four,  win  two  by  cards,  but  by 
mistake  count  three,  and  hence  game. 
North  commences  to  deal  for  the  second 
game,  but  east  then  remembers  that 
north  and  south  won  only  two  by  cards, 
and  are  not  game.  He  stops  north  in  the 
deal  and  points  out  the  error  in  the  score, 
which  north  and  south  admit,  and  ex- 
ress regret.  North  continues  dealing, 
ut  misdeals.  North  claims  Law  17,  Sec- 
tion 6,  that  he  must  deal  again,  as  he  was 
interrupted  during  his  deal. 

Might  it  not  be  well  to  embody  Law  50, 
English  Code,  in  Law  17,  Section  6, 
American  Code?  viz.:  "  If  the  adversa- 
ries interrupt  a  dealer  whilst  dealing, 
either  by  questioning  the  score  or  assert- 
ing that  it  is  not  his  deal,  and  fail  to  es- 
tablish such  claim,  should  a  misdeal 
occur,  he  may  deal  again." 

I  venture  to  offer  these  few  suggestions, 
as  I  believe  cases  must  occur  where  their 
application  may  be  of  benefit,  and  having 
found  that  suggestions  I  made  in  1879 
•were  adopted  by  the  framers  of  American 
whist  laws  eleven  years  afterwards,  I 
trust  that  my  remarks  may  not  be  con- 
sidered presumptuous. 


The  action  of  the  seventh  con- 
gress reserves  for  a  future  congress 
the  credit  of  acting  upon  the  above 
suggestions.  The  members  of  that 
congress  seem  to  have  been  swayed 
by  such  logic  as  this:  "A  bad  law 
that  is  unchangeable  is  better  than 


p 
b 


LEAD,  THE 


246 


LEAD,  THE 


an  uncertain  good  one,  and  in  our 
opinion,  the  damage  that  would 
result  from  continuous  changes  in 
the  laws  would  largely  outweigh 
any  advantage  that  might  be  de- 
rived therefrom."  (Whist,  July  9, 
1897 . )  This  is,  indeed,  conservatism 
run  mad.  The  Medes  and  Persians 
at  least  claimed  that  their  laws 
were  good  before  making  them  un- 
alterable. As  N.  B.  Trist  says,  in  a 
letter  received  from  him  under  date 
of  August  23,  1897:  "This  kind  of 
ultra  conservatism  would  act  as  a 
perpetual  bar  to  any  improvements 
in  our  code.  I  believe  the  code 
should  be  amended  whenever  it  can 
be  improved,  but  that  this  should 
be  done  only  after  due  care  and 
deliberation.  *  *  *  It  looks,  too, 
as  if  the  congress  had  taken  a 
somewhat  anomalous  position 
when  it  assumes  the  code  of  laws 
to  be  too  perfect  to  be  amended, 
and  then  suggests  a  virtual  abroga- 
tion of  some  of  the  laws  (an  ac- 
knowledgment of  deficiencies  in 
the  code)  by  recommending  that 
\vhist-players  should  '  apply  to 
straight  whist  such  of  the  special 
laws  of  duplicate  whist  as  are  ap- 
plicable, and  thus  the  alleged 
defects  and  deficiencies  of  the 
present  code  will  be  avoided.'  " 

Lead, The. — The  first  card  played 
of  any  round  or  trick.  The  origi- 
nal lead  is  the  lead  with  which  the 
player  on  the  dealer's  left  (the  eld- 
est hand)  begins  the  game;  also, 
the  lead  with  which  any  other 
player  opens  his  hand.  The  uses 
of  the  lead  are  manifold;  in  fact, 
the  lead  is  the  most  important  fac- 
tor in  whist  play.  By  its  means  we 
draw  the  adverse  trumps,  establish 
our  best  suit,  or  that  of  partner; 
enable  partner  to  make  his  small 
trumps;  force  the  adversaries' 
strong  trumps;  bring  in  our  estab- 
lished suit;  and  do  many  other 


things,  such  as  answer  signals, 
throw  the  lead,  give  partner  a 
chance  to  finesse,  etc. 

The  lead  in  trumps  differs  in  this 
important  respect  from  the  lead  in 
plain  suits:  it  involves  no  danger 
that  high  cards  will  be  lost  if  kept 
back.  With  trumps  it  is,  therefore, 
often  advantageous  to  play  a  wait- 
ing game  and  win  the  last  round, 
thus  retaining  the  lead  and  making 
it  possible  to  bring  in  your  long 
suit,  especially  if  you  are  without  a 
card  of  re-entry  in  another  suit. 

Original  or  opening  leads  have 
an  important  influence  on  each 
hand  played.  They  are  always 
made  in  accordance  with  some 
recognized  system  or  code  whereby 
important  information  is  conveyed 
to  partner,  especially  when  taken 
in  connection  with  the  card  played 
on  the  second  round.  (See,  "Amer- 
ican Leads,"  "Old  Leads,"  and 
"Short-Suit  Leads.") 

The  best  leads  are  from  sequences  of 
three  cards  or  more.  If  you  have  none . 
lead  from  your  most  numerous  suit,  if 
strong  in  trumps. — Thomas  Mathews  [/.. 

a]. 

Never  lead  a  card  without  a  reason, 
though  a  wrong  one.  Be  particularly 
cautious  not  to  deceive  your  partner  in 
his  or  your  own  leads. —  Thomas  Mathews 
[L.O.}. 

Though  with  good  players,  the  lead 
nearly  counterbalances  the  advantages 
of  the  deal,  with  bad  ones  it  is  of  little  or 
no  advantage;  of  course  it  increases  that 
of  the  dealer. —  Thomas  Mathews  [/..  <?.]. 

No  player  should  lead  until  the  preced- 
ing trick  is  turned  and  quitted.  No 
player  should,  after  having  led  a  winning 
card,  draw  a  card  from  his  hand  for 
another  lead  until  his  partner  has  played 
to  the  current  trick. — Etiquette  of  Whist 
{American  Code). 

The  writer  once  had  the  pleasure  of 
playing  with  "Cavendish."  After  the 
game  he  said:  "Mr.  Jones,  I  notice  you 
only  follow  your  book  in  the  opening 
leads."  He  replied:  "Certainly.  The 
book  is  only  intended  to  guide  the  player 
in  the  opening  leads.  As  the  game  pro- 
gresses he  must  be  guided  by  the  fall  of 
the  cards,  experience,  and  common 
sense." — New  }ork  Times,  1896. 


LEADER 


247   LEADING  OUT  OF  TURN 


The  card  to  lead  is  the  one  that  will  at 
once  afford  the  most  information,  and  at 
the  same  time  be  in  harmony  with  the 
general  order.  This  brings  the  whole 
scheme  of  leading  within  the  scope  of 
general  principles,  and  makes  it  practi- 
cable to  prepare  a  table  ofleads  that  will 
harmonize  and  be  applicable  to  all  but 
exceptional  hands.  It  follows  that  if 
partners  adopt  the  same  system,  they  at 
once  begin  to  count  the  hands,  and  are 
thus  enabled  to  combine  their  forces  and 
really  play  a  partnership  game. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  \L.  A.].  '\Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

Leader. — The  player  who  leads 
or  plays  the  first  card  in  any  round 
or  trick;  the  one  who  leads  a  suit 
and  causes  the  rest  of  the  players 
to  play  to  it.  The  original  leader 
in  opening  a  hand  is  the  eldest 
hand. 

Leading  out  of  Turn.— A  mis- 
play,  in  whist,  which  consists  in  a 
player  placing  on  the  table  a  card 
of  a  suit  which  he  desires  played, 
when  the  right  to  do  so  belongs  to 
another.  To  lead  when  you  ought 
to  follow,  is  to  lead  out  of  turn. 
The  penalty  for  leading  out  of  turn 
is  that  a  suit  may  be  called,  under 
the  American  laws;  the  card  led,  or 
a  suit,  may  be  called  under  the 
English  code. 

The  question,  Has  a  player  the 
right  to  prevent  his  partner  from 
leading  out  of  turn?  is  one  upon 
which  there  is  a  great  diver- 
sity of  opinion  in  America.  Un- 
der the  English  code,  which,  for 
example,  permits  a  player  to  ask  his 
partner  whether  he  has  any  of  a 
suit  which  he  renounces  (thereby 
often  preventing  a  revoke),  com- 
munication with  partner  concern- 
ing his  play  is  more  freely  permitted 
than  under  the  American  laws, 
which  tend  more  in  the  direction 
of  making  each  player  directly  re- 
sponsible for  his  own  acts.  While 
they  do  not  expressly,  or  under 
penalty,  prohibit  a  player  from  in- 
terfering with  a-n  erroneous  lead  on 


the  part  of  his  partner,  neither  do 
they  expressly  allow  it.  The  ques- 
tion would,  therefore,  seem  to  be 
one  where  the  etiquette  of  whist 
might  with  profit  be  consulted, 
and  this  says:  "No  conversation 
should  be  indulged  in  during  the 
play,  except  such  as  is  allowed  by 
the  laws  of  the  game." 

"  But,"  say  those  who  claim  the 
right  to  prompt  partner  in  the 
emergency  in  question,  "it  is  not 
necessary  to  employ  conversation  to 
prevent  partner  from  leading  out  of 
turn.  It  can  be  done  by  a  gesture, 
a  groan,  or  other  mark  of  disap- 
proval." In  answer  to  this,  how- 
ever, we  may  quote  further  from 
the  etiquette  of  whist,  which  says: 
"  No  player  should,  in  any  manner 
whatsoever,  give  any  intimation  as 
to  the  state  of  his  hand  or  of  the 
game,  or  of  approval  or  disapproval 
of  a  play."  A  lead  out  of  turn  is 
certainly  a  play,  although  a  wrong 
one. 

While  it  seems  to  us  clear,  there- 
fore, that  the  American  code  favors 
the  idea  of  individual  responsi- 
bility (thereby  inculcating  caution 
and  better  play),  yet  in  the  absence 
of  an  express  prohibition,  under 
penalty,  the  whole  matter  must  be 
left  to  the  good  judgment  of  the 
table,  the  same  as  many  other 
questions  of  etiquette  or  of  usage. 

I  contend  that  a  player  has  a  perfect 
right  to  prevent  his  partner  from  com- 
mitting any  irregularity  whatever,  such 
as  dealing,  leading,  or  playing  out  of  turn. 
— N.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.],  Whist,  December, 
1894. 

A  player  who  sees,  or  thinks  he  sees, 
that  his  partner  is  about  to  mislead,  or  to 
lead  out  of  turn,  or  to  commit  any  irreg- 
ularity, has  a  perfect  right  to  mention  the 
fact,  and  to  try  to  prevent  the  commission 
of  the  irregularity. — "Cavendish"  [L.A.], 
London  Field. 

By  the  English  code,  two  penalties  may 
be  enforced  [for  leading  put  of  turn], viz., 
calling  the  card  or  calling  a  lead,  and 
either  adversary  may  elect  to  enact  this 
penalty.  By  the  American  code,  a  lead 


LEADING  OUT  OF  TURN     248          LEADS,  SYSTEMS  OF 


can  only  be  called,  and  only  one  adver- 
sary can  enact  the  penalty.  This  is  cer- 
tainly a  reduction  of  the  punishment  for 
careless  play. — A.  W.  Dray  son  [L+A-\-], 
"  Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 

I  agree  with  Mr.  Trist  that  one  has  a 
right  to  prevent  his  partner  from  com- 
mitting an  irregularity — such  as  dealing 
out  of  turn,  shuffling,  or  cutting— or  any 
irregularity  that  might  occur  before  the 
trump  is  turned;  after  that  the  game  be- 
comes one  of  silence  and  play.  We  take 
our  partner  as  one  who  knows  how,  and 
can  control  his  own  action;  he  should 
have  the  same  confidence  in  us,  and  I 
look  upon  our  new  rules  as  particularly 
conducive  to  careful  play. — George  H.  Fish 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  January ,  189$. 

It  is  right  on  this  principle  that  the 
English  and  American  codes  differ,  the 
former  holding  that  a  player  may  protect 
the  interests  of  his  side  by  a  reminder  to 
partner  in  some  cases;  as'  when  a  suit  is 
renounced,  to  ask  if  no  more  of  the  suit 
is  held,  in  order  to  guard  against  a  re- 
voke; while  the  latter  is  regulated  by  the 
principle  that  a  player  must  rely  wholly 
on  his  own  intelligence  and  attention, 
and  that  if  he  falls  into  any  fault,  it  is 
only  justice  for  the  partnership  to  suffer 
the  penalty. — Cassius  Af.  fbine  [L.  A.], 
Whist,  October,  1804. 

If  any  player  leads  out  of  turn,  a  suit 
may  be  called  from  him  or  his  partner 
the  first  time  it  is  the  turn  of  either  of 
them  to  lead.  The  penalty  can  be  en- 
forced only  by  the  adversary  on  the  right 
of  the  player  from  whom  a  suit  can  law- 
fully be  called.  If  a  player,  so  called  on 
to  lead  a  suit,  has  none  of  it,  or  if  all  have 
played  to  the  false  lead,  no  penalty  can 
be  enforced.  If  all  have  not  played  to  the 
trick,  the  cards  erroneously  played  to  such 
false  lead  are  not  liable  to  be  called,  and 
must  be  taken  back. — Laws  of  Whist 
(American  Code),  Section  24. 

If  my  partner  (not  having  thirteen 
trumps  in  his  hand)  trumps  my  ace  led, 
I  clearly  have  no  nght  to  order  him  to 
take  back  his  trump  and  put  something 
else  in  place  of  it.  Why?  Because  the 
blunder  was  his  own  fault,  and  I  took  him 
as  a  partner  for  better  or  for  worse.  So, 
if  he  neglects  to  win  a  trick  fourth  hand 
when  he  ought  to,  I  have  no  right  to  sus- 
pend the  play  until  I  can  persuade  him 
to  do  so.  Why  ?  Because,  as  before, 
*  *  *  I  must  suffer  while  the  opponents 
profit  by  his  foolishness.  Now,  if  he 
doesn't  avoid  leading  out  of  turn,  *  *  *  I 
ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  save  the  game 
or  help  our  score  by  playing  his  hand  for 
him,  as  I  do  in  a  sense  when  I  stop  him 
from  leading.  *  *  *  So  long  as  the  lead  at 
the  wrong  time  is  strictly  the  partner's 


own  fault,  the  firm  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber ought  to  suffer  the  consequences. — M. 
L.  Countryman,  Whist,  January,  1895. 

If  any  player  lead  out  of  turn,  his  ad- 
versaries may  either  call  the  card  erro- 
neously led  or  may  call  a  suit  from  him  or 
his  partner,  when  it  is  the  next  turn  of 
either  of  them  to  lead. 

If  any  player  lead  out  of  turn,  and  the 
other  three  have  followed  him,  the  trick 
is  complete  and  the  error  is  rectified;  but 
if  only  the  second,  or  the  second  and 
third,  have  played  to  the  false  lead,  their 
cards,  on  discovery  of  the  mistake,  are 
taken  back.  There  is  no  penalty  against 
any  one  excepting  the  original  offender, 
whose  card  may  be  called,  or  he,  or  his 
partner,  when  either  of  them  next  has 
the  lead,  may  be  compelled  to  play  any 
suit  demanded  by  the  adversaries. 

In  no  case  can  a  player  be  compelled  to 
play  a  card  which  would  oblige  him  to 
revoke. 

The  call  of  a  card  maybe  repeated  until 
such  card  has  been  played. 

If  a  player  called  on  to  lead  a  suit  have 
none  of  it,  the  penalty  is  paid.—  Laws  of 
Whist  (English  Code),  Sections  62-66. 

Leading  Through. — Leading  a 
suit  in  which  your  left-hand  oppo- 
nent is  strong. 

Many  players  seem  to  think  that  the 
excellent  general  rule,  lead  through 
strength  (that  is,  lead  a  suit  in  which 
your  left-hand  adversary  has  high  cards), 
is  a  rule  to  be  universally  followed  when 
you  have  no  good  suit  of  your  own,  and 
do  not  know  what  is  your  partner's  best 
suit.  But  if  your  left-hand  adversary 
leads  from  a  suit  both  strong  and  long, 
and  you.  making  first  trick,  lead  through 
him  in  that  suit,  you  are  simply  playing 
his  game.— R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.\. 

Leading  Up  To. — Leading  a  suit 
in  which  your  right-hand  opponent 
is  weak — a  play  usually  made 
when  you  have  no  good  suit  of 
your  own,  and  it  is  inadvisable  to 
return  your  partner's  suit. 

Leads,  American. — See,  "Amer- 
ican Leads." 

Leads,  Systems  of. — The  parent, 
or  English,  system  of  leading, 
known  as  the  old  leads  (q.  z>.), 
was  developed  in  the  early  history 
of  whist,  in  the  time  of  Hoyle  and 


LEADS,  SYSTEMS  OF         249        LEWIS,  FREDERIC  H. 


his  immediate  successors.  The  old 
leads  enable  the  player  to  accu- 
rately indicate  the  high  cards  in  his 
hand,  number  in  suit  being  a  sec- 
ondary consideration.  The  next 
great  system  of  leads  is  known  as 
American  leads  (q.  v.),  by  means 
of  which  number,  as  well  as  the 
character  of  the  cards  held,  is  accu- 
rately indicated.  The  system  known 
as  Hamilton  leads  (q.  v. )  is  exactly 
the  same  as  the  American  leads, 
with  the  exception  of  certain 
changes  made  in  the  leads  from 
king  and  queen.  In  fact,  it  is 
American  leads  with  modifications. 
Then  we  have  also  the  Howell 
game  (q.  v.},  the  common-sense 
game  (q.  v.},  and  other  variations, 
whose  chief  peculiarity  is  the  open- 
ing lead  from  short  suits  in  prefer- 
ence to  long  suits,  unless  the  latter 
are  overwhelmingly  favorable. 

The  conclusion  which  the  writer  has 
reached  upon  the  question  of  leads  is  that, 
for  players  of  moderate  ability,  the  sys- 
tem of  the  old  leads  is  the  best,  because  it 
is  the  most  simple.  To  such  a  player  the 
intricacies  of  the  system  of  American 
leads  are  most  confusing,  and  often,  in 
trying  to  determine  some  subtle  question 
of  how  to  show  the  number  of  cards  in  a 
suit,  some  point  of  play  of  far  greater 
practical  value  is  overlooked.  It  is  only 
the  expert  who  is  able  to  benefit  by  the 
information  to  be  given  by  American 
leads,  and  for  two  moderate  players  to 
use  that  system  is  therefore  foolish  when 
playing  against  opponents  of  their  own 
calibre,  and  especially  silly  when  matched 
against  their  superiors.  The  trump-show- 
ing leads  give  very  important  information, 
but  it  is  of  such  a  character  that  if  the  ad- 
versaries are  of  the  class  able  to  use  it  to 
the  best  advantage,  they  may  make  it  in 
the  long  run  redound  to  their  benefit.  If 
the  adversaries  have  not  the  calibre  to 
use  the  information,  then  the  leader  and 
his  partner  can  adopt  no  system  which 
will  net  them  more  tricks.  The  choice  as 
between  American  leads  and  the  old 
leads,  with  the  optional  trump-showing 
addition,  was  at  least  debatable  until  the 
Hamilton  modification  removed  from 
American  leads  their  most  serious  draw- 
back. Now,  when  Greek  meets  Greek,  it 
would  seem  that  the  best  method  of  at- 
tack is  the  Hamilton  modification  of 
American  leads.— Milton  C.  Work  (L.  A. 
H.],  "Whist  of  To-day." 


Levick,  Mrs.  Mary  D'lnvilliers. 

— A  well-known  whist  advocate 
and  player.  She  resides  in  Phila- 
delphia, where  she  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  every  movement  for 
the  advancement  of  the  game.  As 
a  writer,  she  is  chiefly  known  by 
her  "  Whist  Catechism,"  in  which 
she  arranged  and  gave,  in  concise 
form,  the  fundamental  principles 
which  have  stood  the  test  of  a  cen- 
tury, together  with  American  leads 
and  some  of  the  innovations 
adopted  by  whist  experts. 

Lewis,  Frederic  H. — An  Eng- 
lish whist  expert  and  writer  on  the 
game,  chiefly  and  justly  famous  for 
the  145  double-dummy  problems 
which  he  invented  and  contributed 
to  the  Westminster  Papers.  He 
was  also  a  fine  chess-player,  having 
once  succeeded  in  drawing  a  game 
with  Paul  Morphy.  Mr.  Lewis  was 
a  solicitor  by  profession,  having 
been  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Inner 
Temple,  London,  in  1856.  Charles 
Mossop,  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Westminster  Papers,  April  i,  1879, 
pays  this  tribute  to  his  work:  "  The 
highest  feature  of  the  paper  has 
been  the  production,  month  after 
month,  of  a  double-dummy  prob- 
lem by  Mr.  F.  H.  Lewis.  This 
field  is  un worked,  but  for  beauty 
and  ingenuity  I  do  not  think  these 
problems  will  ever  be  surpassed. 
*  *  *  If  we  have  done  nothing 
else  for  the  world,  we  have  been 
instrumental  in  inducing  Mr.  Lewis 
to  compose  these  problems,  and 
they  will  henceforth  represent  the 
highest  ideal  whist  extant. ' ' 

As  an  example  of  Mr.  Lewis's 
powers  in  this  direction,  we  will 
quote  the  following  problem,  which 
is  one  of  his  very  best,  if  not  his 
best.  As  good  a  player  and  analyst 
as  J.  H.  Briggs  pronounces  it  the 
best  and  most  difficult  that  has  ever 
come  under  his  notice: 


LEWIS,  FREDERIC  H.         250        «  LIEUT. -COLONEL  B." 
THE  HANDS. 


V  Q,  8,  7,  6. 
JL  K    T  8  6. 

0  A,  9,  8. 

*4,3- 

N. 

Q?  10,  4,  2. 

<9  K,  9,  5,  3. 

*  10,  9,  5,  2. 

OK,Q. 

4  A,  10,  6,  5. 

W.                        E. 

*  Q-  7.  3- 
0  7,  6,  5. 
*  J,  8,  2. 

S. 

*A,  4. 

0  J.  10,  4,  3,  2. 

*  K,  Q,  9,  7. 


Hearts  are  trumps;  south  leads. 

North  and  south  to  take  nine  tricks, 
east  and  west  playing  their  best  to  pre- 
vent them. 

All  the  cards  are  exposed,  and  each 
player  takes  full  advantage  of  their  ob- 
served location. 

The  following  solution  will  be 
found  interesting  and  instructive, 
although  in  this,  as  well  as  all 
other  problems  given  in  this  book, 
students  of  the  game  should  first 
exhaust  their  own  ingenuity  before 
reading  the  answer.  South  leads, 
as  stated;  the  underscored  card 
takes  the  trick,  and  the  one  under 
it  is  led  next: 


<n 

1 

H 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
0 
7 

North. 

East. 

South. 

West. 

3  + 
AO 

2  * 

5  0 
8  * 
J   * 
<9  3 
<?  5 
V  9 

K  * 

5  4 

QO 

10* 

2  0 
9  « 
7  4 
<?  J 

4-  * 

v  e 

<?  7 
<9  8 
80 

A  4 

<y  2 

V  4- 

6  • 

<?  A 

Q  + 

East  and  west  can  now  make 
only  the  king  of  hearts  and  king 
of  diamonds. 

If  east  refuses  to  trump  at  trick 
7,  south  leads  a  diamond;  west 
makes  the  king  of  diamonds  and 
east  the  king  and  nine  of  hearts. 

Score:  North  and  south,  9;  east 
and  west,  4. 

This  solution,  together  with  an 
exhaustive  analysis  (including  five 
variations  of  the  solution),  will  be 
found  in  Whist  for  September,  1893. 
Although  the  problem  was  before 
the  whist-players  of  America  sev- 
eral months,  but  two  correct  an- 
swers were  received,  one  from  Mr. 
Briggs,  the  other  from  Perry  Trum- 
bull,  of  Chicago.  John  Hopley,  of 
Bucyrus, Ohio, subsequently  showed 
how  north  and  south  can  win  by 
the  lead  of  any  suit  except  clubs. 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel    B."— A 

pseudonym  under  which  a  little 
volume  appeared  in  London  in 
1856,  entitled  "The  Whist-Player: 
The  Laws  and  Practice  of  Short 
Whist  Explained  and  Illustrated, 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  B****."  A 


LITTLE  SLAM,  THE          251    "LITTLE  WHIST  SCHOOL" 


second  edition  appeared  in  1858, 
dedicated  to  the  Army  and  Navy 
Club.  From  the  initial  and  aster- 
isks it  was  generally  believed  that 
the  book  was  written  by  Colonel  A. 
F.  Blyth,  but  Courtney,  in  his 
"English  Whist  and  Whist-Play- 
ers," states  that  the  real  author  is 
said  to  have  been  Henry  Charles 
Bunbury.  "  Cavendish"  has  a  very 
poor  opinion  of  the  author's  abili- 
ties, whoever  he  was  or  is,  based 
on  the  quality  of  his  work. 

Little  Slam, The. — Twelve  tricks 
taken  by  a  player  and  his  partner 
in  any  one  hand;  a  phrase  em- 
ployed in  ' '  bridge" '  and  other  so- 
called  varieties  of  whist. 

«•  Little  Whist  School,  The."— 

A  name  applied  to  a  coterie  of  Eng- 
lish whist  enthusiasts  who  met  and 
studied  the  game  something  after 
the  manner  of  Lord  Folkestone 
and  his  associates,  with  a  view  to 
improvement  and  mutual  benefit. 
The  influence  of  the  "  Little 
School,"  like  that  of  the  players  at 
the  Crown  Coffee-House,  a  century 
earlier,  was  destined  to  make  a 
lasting  impression  upon  whist. 
The  players  composing  it  all  de- 
serve to  be  remembered  for  their 
services  in  reducing  to  systematic 
form  the  many  improvements  made 
by  expert  players  since  the  days  of 
Hoyle,  Payne,  and  Mathews. 

About  1850,  we  are  told  by  Pole, 
a  knot  of  young  men  at  Cambridge, 
of  considerable  ability,  who  had  at 
first  taken  up  whist  for  amuse- 
ment, found  it  to  offer  such  a  field 
for  intellectual  study,  that  they 
continued  its  practice  systemati- 
cally with  a  view  to  its  more  com- 
plete scientific  investigation. 
Among  them  was  Daniel  Jones, 
brother  of  "Cavendish,"  but  the 
latter  himself  was  not  at  that  time 
one  of  the  party,  being  then  a  stu- 
dent at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital. 


Later  on,  about  the  year  1854,  after 
the  members  of  the  original  coterie 
had  taken  their  degrees,  "Caven- 
dish" began  to  meet  with  them  in 
London.  The  regular  players  were 
Edward  Wilson,  J.  P.,  W.  Dundas 
Gardiner,  Daniel  Jones,  and  Henry 
Jones,  who  had  not  yet  assumed 
his  famous  pseudonym.  While 
others  joined  in  the  play  at  times, 
these  four  formed  the  backbone  of 
the  "Little  School."  When  they 
met  it  was  their  custom  to  play 
every  hand  through  to  the  end  for 
the  sake  of  information  and  the 
purpose  of  making  calculations  on 
the  results.  They  wrote  down  the 
particulars  of  all  interesting  hands, 
and  fully  discussed  them  among 
themselves.  They  also  had  constant 
access  to  the  principal  members  of 
the  Portland  Club,  and  difficult 
points  were  usually  written  out  and 
submitted  to  James  Clay,  M.  P.,  a 
member  of  the  club,  and  one  of  the 
foremost  whist-players  of  his  day 
and  generation.  All  the  information 
acquired  by  the  school  was  care- 
fully recorded  and  tabulated,  but 
without  any  thought  at  the  time  of 
publishing  it.  About  1860  the 
members  ceased  to  meet,  but  the 
records  were  fortunately  preserved 
by  Mr.  Jones,  still  without  any 
thought  of  making  a  wider  use  of 
them.  Dr.  Pole,  having  occasion 
to  write  an  article  for  Macmillan's 
Magazine  on  ' '  Games  of  Cards 
for  the  Coming  Winter, ' '  published 
in  its  number  for  December,  1861, 
added  the  following  note:  "It 
would  be  a  great  boon  if  some  good 
authority  would  publish  a  set  of 
model  games  at  whist,  with  explan- 
atory remarks,  such  as  are  found  so 
useful  in  chess,  for  example. "  This, 
attracting  Mr.  Jones's  attention,  led 
to  a  correspondence  between  him 
and  Dr.  Pole,  and  to  the  publication 
of  the  "  Principles  of  Whist, "  "  il- 
lustrated on  an  original  system  by 


LIVING  HAND 


252 


LONG  SUIT 


means  of  hands  played  completely 
through. ' '  The  whist  world  was  as 
ready  and  eager  for  the  new  whist 
dispensation  as  it  had  been  for  the 
old  testament  of  Hoyle,  and  the 
"Little  Whist  School"  was  not 
only  the  source  from  which  it 
sprang,  but  the  institution  from 
which  was  graduated  the  greatest 
master  of  whist  since  Hoyle. 

The  "  Little  School"  was  first  so  chris- 
tened by  a  writer  in  the  Quarterly 
Review  of  January,  1871.  Then  a  storm 
arose.  The  late  Abraham  Haywood 
•wrote  to  the  Morning  Post  to  say  that 
none  of  the  most  celebrated  players 
of  the  day  were  aware  of  the  exist- 
ence of  this  school.  That  was  not  sur- 
prising, considering  that  the  players 
named  had  no  idea  that  they  formed  a 
school  until  after  the  publication  of  the 
Quarterly,  when  they  "awoke  and  found 
themselves  famous."  Haywood  added, 
in  the  Post,  "Did  these  young  men  origi- 
nate, or  elaborate,  or  compass  anything, 
or  did  they  merely  arrange  what  was  well 
known  and  procurable  before?"  To  this 
"  Cavendish"  replied:  "  \Vhat  I  claim  for 
the  Little  School  is  that  in  one  book  we 
gave,  for  the  first  time,  the  reasoning  on 
which  the  principles  of  whist  play  are 
based,  logicallv  and  completely."  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  "  Little  School " 
originated  any  alterations  worthy  of 
record.  These  came  later  on. — N.  B. 
Trist  [L,  A.},  Harper's  Magazine,  March, 
1891. 

Living  Hand. — In  dummy  whist, 
a  hand  other  than  dummy's.  In 
French  dummy,  vivant,  or  the  liv- 
ing hand,  is  more  particularly  the 
player  who  is  dummy's  partner. 

"  Living  Whist."—  An  elaborate 
form  of  stage  performance  that  has 
become  popular  of  late  years.  It 
is  also  called  "  Spielkartenfest,"  or 
festival  of  the  playing  cards.  It  is 
said  that  Mrs.  George  B.  McLaugh- 
lin,  of  Philadelphia,  noted  its  suc- 
cess abroad,  and  introduced  it  to 
society  in  the  Quaker  City  in  1891. 
Next  it  was  transported  to  Portland, 
Me.,  and  then  it  spread  to  other 
cities.  The  amusement  seems  to 
have  been  suggested  by  living  chess, 
which  was  very  popular  as  early  as 


1879.  In  that  year,  among  other 
contests,  one  came  off  in  the  Acad- 
emy of  Music,  New  York,  in  which 
Captain  Mackenzie  and  Eugene 
Delmar  manipulated  the  living 
chessmen. 

In  "living  whist,"  as  we  have 
seen  it  played,  the  curtain  rises, 
and  a  garden  file  is  seen  in  progress 
at  the  royal  palace.  One  of  the 
guests  proposes  that  a  game  of 
whist  be  played,  in  which  the  offi- 
cers and  court  ladies  shall  act  the 
part  of  hearts,  clubs,  diamonds,  and 
spades,  each  being  appropriately 
costumed.  The  suggestion  is  greeted 
with  applause,  and  when  the  cur- 
tain rises  again  a  tableau  is  pre- 
sented of  the  entire  complement  of 
fifty-two  cards.  Then  comes  the 
game,  and  the  cards  are  duly  shuf- 
fled and  dealt  (by  marching  and 
countermarching),  after  which  they 
are  played  by  four  expert  whist- 
players.  Each  of  these  players  hcs 
a  page  or  attendant  to  bring  the 
living  cards  out  as  they  are  desired. 

"  Musical  Whist,  with  Living 
Cards,  "by  "Cavendish,"  was  writ- 
ten for  the  centenary  celebration 
of  the  Masonic  Female  Orphan 
School  of  Ireland,  and  played  at  a 
grand  bazar  in  aid  of  this  noble 
charity  at  Dublin,  in  May,  1892. 
It  illustrates  some  of  the  most  fa- 
mous card  hands  of  the  past 
century. 

Long  Cards. — The  cards  of  a  suit 
remaining  in  one  hand  after  all  the 
other  cards  of  the  same  suit  are 
out. 

Long  Suit. — A  suit  containing 
originally  four  or  more  cards.  The 
long  suit  is  held  to  be  the  best  me- 
dium for  the  play  of  the  partner- 
ship game,  and,  with  the  latter, 
forms  the  basis  of  modern  scien- 
tific whist,  as  taught  by  Pole,  "  Cav- 
endish," and  the  American  school. 


"LONG  SUITER" 


253       LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


The  long  suit  is  that  of  which  you  held 
originally  more  than  three  cards.  The 
term,  therefore,  indicates  strength  in 
numbers.  —  "Portland"  [L.  O.],  "The 
Whist  Table." 

He  [Hoyle]  also  explained  how  tricks 
might  be  made  by  a  number  of  small 
cards  of  a  long  suit,  so  entailing  the  ex- 
clusion of  tricks  in  other  good  suits 
held  by  the  adversaries. —  William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  " The  Evolution  of  Whist." 

Long  suits  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes:  (i)  Those  which  are  very  poorly 
adapted  for  the  purpose  of  an  original 
opening,  viz.,  four-card  suits  without  a 
face  card.  (2)  Those  which,  as  a  rule,  can 
be  utilized  more  advantageously  if  not 
originally  opened,  viz.,  ace,  queen,  and 
two  others,  one  of  which  is  not  the  jack; 
king,  queen,  and  two  small;  king,  jack, 
and  two  small;  queen  and  three  others 
smaller  than  jack;  jack  and  three  others. 
(3)  Those  which  should  always  be  opened 
originally  in  preference  to  a  short  suit, 
viz.,  any  other  long  suit. — Milton  C. 
Work  [L.  A.H.],"  Whist  of  To-day." 

We  will  suppose  that  it  [the  leader's 
hand]  contains  only  one,  two  or  three 
trumps.  It  will  follow  that  among  the 
other  or  "  plain  "  suits  there  will  be  at 
least  one  of  four  or  five  or  more  cards. 
Such  a  suit  is  called  a  long  suit,  from  its 
containing  more  than  the  average  num- 
ber of  cards,  and  it  has  an  inherent  capa- 
bility of  trick-taking  which  is  very 
striking  and  important.  To  illustrate 
this,  let  us  take  an  easy  example:  Sup- 
pose I  hold  ace,  king,  and  five  small 
hearts,  each  other  player  having  two.  If 
I  get  the  lead,  and  trumps  are  out,  I  can 
draw  my  adversaries'  hearts  with  my  ace 
and  king,  and  then  all  my  five  others, 
however  small  they  are,  will  make  tricks. 
Or,  suppose  I  hold  the  knave  and  six 
small  hearts,  and  suppose  I  have  led 
small  ones  twice,  which  have  brought 
out  the  ace,  king,  and  queen,  leaving, 
say,  the  ten  in  an  adversary's  hand.  My 
long  suit  is  then  said  to  be  "  established," 
and  if  I  can  get  the  lead  I  can  bring  it  in 
and  may  make  tricks,  not  only  with  the 
knave,  but  with  the  three  small  ones 
remaining.  It  is  easy  to  see  from  this 
what  a  great  power  a  long  suit  may 
become;  and  although  the  cases  cited  are 
peculiarly  favorable,  the  principle  is  the 
same  in  all.  With  even  the  least  favor- 
able case  possible,  namely,  four  small 
cards,  one  will  not  unfrequently  make  a 
trick  by  reason  of  the  "long-suit "  capa- 
bility.— William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Philoso- 
phy of  Whist." 

"  Long  Suiter." — A  player  who 
leads  from  long  suits;  one  who  plays 
the  long-suit  game. 


Long-Suit     Game,   The. — The 

game  based  upon  the  original  lead 
from  the  long,  or  longest,  suit.  To 
establish  and  bring  in  such  suit, 
taking  tricks  with  the  small  cards 
when  the  adverse  trumps  have  been 
extracted,  and  the  lead  retained  or 
regained,  is  considered  the  height 
of  scientific  play.  From  the  ear- 
liest times  this  has  been  looked 
upon  as  ideal  whist,  and  the  strong- 
est opponents  of  the  system  admit 
its  beauty  when  the  long  suit  is 
successfully  brought  in.  The  mod- 
ern tendency  has  been  to  make  whist 
more  and  more  a  partnership  game, 
and  Dr.  Pole,  in  his  philosophical 
treatises,  demonstrates  that  the  long 
suit  is  the  most  perfect  means 
whereby  partnership  play  may  be 
effected,  and  the  two  hands  practi- 
cally utilized  as  one.  The  success 
of  the  long-suit  game  depends  very 
largely  upon  a  perfect  understand- 
ing between  the  partners,  and  for 
this  reason  it  is  very  necessary  that 
they  should  have  legitimate  means 
for  communicating,  and  reading  and 
understanding  each  other's  play. 
In  this  direction  the  greatest  ser- 
vices have  been  rendered  the  long- 
suit  game  by  "  Cavendish"  and 
Trist,  who  devised  the  most  perfect 
language  that  cards  have  ever  been 
made  to  speak  while  being  played. 

While  the  long-suit  game  consists 
in  leading  from  and  bringing  in  the 
long  suit,  its  strongest  advocates 
admit  that  hands  may  be  held  from 
which  it  is  advisable  to  lead  from 
a  short  suit  instead  of  the  long. 
Provision  for  such  exceptional  play 
is  made  by  means  of  what  are 
called  forced  leads  (q.  v.).  Some 
players  employ  these  more  largely 
than  others.  The  short-suit  play- 
ers use  them  so  largely  that  they 
become  the  rule,  and  the  leads  from 
the  long  suit  the  exception. 

The  following  illustrative  hand  is 
given  in  Pole's  "Theory  of  Whist," 


LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE       254       LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


and  shows  ' '  how  singularly,  under 
extreme  circumstances,  the  bring- 
ing in  of  a  long  suit  may  annihilate 
the  most  magnificent  cards.  The 
hand  is  a  very  remarkable  whist 
curiosity."  This  is  the  same  hand, 
with  the  suits  transposed,  which  is 
widely  known  as  the  "  Duke  of 
Cumberland's  famous  hand"  (#.z>.). 
A  and  B  are  partners  against  Y  and 
Z.  The  former  hold  all  the  honors 
in  every  plain  suit  and  two  honors 
in  trumps,  and  yet  do  not  make  a 
single  trick.  Z  dealt  and  turned 
the  two  of  hearts.  The  underlined 
card  wins  the  trick,  and  the  card 
under  it  is  the  next  one  led: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 

<?  7 

V  8 

*  6 

V  2 

2 

K4 

2  + 

J   4 

<?  3 

3 

V  9 

<3MO 

*  7 

<2  4 

4 

A  4 

3  4 

Q  * 

tf  5 

5 

<?  J 

<?  Q 

4  8 

<2  6 

6 

<?  K 

V  A 

6  0 

2  0 

7 

*  J 

10* 

7  0 

3  0 

8 

*  Q 

9 

80 

*  2 

9 

QO 

8 

9  0 

43 

10 

KO 

7 

1OO 

*  4 

11 
12 

AO 
*  K 

_6  
5 

J  0 

4  9 

*  5 

4  0 

13 

*  A 

4 

*:o 

50 

Score:  A-B,  o;  Y-Z,  13. 

Per  contra,  R.  F.  Foster,  the 
most  determined  opponent  of  the 
long-suit  game  in  existence,  gives 
the  following  illustrative  hand  in 
his  "  Whist  Strategy"  (1894),  as  an 
example  illustrating  the  weakness 
of  the  long-suit  game  and  the 
potency  of  leads  from  short  suits. 
The  king  of  hearts  is  turned.  In 
the  long-suit  play  of  the  hand,  A 
leads  as  follows: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
IO 
11 
12 
13 

2  4 
30 
5  * 
7  0 
QO 

3  * 

20 
7  * 
4  0 
5  0 
9  4 
91O 
*  J 

10* 

AO 

Q* 

100 

A  * 

KQ 
90 
6  * 
*  5 

4  8 
V  4 
V  9 

J  * 
60 
4  3 
4  * 
9  A 

K  4 

8  4 
*  9 
£>  3 
<?  5 
<?  6 
8  0 
410 

4  4 
(3?  2 
<?  8 
9?  Q 
*  7 
*  K 

<?  J 

V  7 
4  2 
*  6 

*  Q 

<?  K 

J  0 

*  A 

Score:  A-B,  4;  Y-Z,  9. 

In  the  short-suit  play  of  the  hand, 
A  leads  as  follows: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

410 

QO 

4  2 

2  0 
4  J 

3  4 
40 
7  « 
9  4 
5  0 
4  6 
<?10 
4Q 
<?  7 
<?  J 

4  4 
6  0 
4  K 

4  A 
10  0 
4  5 
A  4 

4  9 
5  4 
3  0 
8  * 
K  4 

J  4 
A  0 

KO 
6  4 
Q4 
90 
4  8 
J  0 

<y  9 

104 

4  4 
V  2 

7  0 
<?  3 

4  7 
Q?  Q 

8  0 
2  4 

<?  5 
<?  6 

4  3 

<?  A 

V  K 

<y  4 

9  8 

Score:  A-B,  9;  Y-Z,  4. 

"In  the  original  play,"  says 
Foster,  "  A  leads  his  long  suit  like 
a  machine.  In  the  overplay  a  short- 


LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE       255       LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


suit  strengthening  card  is  led.  Y, 
not  having  studied  the  defense  to 
this  style  of  play,  passes,  allowing 
B  to  finesse.  Then  A  finesses  with 
a  strengthening  card  second  hand. 
Whether  he  now  continues  clubs, 
or  leads  diamonds,  makes  no  differ- 
ence in  the  result.  At  the  eighth 
trick,  if  he  leads  the  thirteenth 
spade,  the  result  is  the  same,wheth- 
er  Y  trumps  and  B  overtrumps,  or 
both  pass.  The  short-suit  play  of 
the  hand  makes  eighteen  tricks 
against  eight;  a  gain  of  ten." 

Lead  from  your  long  suit  only  when 
you  are  sufficiently  strong  to  bring  in  that 
suit  with  the  aid  of  reasonable  strength 
on  the  part  of  your  partner. — Charles 
Mossop  [L+O.],  Westminster  Papers,  No- 
vember /,  1878. 

We  are  willing  to  admit  that  in  a  major- 
ity of  cases  long  suits  are  not  established, 
but  the  struggle  to  bring  in  a  long  suit 
constitutes  the  intellectual  enjoyment  of 
the  game. — Cassius  M.  Paine  [L.  A.], 
Whist,  March,  1896. 

No  writer  before  "  Cavendish"  sug- 
gests the  modern  practice  of  trying  to  es- 
tablish a  long-suit  even  when  there  is  not 
the  slightest  of  hope  of  "  remaining  with 
the  last  trump  to  bring  it  into  play." — J?. 
f.  foster  [S.  O.],  "Monthly  Illustrator," 
1897. 

Cards  being  nearly  equal,  the  point  to 
•which  all  the  manoeuvres  of  good  whist- 
players  tend,  is  to  establish  a  long  suit 
and  to  preserve  the  last  trump  to  bring  it 
into  play,  and  to  frustrate  the  same  play 
of  their  adversaries. — Thomas  Mathews 
[L.  O.}. 

The  long-suit  informatory  system 
makes  the  game  of  whist  an  intelligent 
and  stimulating  contest  of.  wits;  the  short- 
suit,  uninformatory  methods  detract  from 
the  game's  fascinating  intellectual  stim- 
ulus, reducing  whist  to  the  plane  of  a 
guerilla  contest,  a  game  of  deception  in- 
stead of  information. — Charles  S.  Bouicher 
[L.  A.}. 

The  long-suit  game  owes  much  of  its 
favor  among  experts  to  these  two  facts: 
A  weak  partner,  confining  himself  uni- 
formly to  this  method,  can  do  but  little 
harm,  while  his  strict  adherence  to  that 
system,  with  the  exaggerated  amount  of 
information  thereby  conveyed,  enables 
the  superior  player  on  occasion  to  play 
both  hands  instead  of  one — Emery  Board- 
man  [L+A.],  "Winning  Whist." 

To  play  from  the  long  suit,  or  to  en- 
deavor to  make  a  long  suit  if  you  have  an 


available  one,  or  to  make  for  your  partner 
commanding  cards  which  you  have  ascer- 
tained that  he  holds,  is  certainly  correct; 
but  merely  to  draw  the  trumps  of  the  ad- 
versaries, and  of  course  those  of  your 
partner,  or  always  to  attempt  to  draw 
them  when  you  have  numerical  strength, 
is  not  good  whist. — G.  W.  Pettes  \L.  A. 
P.],  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 

I  believe  in  the  long-suit  game  when 
(and  only  when)  it  will  probably,  or  with 
a  reasonable  degree  ot  probability,  do 
what  it  is  intended  to  do,  namely,  estab- 
lish and  bring  in  the  long  suit.  Establish 
and  bring  in,  mind  you.  We  short-suit- 
ers don't  care  a  fig  about  merely  clear- 
ing a  suit;  we  must  also  do  some  business 
with  it  afterwards  in  order  to  gratify  our 
covetous  inclinations.  We  would  rather 
take  tricks  in  a  suit  without  establishing 
it,  than  establish  it  without  taking 
tricks.— E.  C.  Howett  [S.  H\,  "Whist 
Openings." 

It  often  happens  towards  the  end  of  a 
hand,  an  unplayed  suit,  of  which  the 
leader  holds  (say)  four  cards,  can  go 
round  only  twice— e.  g.,  there  may  be  two 
trumps  left  in  one  of  the  opponents' 
hands.  In  such  case,  if  your  suit  is  headed 
by  queen  or  knave,  you  should  treat  it  as 
a  suit  of  two  cards  only,  and  lead  your 
highest,  as  this  gives  the  best  chance  of 
making  two  tricks.  In  the  reverse  case, 
when  a  suit  can  go  round  only  once,  it  is 
obvious  that  a  small  card  should  be  led, 
so  as  not  to  tempt  partner  to  finesse. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  AJ],  "Laws  and  Prin- 
ciples of  Whist"1  (Twenty-second edition). 

Some  very  erroneous,  and,  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Albany  team,  some  very  an- 
noying, statements  have  appeared  in 
print  regarding  their  system  of  play.  The 
Post-Express  has  been  at  some  pains  to 
get  the  truth.  They  are  long-suiters  of 
the  hard-shell,  never-say-die  variety,  and 

glay  that  game  because  they  believe  it  to 
e  a  winning  one.  The  several  matches 
played  by  them  during  the  past  winter 
against  the  so-called  "common-sense," 
"short-suiters,"  and  "  mixers"  have  only 
served  to  more  firmly  convince  the  whole 
team  that  the  long-suit  game  was  the 
stronger  when  the  teams  were  of  equal 
ability.— Rochester  (N.  Y.)  Post-Express, 
May  22, 1807. 

While  the  main  object  of  the  scientific 
whist-player  is  to  establish  and  bring  in 
a  long  suit,  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  a 
large  number  of  hands  this  object  cannot 
be  attained,  and  the  best  whist- players 
are  those  who  are  quickest  at  perceiving 
when  it  is  incumbent  on  them  to  abandon 
the  idea  of  making  a  great  hand  out  of 
any  particular  holding,  and  to  reach  out 
for  all  stray  tricks  in  sight.  When  you 
cannot  bring  in  your  long  suit  you  must 


LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE      256 


LONG  WHIST 


bend  your  energies  in  the  direction  of 
preventing  your  adversaries  from  bring- 
ing in  theirs,  and  your  trumps  are  the 
best  weapons  to  employ.— John  T.  Mitch- 
ell [L.  A.],  "Duplicate  Whist." 

Let  us  take,  for  example,  the  thirty- 
nine  hands  given  by  "  Cavendish,"  in  his 
"  Laws  and  Principles,"  as  showing  the 
advantage  of  the  long-suit  system  of 
strategy.  *  *  *  Let  us  take  these 
hands,  and  in  every  one  of  them  lead  the 
shortest  suit,  playing  for  position  and 
tenace,  or  for  the  ruff,  ignoring  altogether 
the  long-suit  theory.  *  *  *  In  com- 
paring the  result  with  the  published 
play  we  find,  in 

Three  hands  there  is  no  short  suit;  in 

Eleven  hands  the  short-suit  game  wins 
more  tricks;  in 

Ten  hands  the  short-suit  game  loses 
more  tricks;  in 

Two  hands  it  wins  or  loses  according  to 
the  play  of  the  adversaries;  in 

Thirteen  hands  it  makes  no  difference 
in  the  result.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},  "Whist 
Strategy,'"  1894. 

When  long-suit  players  are  partners 
they  follow  an  entirely  different  system. 
If  one  begins  with  a  small  card  of  an  un- 
establishedsuit,  he  shows  he  is  not  strong 
enough  to  lead  trumps,  it  is  true,  but 
what  does  his  partner  do  if  he  has  not  the 
necessary  strength  to  help  hitr  ?  Does 
he  run  ?  Not  at  all.  He  says  to  the  orig- 
inal leader:  "If  you  are  not  strong 
enough  to  defend  that  suit  yourself,  and 
I  cannot  help  you,  the  best  thing  we  can 
do  is  to  try  to  establish  another  defense- 
less suit/'  and!  he  proceeds  to  lead  his 
own.  The  writer  has  seen  many  thou- 
sands of  hands  played,  but  has  never  yet 
met  with  a  case  in  which  two  partners, 
neither  of  whom  was  strong  enough  to 
lead  trumps,  succeeded  in  establishing 
two  suits,  except  for  the  benefit  of  their 
adversaries.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  New 
York  Sun,  1896. 

It  is  urged  against  the  long-suit  system, 
that  the  object  aimed  at  more  frequently 
fails  than  succeeds.  This  is  true,  as  suc- 
cess usually  requires  not  only  the  perfect 
co-operation  of  the  partner,  but  also  a 
fortunate  arrangement  of  the  cards.  But 
the  argument  is  worth  nothing  unless 
some  disadvantage  arises  from  the  at- 
tempt if  unsuccessful.  This  is  quite  the 
reverse  of  the  fact;  for  (a)  if  the  attempt 
fails,  it  does  not  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
full  realization  of  any  other  advantages 
the  hand  may  possess;  and  (6)  the  sys- 
tem is  so  constituted  as  to  do  the  least 
possible  harm  to  either  of  the  players 
using  it,  or  good  to  their  opponents;  and, 
indeed,  it  offers  generally  the  best  means 
of  obstructive  tactics  against  the  opposite 
party.  The  long  suit  is  almost  always 


practicable.  Leads  on  other  principles 
are  not.  For  example,  you  may  have  no 
master  cards  to  lead  out  at  once  for  trick- 
making,  and  no  single  card  to  lead  out  for 
trumping.  Some  old  authors  recommend 
first  leads  from  sequences,  and  other 
writers,  more  modern,  from  combina- 
tions which  will  leave  tenaces  to  be  led 
up  to.  But  you  may  have  no  such  cards 
in  your  hand.  Hence  all  these  fail  in 
giving  any  definite  information  to  your 
partner,  whereas  it  very  rarely  happens 
that  you  have  not  a  long  plain  suit,  and 
consequently  your  invite,  as  the  French 
call  it,  to  your  partner,  is  uniform  and 
unmistakable.—  William  Pole  [L.  A+], 
"Philosophy  of  Whist:' 

Long  Trump. — The  last  trump 
held  in  one  hand,  all  the  others 
being  out.  Long  trumps  are  any 
number  of  trumps  held  by  a  player 
after  having  drawn  all  the  others. 

Long  Whist. — Whist  as  originally 
played  from  the  time  the  game  be- 
came generally  known;  the  ten- 
point  game,  honors  counting,  the 
latter  being  calculated  as  follows: 
One  player,  or  one  player  with  his 
partner,  holding  the  four  honors 
(ace,  king,  queen,  jack),  scores 
four;  holding,  three  honors,  they 
score  two;  holding  two  honors,  they 
do  not  score.  Players  at  the  score 
of  eight  cannot  count  honors. 

Long  whist  was  improved  by 
Lord  Folkestone  and  the  players 
at  the  Crown  Coffee-House,  Lon- 
don, beginning  with  the  year  1728. 
(See,  "Crown  Coffee-House, "  and 
"Folkestone.")  It  was  the  whist 
which  was  taken  up  and  taught  by 
Hoyle,  and  it  continued  to  be  the 
whist  played  everywhere  until,  in 
an  evil  moment,  the  gamblers,  who 
had  gotten  hold  of  it  as  a  favorite 
amusement,  found  it  too  slow  for 
their  purposes,  and  cut  it  in  two. 
(See,  "Short  Whist")  Pole  says 
of  long  whist  that  "sometimes, 
when  the  honors  ran  even ,  a  game 
might  be  spun  out  for  a  long  time, 
and  the  longer  it  took  the  less  gain 
there  was  made  by  the  winners." 


LONGEST  SUIT,  LEAD  FROM  257  LONGEST  SUIT,  LEAD  FROM 


Long  whist  is  now  practically  ob- 
solete, having  been  supplanted  in 
England  by  short  whist,  the  five- 
point  game,  with  honors  counting, 
and  in  this  country  by  the  seven- 
point  game,  honors  not  counting. 

At  Oxford  we  used  to  play  long  whist, 
and  I  have  always  been  sorry  that  the 
game  pegged  out.  It  had  more  variety; 
at  the  beginning,  the  goal  was  distant, 
you  could  take  liberties,  and  finesse  into 
your  boots:  there  was  more  scope  for  sci- 
ence, only  I  am  afraid  we  had  very  little. 
In  the  latter  half  of  it  it  was  short  whist, 
as  now — complicated  to  some  extent  by 
"can  you  oue?"— when  you  have  to  be 
more  careful  in  your  finessing  or  the 
game  is  gone  before  you  .know  where  you 
are.  The  American  scoring  is  much 
more  fair,  but  it  must  be  murderous  to 
the  duffer.— "Pembridge"  [L+O.],  Whist, 
March,  1895. 

Longest  Suit,  Lead  from  the. — 

The  advantage  of  opening  the  hand 
with  a  lead  from  the  longest  suit 
was  known  to  the  masters  of  whist 
from  the  early  history  of  the  game. 
William  Payne  gave  it  his  unquali- 
fied endorsement  as  early  as  1770, 
when  he  said,  in  his  "  Whist  Max- 
ims:' '  ' '  Begin  with  the  suit  of  which 
you  have  the  most  in  number,  for, 
when  trumps  are  out,  you  will 
probably  make  several  tricks  in  it." 
It  remained  for  Dr.  Pole,  however, 
to  more  fully  demonstrate  that  the 
lead  from  the  longest  suit  is  the 
best  means  for  carrying  on  the 
partnership  game;  or,  in  other 
words,  of  playing  both  hands  as 
one.  This  forms  the  basis  of  mod- 
ern scientific  whist  as  advocated  by 
"  Cavendish"  and  his  school.  This 
theory  of  selecting  the  longest  (or 
long)  suit  for  the  opening  play,  in- 
stead of  the  strongest,  has  met  with 
much  opposition  from  those  who 
believe  in  the  efficacy  of  short-suit 
leads.  They  especially  object  to 
the  invariable  lead  from  the  longest 
suit,  although  here,  it  seems  to  us, 
they  are  borrowing  trouble  unne- 
cessarily; for  "  Cavendish,"  and  all 

17 


the  most  ardent  advocates  of  the 
long-suit  game,  recognize  the  fact 
that  exceptional  hands  may  be  held 
to  which  no  fixed  rule  can  be  profit- 
ably applied,  and  provision  has,  to 
a  certain  extent,  been  made  for 
these  under  the  head  of  what  are 
called  "forced  leads,"  an  adjunct 
of  the  long-suit  game.  Whist,  it  is 
firmly  believed  by  many,  is  passing 
through  a  transition  period  to  still 
higher  and  nobler  forms,  and  it 
may  be  well,  therefore,  not  to  be 
bigoted  or  dogmatical  either  way. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  modern  scien- 
tific partnership  game,  under  nor- 
mal conditions,  is  best  played  by 
means  of  the  original  lead  from  the 
longest  (or  long)  suit;  but  excep- 
tional hands,  and  exceptional  con- 
ditions of  the  game  should  also 
be  taken  into  consideration. 

For  our  own  part,  we  should  be  inclined 
to  say,  Lead  from  your  long  suit  only 
when  you  are  sufficiently  strong  to  bring 
in  that  suit  with  the  aid  of  reasonable 
strength  on  the  part  of  your  partner.  — 
Westminster  Papers  [Z.  +  0.J. 

In  deciding  what  card  to  lead  from  the 
long  suit,  regard  must  be  paid  not  only  to 
the  establishment  of  it,  but  also  to  the 
possibility  of  making  tricks  in  it  early, 
in  case  it  should  not  be  possible  ultimately 
to  bring  it  in.—  William  Pole  [L.  A  +]. 

I  should  like  an  answer  to  this  simple 
question:  If  the  longest  suit  is  always  to 
be  led,  how  is  it  that  every  whist  book, 
without  exception,  gives  minute  direc- 
tions for  leading  short  suits?  —  "Pem- 
bndge"  [L+O.],  "Decline  and  fall  of 
Whist." 

The  rule  of  always  leading  from  the 
longest,  as  distinct  from  the  strongest, 
suit,  is  a  rule  which,  more  frequently 
than  any  other,  sacrifices  a  partner's 
cards  without  any  benefit  to  the  leader, 
and  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  true 
principles  of  combination.  —  "Mogul" 


We  have  hitherto  assumed  that  you  lead 
from  the  longest  suit  you  hold,  which  is 
the  safe  general  rule;  but  cases  often 
occur  which  involve  some  difficulty  of 
choice.  For  example,  suppose  you  have 
five  small  cards  in  one  plain  suit,  and 
four  with  honors  in  another.  The  theory 
by  no  means  imperatively  calls  on  you  to 
lead  the  former,  for  it  must  be  borne  in 


LOOKING  OVER  A  HAND       258  LOSING  TRUMP,  DECLINING 


h" 


mind  that  the  rant  of  the  cards  always 
deserves  consideration,  and  your  leading1 
the  four-suit  (which  is  still  a  long  suit) 
would  be  perfectly  justifiable.  Similarly, 
a  question  might  arise  between  four  small 
cards  and  three  good  ones;  but  here  the 
case  is  different,  for  three  cards  constitute 
a  short  suit,  to  lead  which  unnecessarily 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  theory. —  Wil- 
liam Pole  [L.  A+],  "Theory  of  Whist." 

In  selecting  a  suit  for  the  lead,  numeri- 
cal strength  is  the  principal  point  to  look 
to:  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  aces 
and  kings  are  not  the  only  cards  which 
make  tricks;  twos  and  threes  may  be- 
come quite  as  valuable  when  the  suit  is 
established — »'.  e.,when  the  higher  cards  of 
the  suit  are  exhausted.  To  obtain  for 
your  own  small  cards  a  value  that  does 
not  intrinsically  belong  to  them,  and  to 
prevent  the  adversary  from  obtaining  it 
for  his,  is  evidently  au  advantage.  Both 
these  ends  are  advanced  by_  choosing  for 

;our  original  lead  the  suit  in  which  you 
ave  the  greatest  numerical  strength;  for 
ou  may  establish  a  suit  of  this  descrip- 
tion, while,  owing  to  your  strength,  it  is 
precisely  the  suit  which  the  adversary  has 
the  smallest  chance  of  establishing 
against  you.  A  suit  that  is  numerically 
weak,  though  otherwise  strong,  is  far  less 
eligible.  Suppose,  for  example,  you  have 
five  cards  headed  by  (say)  a  ten  in  one 
suit,  and  ace,  king,  and  one  other  (say 
the  two)  in  another  suit.  If  you  lead  from 
the  ace,  king,  two  suit,  all  your  power  is 
exhausted  as  soon  as  you  have  parted  with 
the  ace  and  king,  and  you  have  given  the 
bolder  of  numerical  strength  a  capital 
chance  of  establishing  a  suit.  It  is  true 
that  this  fortunate  person  may  be  your 
partner;  but  it  is  twice  as  likely  that  he 
is  your  adversary,  since  you  have  two  ad- 
versaries and  only  one  partner.  *  *  * 
The  best  suit  of  all  to  lead  from  is,  of 
course,one  which  combines  both  elements 
of  strength. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  "Laws 
and  Principles  of  IVhist." 

Looking  Over  a  Hand. — Gaining 
a  knowledge  of  the  cards  held  by 
another  player,  by  unfair  means, 
such  as  looking  into  his  hand.  This 
is  a  reprehensible  practice,  and  one 
which  should  subject  the  offender 
to  expulsion  from  the  table;  al- 
though careless  players  who  hold 
their  cards  so  that  they  may  be  seen, 
often  place  temptation  before  those 
who  would  not  try  to  gain  an  un- 
fair advantage  of  their  own  accord. 
Some  players  have  been  known  to 
be  guilty  of  the  equally  reprehen- 


sible practice  of  purposely  lowering 
or  exposing  their  hand  for  partner 
to  look  over.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  such  whist  is  not 
played  among  gentlemen. 

It  is  wrong  to  see  your  adversary's 
hand;  it  is  wrong  to  play  oil  the  knowl- 
edge thus  obtained.  *  *  *  The  first 
thing  to  teach  a  player  is  the  obvious  duty 
to  hold  up  his  cards. —  Westminster  Papers 
[L+0.]. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  we  intend 
In  any  way  to  justify  a  man  in  looking 
over  another's  hand  on  purpose;  or,  hav- 
ing accidentally  seen  an  adversary's  card, 
in  playing  accordingly.  In  spite  of  re- 
peated provocations  in  the  last  instance, 
the  man  thus  playing  is  a  contemptible 
being  at  best. —  Westminster  Papers  [Z.-t- 
0.]. 

Clay  told  me  that  when  he  first  played 
•whist  at  a  London  club  he  was  horrified 
to  see  an  old  gentleman  deliberately 
looking  over  one  of  his  adversaries' 
hands.  Mr.  Pacey,  the  player  whose  hand 
was  overlooked,  was,  as  it  happened,  an 
old  friend  of  Clay's,  and,  the  rubber  being 
over,  Clay  took  an  immediate  opportunity 
of  advising  him  to  hold  up  his  hand  when 
playing  against  P ,  adding: 

"  The  last  hand  he  saw  every  card  you 
held." 

"  Oh,  no,  he  didn't  !"  replied  Mr.  Pacey, 
who  was  well  aware  of  P 's  peculiari- 
ties; "  he  only  saw  a  few  I  put  in  the  cor- 
ner to  puzzle  him." —  "Cavendish"  [L.  A.], 
"Table  Talk." 

Loose  Card.— A  card  of  any 
plain  suit  which,  owing  to  the 
strength  of  the  other  hands,  is 
useless. 

Loose  card  is  a  card  of  no  value,  and, 
consequently,  the  properest  to  throw 
away. — Edinond  Hoyle  [0.]. 

Losing  Card. — A  card  which  is 
not  likely  to  take  a  trick. 

Losing  Trump,  Declining  to 
Draw  a. — As  a  rule,  a  player  who 
has  his  long  suit  established,  and 
the  trumps  all  out  except  a  losing 
trump  in  the  hand  of  the  adver- 
sary, does  not  hesitate  to  draw  that 
trump  also.  But  "Cavendish" 
holds  that  there  is  another  class  of 
cases  where  the  trump  should  not  be 
drawn  as  a  matter  of  course;  for 
instance,  if  one  adversary  has  a 


LOVE 


259 


LOW'S  SIGNAL 


long  suit  established,  and  his  part- 
ner has  a  card  of  that  suit  to  lead. 

Love. — Not  having  scored.  The 
partners  who  have  not  scored  are 
said  to  be  at  the  point  of  love.  To 
play  for  love,  in  England,  means 
to  play  without  stakes. 

Love-All. — The  state  of  the  score 
before  either  side  has  made  a  point. 

Love  Game. — A  game  in  which 
one  side  wins  before  the  other  side 
scores  at  all. 

Low  Cards. — The  eight  inferior 
cards  of  the  pack,  from  deuce  to 
nine  inclusive.  Under  the  system 
of  American  leads  they  are  gener- 
ally led  as  fourth  best,  in  original 
leads.  Under  the  old  leads,  they 
indicate  a  lead  from  the  penulti- 
mate or  antepenultimate.  In  the 
Howell  (short-suit)  system,  the 
original  lead  of  the  nine  indicates 
the  supporting-card  game;  the  lead 
of  the  eight,  seven,  or  six,  the  ruff- 
ing game;  and  the  lead  of  the  five, 
four,  three,  or  two,  the  long-suit 
game — the  kind  of  game  played  de- 
pending upon  the  character  of  the 
hand.  The  low  cards  are  also 
largely  used  for  signaling  purposes. 
In  the  long-suit  game  they  are 
given  the  same  value  as  high  cards 
or  trumps,  when  the  suit  has  been 
established,  the  adverse  trumps  ex- 
tracted, and  the  lead  retained  or 
regained.  To  give  this  higher 
trick-taking  value  to  the  low  cards 
is  one  of  the  chief  features  of  the 
long-suit,  or  modern  scientific, 
game. 

Low  cards  are  led  when  the  leader  has 
not  the  command,  or  when  it  is  best  to 
reserve  such  high  card  or  cards  as  are 
held,  in  order  to  keep  the  command  or 
obtain  it  later.  They  also  indicate,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  the  character  and 
number  of  the  suit. — Fisher  Ames  \L,  A.]. 


Lowered  Hands. — A  careless 
player  may  not  only  lower  his  hand 
accidentally,  and  thus  give  others 
an  opportunity  to  look  it  over,  but 
an  unscrupulous  player  may  lower 
his  hand  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
his  cards  to  his  partner.  In  the 
American  code,  a  penalty  is  pro- 
vided for  such  practice. 

The  case  of  a  lowered  hand  comes 
under  the  same  category;  "but,"  asks 
General  Drayson,  "  who  is  to  he  judge 
whether  the  hand  has  been  sufficiently 
lowered  for  the  partner  to  see  any  por- 
tion of  a  card?"  The  answer  is,  the 
partner  himself ;  presuming  him  to  be  a 
gentleman,  he  is  allowed  to  sit  on  his  own 
case,  and  if  he  denies  having  seen  the 
card,  there  is  an  end  of  it.— TV.  B.  Trist 
[L.A.],  Whist,  August ,1895. 

By  the  English  code,  you  may  lower  the 
whole  of  your  hand  so  that  your  partner 
may  see  nearly  every  card  in  it.  but  there 
is  no  penalty  for  doing  so.  In  case  29, 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist,  '  I  called 
attention  to  the  defect  in  this  law.  By 
the  American  code,  an  attempt  is  made  to 
remedy  this  defect.  Law  20,  section  3 
[under  "Cards  Liable  to  be  Called"], 
states:  "  Every  card  so  held  by  a  player 
that  his  partner  sees  any  portion  of  its 
face."  Section  4:  •'  All  the  cards  in  a  hand 
lowered  or  shown  by  a  player,  so  that 
his  partner  sees  more  than  one  card  of 
it."  Who  is  to  be  the  judge  astowhether 
the  cards  were  sufficiently  lowered  to  en- 
able the  partner  to  see  them  ?  One  part- 
ner might  sit  very  tall,  another  very 
short;  the  angle  at  which  the  cards  were 
lowered  might  enable  the  tall  partner  to 
see  them,  while  the  same  angle  of  lower- 
ing would  not  enable  the  short  partner  to 
do  so.  Who  is  to  judge  of  the  angle?  It 
would  be  merely  a  matter  of  opinion  on 
the  part  of  the  adversaries,  and  when  a 
question  comes  to  a  matter  of  opinion  it 
must  end  in  an  unsatisfactorv  dispute. — 
A.  W.  Drayson  [L-\-A->r],  "  Whist  Laws 
and  Whist  Decisions.'" 


Low's  Signal. — One  of  a  num- 
ber of  devices  or  signals  intended 
to  convey  to  partner  exact  informa- 
tion concerning  the  number  held 
by  you  in  a  suit  led  by  him.  H. 
N.  Low,  of  the  Capital  Bicycle 
Club  team,  effects  this  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner:  With  four  or  more 
of  the  suit,  you  play  the  third  best 


LUCK 


260 


LUCK 


to  partner's  lead  of  a  high  card,  or 
when  no  attempt  is  made  to  win 
the  trick.  In  returning  the  suit 
you  lead  the  second  best,  if  three 
or  more  remain,  and  on  the  third 
round,  or  when  discarding,  you 
play  the  highest,  always  retaining 
the  fourth  best,  and  those  below 
fourth  best. 

Luck. — Chance,  accident,  for- 
tune, good  or  bad,  at  whist,  is  that 
element  of  the  game  which  is  be- 
yond the  control  of  skill,  and  is 
known  as  the  luck  of  the  game. 
As  we  have  observed  in  our  re- 
marks on  the  history  of  duplicate 
whist  (q.  v.  ),  the  modern  tendency 
has  been  to  eliminate  more  and 
more  this  element  of  chance  or 
luck  from  whist,  and  to  enlarge  the 
element  of  skill.  In  the  game,  as 
first  played,  luck  was  the  most  im- 
portant element;  hence  the  game 
lent  itself  readily  to  the  play  for 
money,  the  poor  player  having,  to 
some  degree  at  least,  an  ecnial  show 
with  the  good  player,  for  it  is  a  fact 
often  commented  upon,  that  poor 
players  are  apt  to  hold  good  cards. 
The  old  style  play,  limited  in  its 
informatory  character,  if  not  al- 
most entirely  non-informatory;  the 
counting  of  honors,  and  the  short- 
ening of  the  game  from  ten  to  five 
points.were  all  favorable  to  chance, 
or  luck,  in  the  game  as  played  in 
England,  and  to  this  day  it  seems 
impossible  to  get  Englishmen  to 
play  whist  for  its  own  sake,  with- 
out the  addition  of  stakes.  In 
America,  the  elimination  of  hon- 
ors, the  lengthening  of  the  game 
from  five  to  seven  points,  the  free 
use  of  the  trump  signal,  echoes, 
number-showing  leads,  and  other 
informatory  play,  have  made  whist 
more  and  more  a  game  of  skill  and 
partnership;  and  by  the  develop- 
ment of  duplicate,  the  final  blow 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  been 


dealt  to  the  element  of  chance,  or 
luck. 

Strangely  enough,  it  is  the  men  who 
habitually  win  that  are  the  most  positive 
that  such  a  thing  as  luck  does  not  exist. 
—  Westminster  Papers  [L+O.]. 

I  am  often  asked  the  question:  Which 
is  more  valuable  at  whist — luck  or  skill? 
I  invariably  answer:  Luck  to  win  games, 
skill  to  enjoy  them.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
"Duplicate  Whist." 

The  Americans,  almost  with  one  ac- 
cord, have  cried  out  against  the  luck  in 
the  short  game,  and  sought  means  to 
increase  the  power  of  the  element  of 
play,  by  declining  to  count  the  honors, 
and  making  the  score  by  tricks  only. — 
William  Pole  \L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

Watch  the  cards  held  by  the  habitually 
unlucky  player,  and  without  doubt  they 
will  be  found  average  cards;  but  when  he 
holds  a  good  hand  he  does  nothing  with 
it,  and  when  he  has  a  bad  hand  he  loses 
every  trick  that  it  is  possible  to  lose. — 
A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of 
Practical  Whist." 

In  the  American  whist  laws  no  men- 
tion is  made  of  counting  honors.  The 
game  consists  of  seven  points,  instead  of 
five.  *  *  *  These  alterations  tend  to 
diminish  the  effect  of  what  is  termed 
"luck,"  and  hence  to  increase  the  value 
of  play.  This  is  undoubtedly  an  improve- 
ment in  the  game  of  skill. — A.  W.  Dray- 
son  [L+ A  +],,"  Whist  Laws  and  Whist  De- 
cisions." 

As  soon  as  ever  you  have  taken  up  your 
hand,  utter  an  exclamation,  as  if  you  had 
received  a  sudden  shock,  and  declare  that 
you  are  the  most  unlucky  devil  that  ever 
lived,  and  that  you  always  hold  the  most 
horrid  cards.  If  after  that  you  should 
win,  your  success  must,  of  course,  be  at- 
tributed only  to  your  own  masterly  play. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  you  should  lose, 
you  are  thus  made  to  present  the  sublime 
spectacle  of  a  virtuous  man  continually 
struggling  with  adverse  fate;  which  will 
awe  your  opponents  into  admiration  and 
wonder,  and  excite  the  sympathy  of 
lookers-on. — Blackwood's  Magazine,  No- 
vember, 1838. 

There  are  various  kinds  of  luck  in  an 
intricate  game  like  whist.  *  *  *  In 
making  up  the  table  you  may  get  into  a 
bad  table  or  a  good  table.  In  cutting  for 
partners  you  may  get  the  best  or  the 
worst  partner.  You  may  lose  the  deal. 
You  may  choose  the  right  or  the  wrong 
cards.  Your  partner,  if  a  good  player, 
may  play  ill,  and  lose  the  game;  or,  being 
a  baa  player,  you  may  play  well  or  ill, 
and  win  or  lose  the  game.  You  or  your 
partner  may  have  at  starting  two  equally 


LURCH 


261 


"  MAJOR  A." 


good  suits,  each  of  apparent  equal  value. 
Open  with  the  one,  and  you  win;  and 
with  the  other,  and  you  lose;  and  a  bad 
partner  may  not  finesse,  and  lose;  or  he 
may  make  a  finesse  utterly  Indefensible, 
and  win  by  it.  Either  player  may  mis- 
conduct the  hand,  and  lose  the  game. 
One  may  lose  by  an  oversight,  by  drop- 
ping a  wrong  card,  and  so  on. —  West- 
minster Papers  [L+O.]. 

Whist  is  not  a  certainty;  neither  is  it 
true  that  you  will  every  year  find  your 
account  exactly  square  on  the  thirty-first 
of  December— it  is  a  popular  fallacy  de- 
vised by  those  who  win,  to  keep  the  losers 
in  good  spirits.  *  *  *  I  have  no  doubt 
things  equalize  themselves  in  the  long 
run;  the  difficulty  is  that  I  am  unable  to 
give  you  any  idea,  even  approximately, 
what  the  duration  of  a  long  run  is.  I 
have  held  three  Yarboroughs  in  two 
hours  (a  Yarborough  is  a  hand  contain- 
ing no  card  above  a  nine),  and  a  hand 
•with  no  card  above  a  seven  at  least  twice. 
There  was  a  hand  recently  at  Surbiton 
with  no  cards  above  a  six.  One  of  the 
two  finest  players  I  ever  met  lost  twenty- 
eight  consecutive  rubbers;  feeling  ag- 
grieved at  this  treatment,  he  swore  off  for 
a  fortnight,  and  then  lost  twelve  more.  If 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  luck— and  I  be- 
lieve there  is — don't  lie  down  and  let  it 
kick  you.  When  you  hold  cards  which 
you  do  not  consider  quite  equal  to  your 
deserts,  instead  of  playing  worse  on  that 
account — as  most  people  do — take  a  little 
extra  care. — "Pemoridge"  [L+O.]. 

Lurch. — An  old  whist  term,  now 
rarely  used,  which  was  borrowed 
from  the  game  of  backgammon, 
and  has  passed  into  the  common 
expression,  "to  leave  one  in  the 
lurch."  To  save  your  lurch,  in  the 
whist  language  of  Hoyle's  time, 
meant  to  prevent  the  adversaries 
from  making  the  odd  trick  neces- 
sary to  win  the  game,  you  and 
your  partner  having  scored  nothing 
yet.  Deschapelles  says  it  is  used 
1 '  when  the  losing  partners  have 
not  made  one  point — i.  e.,  when 
they  have  lost  everything  that  can 
be  lost." 

In  the  "Humours  of  Whist" 
(q.  v.),  a  satire  on  Hoyle,  one  of 
the  characters  is  named  Lurchum. 

Lytton,  Lord,  as  a  Whist- 
Player.— Lord  Bulwer-Lytton,  the 
great  author,  was  fond  of  whist, 


and  belonged  to  the  celebrated 
Portland  Club,  in  London.  Ser- 
geant Ballantine,  in  his  reminis- 
cences, tells  us  that  he  played  the 
game  well,  and  apparently  concen- 
trated his  whole  attention  upon  it; 
but,  at  every  interval  between  the 
rubbers,  he  would  rush  off  to  a 
writing  table,  and  with  equally 
concentrated  attention,  proceed 
with  some  literary  work  until 
called.  Among  the  members  of 
the  club  was  a  Mr.  Townsend,  a 
very  inoffensive  man,  for  whom 
Lord  Lytton  took  the  most  violent 
dislike;  so  much  so  that  he  would 
never  play  whist  while  that  gentle- 
man was  in  the  room,  being  firm  in 
his  belief  that  he  brought  bad  luck. 
"  One  afternoon,"  says  Ballantine, 
"  when  Lord  Lytton  was  playing, 
and  had  enjoyed  an  uninterrupted 
run  of  good  luck,  it  suddenly 
turned,  upon  which  he  exclaimed: 
'  I  am  sure  that  Mr.  Townsend  has 
come  into  the  club.'  Some  three 
minutes  after,  just  time  enough  to 
ascend  the  stairs,  in  walked  this 
unlucky  personage.  Lord  Lytton, 
as  soon  as  the  rubber  was  over,  left 
the  table  and  did  not  renew  the 
play." 

"  Major  A."  —  A  pseudonym 
adopted  by  Charles  Bardwell  Coles, 
who  published,  in  1834,  "  Short 
Whist :  Its  Rise,  Progress,  and  Laws, 
together  with  Maxims  for  Begin- 
ners, and  Observations  to  make 
anyone  a  Whist-Player.  By  Major 
A*****."  The  great  popularity  of 
short  whist  made  a  text-book  en- 
tirely devoted  to  the  new  form  of 
the  game  very  desirable,  nothing 
having  appeared  as  yet  save  a  few 
pages  by  Mathews  in  an  appendix 
to  his  book  on  the  old  game  of 
long  whist.  Thus  "  Major  A."  be- 
came popular,  despite  his  lack  of 
originality.  This  was  also  in  some 
measure  due  to  the  fact  that  Major 


"MAJOR  TENACE" 


262          MANDELL,  HENRY  A. 


Aubrey,  a  leading  whist-player  of 
the  day,  was  supposed  to  be  the 
author  of  the  book.  Coles  himself 
was  a  literary  hack,  and  all  he  did 
was  to  translate  Mathews  into  short 
whist,  so  to  speak.  Thus,  if  Math- 
ews says  the  game  is  ten  up, 
"  Major  A."  makes  it  read  five  up, 
etc.  Nor  did  he  improve  upon 
Mathews's  lack  of  methodical  ar- 
rangement. Coles's  venture,  how- 
ever, was  successful.  A  second 
edition  was  called  for  in  two 
months;  a  third  was  published  next 
year;  and  new  editions  appeared 
frequently  after  that,  so  that  the 
sixteenth  was  published  in  1865. 
This  had  the  distinction  of  having 
added  to  it  Dr.  Pole's  first  essay  on 
the  "Theory  of  the  Modern  Scien- 
tific Game." 

"  Major  Tenace." — Under  this 
pseudonym  was  published  in  1886 
(New  York  and  London)  a  "  Hand- 
book of  Whist  and  Ready  Refer- 
ence Manual  of  the  Modern 
Scientific  Game."  The  author 
(George  W.  Bailey,  of  New  York 
City )  says  in  his  introduction:  '  'An 
attempt  is  made  to  condense,  ar- 
range, and  to  marshal  into  a  system 
all  the  specific  directions  for  play 
that  could  be  found  in  the  works 
of  the  acknowledged  masters  of 
whist.  The  object  is  to  present 
these  directions,  unencumbered  by 
explanation  or  discussion,  in  a  form 
convenient  for  reference." 

Make. — To  make  a  card  is  to 
take  a  trick  with  it.  "To  make 
the  cards,"  is  sometimes  used  in 
England  synonymously  with  the 
expression  ' '  to  shuffle  the  cards. ' ' 

Make  Up. — When  two  packs  of 
cards  are  used  at  a  table,  the  deal- 
er's partner  must  make  up,  or  col- 
lect and  shuffle,  the  cards  for  the 
ensuing  deal,  and  place  them  at  his 
right  hand.  (See,  "  Shufiiing. " ) 


Mandell,  Henry  A. — Fifth  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Whist 
League;  was  born  in  Detroit,  Mich., 
March  16,  1861.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  and  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Michigan  in 
1883,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Philosophy.  He  subsequently 
studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Michigan  in  1895.  In  1892  he  was 
appointed  assistant  city  attorney 
of  Detroit,  and  resigned  in  1893  to 
accept  the  position  of  assistant 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Wayne 
county,  which  he  still  holds. 

He  has  played  whist  since  1879, 
receiving  his  first  introduction  to 
the  game  at  college,  where  he 
joined  other  freshmen  in  studying 
and  playing  it.  In  1888  he  helped 
to  organize  the  Detroit  Whist  Club, 
and  in  1889  was  elected  its  presi- 
dent. Later,  when  it  was  merged 
with  the  Wayne  Club,  and  the 
Wayne  Whist  Club  was  organized, 
he  became  the  first  president  of  the 
latter  organization.  In  1895  he  was 
elected  the  first  president  of  the 
Inter-state  (Ohio  and  Michigan) 
Whist  Association,  and  in  1896, 
likewise  the  first  president  of  the 
Michigan  Whist  Association.  He 
has  attended  every  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League  but  the 
first,  and  was  elected  one  of  its 
directors  in  1892,  serving  in  that 
capacity  until  1896,  when  he  was 
elected  vice-president.  At  the  sev- 
enth congress,  held  at  Put-in-Bay, 
1897,  he  was  honored  with  a  unani- 
mous election  as  president. 

Mr.  Mandell  says:  "I  am  a 
strong  advocate  of  the  long-suit 
game,  as  treated  by  Hamilton  and 
'Cavendish,'  including  the  princi- 
ples: (i)  'Know  the  rules  and 
when  to  break  them;'  and  (2)  'The 
fall  of  the  cards  may  at  one  time  or 
another  modify  every  rule  of 
play.' " 


MANNERISMS 


263 


MASTER  CARD 


Mannerisms.  —  Nearly  every 
player  has  some  slight  mannerism, 
and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
set  of  players  all  reduced  to  tjie 
mechanical  regularity  and  fixed 
stolidity  of  expression  such  as  be- 
long to  automata.  In  fact,  if  this 
were  possible,  their  mannerism 
would  be  exceptionally  marked.  A 
player's  individuality  must  assert 
itself  in  his  style  of  play,  and  this 
is  unobjectionable,  so  long  as  it 
does  not  annoy  or  infringe  upon  the 
rights  of  others,  and  so  long  as  it 
does  not  impart  information  to  a 
partner  or  obtain  for  the  player  any 
other  undue  advantage.  (See, 
also,  "  Peculiarities  of  Players.") 

It  is  not  whist  to  show  anything  about 
your  hand  by  your  way  of  handling  your 
cards— whether  through  design  or  care- 
lessness.— R.  A.  Proctor  \L.  CF]. 

No  player  should  play  a  card  in  any 
manner  so  as  to  call  particular  attention 
to  it,  nor  should  he  demand  that  the  cards 
be  placed,  in  order  to  attract  the  attention 
of  his  partner.— Etiquette  of  Whist  (A  mer- 
ican  Code). 

You  should  studiously  avoid  all  man- 
nerisms in  play,  and  never  permit  your- 
selves to  draw  any  inferences  from  the 
antics  of  either  your  partner  or  your  op- 
ponents, if  they  should  be  guilty  of  mak- 
ing them.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.], 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

No  intimation  -whatever,  by  word  or 
gesture,  should  be  given  by  a  player  as  to 
the  state  of  his  hand  or  of  the  game.  A 

Flayer  who  desires  the  cards  to  be  placed 
*  *  should  do  it  for  his  own  informa- 
tion only,  and  not  in  order  to  invite  the 
attention  of  his  partner. — Etiquette  of 
IVhist  (English  Code). 

Whist  should  be  played  in  a  manner 
void  of  objectionable  features.  Each  card 
should  be  played  with  thought  and  rea- 
son. Give  no  physical  indication  of  the 
nature  of  your  hand,  and  do  not  intrude 
mannerisms  which  trench  upon  fairness 
and  honesty.  Refrain  from  assuming  a 
part  which  does  not  belong  to  you,  and 
thus  save  yourself  from  appearing  ridic- 
ulous.— T.  E. Otis  [L.A.],  in  Newark  News. 

The  mannerisms  of  some  players  afford 
a  surer  clue  to  the  contents  of  their 
hands  than  any  card  they  could  possibly 
play.  I  do  not  refer  to  the  bumbledogs — 
the  card-thumpers,  who  are  mostly  in 
evidence  on  railway  trains,  and  who 
have  no  idea  of  concealing  their  emo- 


tions— but  to  the  gentlemen  who  play  sci- 
entifically. One  of  the  most  eminent  of 
whist-players,  who  has  placed  himself  on 
record  as  most  emphatically  opposed  to 
anything  that  may  look  like  a  private 
convention,  conveys  to  his  partner  the 
most  positive  information  of  his  holding 
when  third  hand, by  a  way  he  has  of  par- 
tially drawing  his  card  before  the  second 
hand  has  played.  By  this  trick  of  man- 
ner, which  is  entirely  involuntary,  his 
partner  knows  whether  or  not  he  is  con- 
sidering a  finesse.  If  he  takes  it  and 
loses,  his  partner  knows  exactly  what  he 
holds  in  the  suit,  from  knowing  what  he 
must  have  to  even  consider  a  finesse. 
Most  valuable  information  this.  No 
doubt  the  action  is  entirely  unconscious, 
but  it  is  no  less  informatory.  There  are 
others,  as  we  all  know,  who  convey  more 
or  less  information  by  a  significant  look 
or  smile,  or  movement.  These  manner- 
isms are  far  more  intolerable  than  what 
are  sometimes  mis-called  "  private  con- 
ventions."— Whist  [L.  A.],  April,  1806. 

Mark. — To  mark  a  card  in  some 
other  player's  hand  is  to  locate  it 
by  the  fall  of  the  cards. 

Markers. — Whist-markers  are 
used  in  counting  or  scoring  the 
points  made  by  the  players.  They 
may  consist  simply  of  round  chips, 
or  of  some  of  the  many  devices  in- 
vented for  counting  purposes.  It  is 
highly  important  that  the  appa- 
ratus, in  each  instance,  shall  allow 
the  state  of  the  score  to  be  dis- 
tinctly seen  by  each  player,  as  the 
game  progresses. 

Marking.— See,  "Scoring." 

Masking  a  Signal. — Starting  a 
signal  and  failing  to  complete  it 
on  the  second  round.  The  player 
having  some  reason  for  changing 
his  mind  about  signaling,  conceals 
his  intention. 

Master  Card. — The  highest  un- 
played  card  of  a  suit;  the  king 
card. 

This  is  sometimes  also  called  the  "  king 
card,"  a  name  likely  to  cause  confusion. 
—  William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Theory  of 
Whist." 


MASTER-HOLDINGS  264  MATHEWS,  THOMAS 


Master-Holdings. — Cards  held 
in  plain  suits  which  are  reasonably 
sure  to  take  tricks;  best  cards. 

Match. — A  contest  at  whist  be- 
tween individuals,  between  two  or 
more  pairs,  between  two  or  more 
teams  of  four,  or  between  clubs  or 
associations  composed  of  various 
clubs.  Matches  are  now  all  played 
by  means  of  duplicate  whist.  The 
leading  features  of  the  annual  con- 
gress of  the  American  Whist  League 
(g.  v.)  consist  of  matches  for  the 
various  trophies.  (See,  also, ' 'Whist 
Match  by  Correspondence,"  and 
"  Whist  Match  by  Telegraph.") 

The  best  duplicate  match  is  four  players 
against  four.  This  is  admitted  to  be  the 
standard,  and  provided  the  number  of 
deals  is  sufficient,  is  the  best  possible  test 
of  whist  skill.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.H.}, 
"  Whist  of  To-day." 

Mat  hews,  Thomas. — The  third 
whist  author  of  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  game,  and  perhaps 
the  most  able  of  the  three,  Hoyle 
and  Payne  being  the  other  two. 
Nothing  is  known  about  Mathews, 
personally,  except  that  he  was  "  the 
finest  player  of  his  day,"  that  he 
lived  at  Bath,  and  that  he  enter- 
tained a  somewhat  contemptuous 
opinion  of  Hoyle,  "  who,"  he  said, 
41  so  far  from  being  able  to  teach 
the  game,  was  not  fit  to  sit  down 
with  even  the  third-rate  players  of 
the  present  day."  Mathews'  book 
was  published  in  1804,  and  bore  the 
following  elaborate  title:  "  Advice 
to  the  Young  Whist-Player:  con- 
taining most  of  the  Maxims  of  the 
Old  School,  with  the  Author's  Ob- 
servations on  those  he  thinks  Erro- 
neous; with  several  new  ones,  Ex- 
emplified by  Apposite  Cases;  and  a 
Method  of  Acquiring  a  Knowledge 
of  the  Principles  on  which  they 
are  Grounded,  pointed  out  to  the 
Inexperienced  Whist-Player.  By 


an  Amateur."  The  author's  name 
was  not  published  at  first,  but  ap- 
peared in  subsequent  issues,  being 
at  first  spelled  "  Matthews,"  but 
later,  "  Mathews." 

The  ninth  edition  was  published 
at  Bath,  in  1816,  and  contains  three 
pages  of  observations  on  short 
whist,  which  had  lately  come  into 
prominence.  The  eleventh  edition 
is  dated  1818;  the  thirteenth  was 
issued  in  1822,  the  sixteenth  in 
1825,  and  the  eighteenth  in  1828. 
The  work  was  also  reprinted  and 
favorably  commented  upon  by 
Richard  A.  Proctor,  in  his  maga- 
zine called  Knowledge. 

Mathews'  book  originally  con- 
tained, besides  an  address  to  the 
reader,  several  pages  on  leads  and 
the  laws  of  whist,  and  one  hundred 
and  nine  "  Directions  and  Maxims 
for  Beginners. "  He  set  forth  a  sys- 
tem of  play  differing  materially 
from  that  of  his  predecessors,  and 
on  this  account  he  has  been  called 
the  founder  of  a  new  school.  He 
laid  great  stress  upon  the  special 
importance  and  advantage  of  part- 
nership play,  and  the  legitimate 
communication  between  partners 
concerning  their  hands,  being  in 
this  respect  the  forerunner  of  Pole. 

Mathews  defines  whist  as  "a 
game  of  calculation,  observation 
and  position,  or  tenace."  Calcula- 
tion, he  says,  teaches  you  to  plan 
your  game,  and  lead  originally  to 
advantage.  After  a  few  leads,  how- 
ever, calculation  is  nearly  super- 
seded by  observation.  The  players 
who  observe,  and  note  well  the  fall 
of  the  cards,  become  ' '  as  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  material  ones 
remaining  in  each  other's  hands  as 
if  they  had  seen  them."  These 
two  elements  he  considers  the  foun- 
dation of  the  game,  after  which 
comes  the  more  difficult  science  of 
position,  or  the  art  of  using  the  two 
former  to  advantage. 


MATHEWS,  THOMAS 


St^d^d  vhrov\Vef  I!' 

dea!s  is  sufficient,  in  the  J^ 
of  whist  skill.—  Milto*  C.W 


George  L.  Bunn. 
Mathewws,^homas.  —  The  third 
whist  author  of  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  gime,  and  ^rrf 
the  roo?t  able  of  the  three,  Hoyle 


and 


ttiPS    *' 
StOW,; 


Car<.i*  Held  an  Amatenr."  The  author's  name 
e  reasonably  was  i-'-t  published  at  first,  but  ap- 
at  cards.  peared  in  subsequent  issues,  being 

at    first   spelled    "Matthews,"  but 
at  vni«t  b»        **ter'  "  Mathews." 
»'•*!•  i»v»  oj1          T"e  ninth  edition  was  published 
••*'    «.»<    s*'..-'1-*       at  Bath,  in  i  ft  16,  and  contains  three 
«Sa  ur      fit**    °f    observations    ou    short 
,       whist,  wliich  ha<l  lately  come  into 
i!  ..in:  Mt-  nee.     The  eleventh  edition 
:*  '.Uted   1818;  the   thirteenth  was 
i<*tjed    iu    1822,    the  sixteenth  in 
^       itfas.  and  the  eighteenth   in  1828. 
The  work   was  aUo  reprinted  and 
favorably     commented     upon     by 
RlMi       Richard   A.  Proctor,  in  his  tnaga- 
ziue  called  Knowledge. 

Matbews'   book    originally   con- 
t^ur.  playrrs       Lakied^    l^esides   an    adilrf.a   to  the 

Whist  Analysts. 

po^ible  test       the  law*  of  whist,  ^ud  one  hundred 
k  (L-  A.  H.\,       auci  nit:<*  "  Lhiivlion*  and  Maxims 
for  Be^tnner?.  '  '    lie  set  lurth  a  sys- 
John  H.  Briggs;i"'iteriall> 
from  that  of  his  predfic<.-ssors,  and 
on  this  account  he  has  been  called 
a  new  school,     jje 

h'.id   great  stress  upon  the  special 
i  rnpot  tai*t<i  arid  jJ/t^'f^lW^^  of  part- 


two. 


e       her 
iUt 

»  h«  was  '  the 
ay/'  that  he 
*t  he  enter- 
o!itctntu<-u9 


lived  a  «    H«'t,    atvl   ih 
taine<3  a  w>iu*«ha'    c 
opinion  of   Hoy'ir,  "  who,  "  he  s^ui, 
"»o  far  from  beiu^  able  t^  :-*ci. 
the  game,  was  not  fit  to  >•-» 
witli  even  the  third-rate  pl«    ••• 
the  prrseutday."    Mather 
was  published  in  !.V»4.  an»l  bort-  •', 
follcwinif   clnborate  title:  "  Adv^'-< 
to   the   Yoiing    Whist  Player:  cr-r. 
taining  roost  of  th<-  Maxims  of  the 
Old  School,  with   the  Author's  Ob- 
servationson  those  he  thiriks  Erro- 
neons;  with  several  new  ones,  Ex- 
emplified  by  Apposite  Cases,  and  a 
Methrxl  of  Acquiring  a  Knowledge 
of  the    Principles   on  which    they 
are  (Grounded,  pointed  out  to  the 
Inexperienced    Whi<t-Player.      By 


coramunication    between    partners 
concerning   thetr   hands,   being  in 
tliis  respect  the  forerunner  of  Pole. 
Mathews    defines    whist    as    "a 


<.'  klcula- 

"j    to  plan 

-.-^.    originally  to 

••  -\-  .      few  leads,  how- 

.'r.r.-    is   nearly   s::per- 

jvation.     The  players 

nnd  note  well  the  fall 

,  become  "as  well  ac- 

th   the    material   ones 

I  each  other's  hands  as 

seen    them."      These 

he  considers  the  foun- 

e   £  »me,  after   which 

ore  difficult  scienre  of 

h>-  ;\rt  of  using  the  two 


MAXIMS 


265 


MEDIUM  CARDS 


He  lays  down  the  principle  that 
1  'the  best  leads  are  from  sequences, ' ' 
and  that,  being  without  sequences, 
you  should  "lead  from  your  most 
numerous  suit,  if  strong  in  trumps" 
(a  more  cautious  direction  than 
that  of  Payne).  "Finesses,"  he 
continues,  "  are  generally  right  in 
trumps  or  (if  strong  in  them)  in 
other  suits;  otherwise  they  are  not 
risked  but  with  caution."  With 
three  or  four  small  trumps,  he  pre- 
fers a  "  lead  from  a  single  card  to  a 
long  weak  suit,"  in  which  respect 
he  may  be  said  to  have  anticipated 
the  modern  short-suit  players.  He 
also  laid  down  the  principle  that 
"  if  strength  of  trumps  is  with  the 
adversaries"  your  partner  should 
"  keep  guard  on  their  suits,  and 
throw  away  from  his  own."  He 
also  formulated  the  rule:  "  With 
three  cards,  return  the  highest; 
with  four,  the  lowest,  of  your  part- 
ner's lead." 

About  1804,  Thomas  Mathews published 
his  "  Advice  to  the  Young  Whist-Player." 
This  rapidly  became  the  authority,  and  is 
still  regarded  by  experts  as  one  of  the 
best  works  on  whist,  most  of  the  modern 
writers  borrowing-  from  it  very  freely. 
The  author  was  regarded  as  the  best 
player  of  his  day,  and  there  are  many 
•who  believe  that  he  and  Deschapelles 
•were  the  only  two  men  that  ever  mastered 
the  game.—  -R.  F.  Foster  [S.  0.],  "Johnson's 
Universal  Cyclop&dia." 

The  body  of  Mathews'  book  consists  of 
"  Directions  and  Maxims  for  Beginners." 
These  are  heterogeneously  disposed,  with- 
out any  sub-headings,  a  defect  which 
diminishes  their  usefulness  and  increases 
the  difficulty  of  profiting  by  them.  They 
are,  however,  generally  very  good;  some 
have  been  altered  or  abolished  by  the 
subsequent  march  of  evolution,  but  most 
of  them  are  as  applicable  to  the  modern 
form  of  game  as  to  the  one  they  belonged 
to.—  William  Pole  [L.  A+]. 

Maxims. — Rules  of  play  founded 
upon  experience,  and  tersely  for- 
mulated in  brief  sentences,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  strongly  im- 
pressed upon  the  memory.  All 
the  early  writers  on  whist — Hoyle, 


Payne,  and  Mathews  especially — 
taught  whist  largely  by  means  of 
maxims,  following  no  regular  sys- 
tem or  arrangement  in  their  books. 

Maxims  are  supposed  to  come  into  use 
as  guides  to  conduct  after  the  play  of  the 
hand  is  sufficiently  advanced  for  a  player 
to  judge  something  of  its  broad  features. 
— J?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "'Whist  Tactics." 

Mclntosh,AndrewJ. — An  Amer- 
ican whist  author,  who  resides  at 
Utica,  N.  Y.  He  was  born  in  Steu- 
ben,  Oneida  county,  May  4,  1826; 
educated  at  Hobart  College,  and 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1844.  He 
immediately  took  up  the  study  of 
law  in  Utica;  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1848,  and  has  practiced  ever 
since.  Judge  Mclntosh  (as  he  is 
familiarly  known  from  Maine  to 
Texas,  although,  in  fact,  he  has 
never  held  judicial  office)  became 
interested  in  whist  early  in  his 
youth,  and  was  a  welcome  visitor 
at  many  whist  clubs  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  He  thus  be- 
came impressed  with  the  multitude 
of  questions  arising  under  the 
rules,  and  the  poor  understanding 
most  players  had  concerning  them. 
At  the  suggestions  of  the  clubs,  he 
thereupon  compiled  all  the  deci- 
sions made  under  the  laws  in  force 
in  England,  France,  and  America. 
He  found  this  no  small  task,  but 
when  his  labor  was  accomplished 
he  had  an  increased  interest  in  the 
game,  and  this  led  him  to  write  an 
exhaustive  study  of  the  principles 
of  play.  This  gave  birth  to  his 
book,  "Modern  Whist,  with  Port- 
land Rules,  and  Decisions  Thereun- 
der," the  third  edition  of  which 
was  published  in  Utica,  1888.  Per- 
sonally he  favors  American  leads, 
but  plays  the  five-point  game  with- 
out counting  honors. 

Medium  Cards. — Cards  of  me- 
dium value;  cards  between  the  king 
and  the  eight-spot. 


MEETING  AND  OPPOSING     266 


MEMORY 


Meeting  and  Opposing. — There 
is  a  distinction  between  meeting 
and  opposing  players  at  duplicate 
whist.  For  instance,  A-B  are  said 
to  meet  Y-Z  at  the  same  table,  but 
A-B  at  table  one  are  opposed  to 
Y-Z  at  table  two. 

Memorizing  the  Hands  in  Du- 
plicate.—In  the  single-table,  or 
mnemonic,  duplicate  game,  the 
players  who  have  exceptionally 
good  memories  sometimes  gain  a 
decided  advantage  by  remembering 
certain  hands  and  playing  accord- 
ingly when  they  receive  them  in  the 
duplicate  or  overplay,  although  the 
best  authorities  agree  that  in  such 
cases  they  should  play  according  to 
rule,  just  as  if  they  did  not  remem- 
ber. However,  human  nature  is 
hard  to  control  in  its  desire  to  win, 
and  a  still  better  remedy  is  sug- 
gested by  others,  and  that  is  not  to 
overplay  the  hands  at  the  same  sit- 
ting. (See,  also,  "Duplicate 
Whist,  Schedule  for  Single  Table.") 

Memorizing  the  hands  has  become  such 
an  intolerable  nuisance  that  many  play- 
ers in  our  leading  clubs  will  no  longer 
play  the  up-and-back  game.  The  return 
play,  under  such  circumstances,  is  any- 
thing but  whist,  for  those  players  who 
happen  to  be  in  a  position  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  situation  have  an  undue  ad- 
vantage. We  would  suggest  as  a  remedy 
that  your  club  play  twice  as  many  hands, 
playing  them  up  one  week  and  back  the 
next.  This  method  of  play  is  practiced 
in  some  of  the  League  clubs,  and  has 
been  found  to  greatly  reduce,  if  not  en- 
tirely eliminate,  the  undue  advantages 
formerly  gained  through  remembering 
the  hands.  It  is  certainly  a  great  im- 
provement over  playing  the  hands  back 
the  same  day.—  Whist  [L.  A.},  September, 
1896. 

Memory. — Memory  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  whist,  especially  in 
the  modern  scientific  game,  with 
its  conventional  signals,  its  mani- 
fold leads  and  inferences,  and  its 
complex  language  of  the  cards  gen- 
erally. Still,  persons  who  have  not 


got  phenomenal  memories  make 
good  whist -players,  especially  if 
they  have  the  largely  compensating 
qualities  of  being  able  to  pay  strict 
attention  to  the  game  and  to  bring 
all  their  intelligence  to  bear  upon 
it.  Practice,  too,  will  improve 
weak  memories,  and  this  is  one  of 
the  great  benefits  conferred  by  the 
game,  that  it  will  help  a  player  to 
train  his  mind  to  think  and  act  sys- 
tematically. Memory  alone  will 
not  make  a  whist-player.  There 
have  been  many  prodigies  who 
could  remember  whole  books,  and 
recite  them  forwards  and  back- 
wards, but  we  have  never  heard 
that  any  of  them  excelled  at 
whist. 

The  memory  is  often  unjustly  blamed 
for  not  carrying  some  card  which,  owing 
to  lack  of  attention,  was  never  lodged  in 
the  mind.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.A.  H.}. 

You  must  not  despair  if  your  memory 
frequently  fails  you  at  first.  Like  all 
other  distinct  faculties  of  the  mind,  it  is 
strengthened  by  practice. — ^Lieutenant- 
Colonel  B"  [L.  O.]. 

Memory  is  a  word  often  used,  but  little 
understood.  What  you  consider  memory 
is  nothing  more,  as  regards  whist,  than 
careful  observation.—^.  W.  Drayson  [L+ 
A+],  "The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Some  persons  verily  believe  that  certain 
good  players  have  the  power  to  remem- 
ber every  card  played  through  every 
hand.  *  *  *  This  is  not  true,  is  not 
possible,  and,  under  the  modern  system, 
not  necessary.  —  C.  E.  Coffin  [L.  A.}. 
"Gist of  Whist." 

The  necessity  of  remembering  all  the 
cards  that  fall  is  a  fiction;  no  one  at- 
tempts to  do  it,  or  needs  to  do  it.  The 
effort  of  memory  required  for  fairly  good 
plaving  is  very  moderate  indeed,  and 
such  as  no  one  need  despair  of  being  able 
to  supply,  when  the  game  is  learned  sys- 
tematically. —  William  Pole  [L.  A+], 
"Philosophy  of  Whist." 

Endeavor  to  remember  as  many  of  the 
cards  played  as  you  can.  They  will  in 
time  all  dwell  on  your  memory;  but  you 
must  begin  bv  at  least  knowing  all  the 
chief  cards  which  have  been  played,  and 
by  whom,  in  each  suit.  It  is,  however, 
still  more  important,  and  will  greatly  aid 
your  memory,  to  observe  with  whom  the 
strength  in  each  suit  probably  lies. — 
James  Clay  [L.  O+]. 


MEMORY,  ARTIFICIAL       267    MILWAUKEE  WHIST  CLUB 


The  whist-player  must  possess  the 
power,  as  the  cards  pass  before  his  eyes, 
of  imprinting  them  on  his  memory.  He 
must  comprehend  them  in  his  mind  iu- 
tuitively,  without  any  strain,  and  with  it 
should  be  the  faculty  of  discarding  the  re- 
collection at  the  close  of  the  hand.  The 
whist-player  must  be  innate  in  the  mind 
of  the  player,  and  perfection  will  come 
by  practice.  A  sinking  illustration  of 
this  is  told  in  1781,  by  the  Scotch  Law- 
Lord  Monboddo  to  Dr.  Horsley.  *  *  * 
The  faculties  of  the  late  provost  of  Edin- 
burgh had  given  way}  but  although  he 
had  lost  his  judgment  in  everything  else, 
there  still  remained  the  remarkable 
ability  at  whist  which  had  always  charac- 
terized him,  and  he  played  the  game  as 
well  as  ever.—  IV.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.], 
"English  Whist." 

Memory,  Artificial.  —  Various 
means  have  been  suggested  from 
time  to  time  whereby  a  player 
might  be  enabled  to  assist  his  mem- 
ory in  playing  whist.  Hoyle  had  a 
system  of  "artificial  memory" 
which  he  was  pleased  to  impart  to 
all  who  were  willing  to  pay  him  a 
guinea  for  it.  It  was  published  in 
the  Edinburgh  edition  of  his  book, 
in  1838,  and  as  a  matter  of  curiosity 
is  herewith  reproduced: 

1.  Place  the  trumps  to  the  left  of 
all   other  suits  in   your  hand,  the 
best    or    strongest    suit    next,   the 
second  best  next,  and  the  weakest 
last,  on  the  right  hand. 

2.  If  in  the  course  of  play  you' 
find  you  have  the  best  card  remain- 
ing of  any  suit,  place  it  to  the  right 
of  them,  as  it  must  certainly  win  a 
trick  after  all  the  trumps  are  played. 

3.  When   3*ou  find  you  are  pos- 
sessed of  the  second  best  card  of 
any  suit,  to  remember,  place  it  on 
the   right   hand   of  that  card  you 
have  already  to  remember  as  the 
best  card  remaining. 

4.  If   you   have    the   third   best 
card  of  any  suit,  place  a  small  card 
of  that  suit  between  the  second  best 
card  and  the  third  best. 

5.  In   order   to   remember    your 
partner's  first  lead,   place  a  small 
card  of  the  suit  led  entirely  to  the 


left  of  the  trumps,  or  trump,  in 
case  you  have  but  one. 

6.  When  you  deal,  put  the  trump 
turned  up  to  the  left  of  all  your 
trumps;  and  as  it  is  a  kind  of  rule, 
keep  this  trump  as  long  as  you  are 
able;  it  will  be  more  out  of  the  way 
and  easier  for  you  to  recollect. 

(See,  "  Cards,  Arrangement  of. ") 

Memory  Duplicate. — See, 
"  Mnemonic  Duplicate  Whist." 

Middle  Card.— The  eight-spot. 
It  is  the  seventh  card  in  rank, 
counting  from  either  end  of  the 
suit;  hence,  it  is  termed  the  middle 
card. 

Milwaukee   Whist   Club.— "To 

Eugene  S.  Elliott  and  his  fellow- 
members  of  the  Milwaukee  Whist 
Club,  to  whom  the  origin  of  the 
first  American  whist  congress,  and 
the  formation  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  are  due,  this  book 
is  fraternally  dedicated,"  wrote 
Charles  S.  Boutcher,  in  his  "  Whist 
Sketches,"  in  1891. 

The  Milwaukee  Whist  Club  was 
first  organized  as  a  chess  and  whist 
club  in  1875,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Eugene  S.  Elliott  (q. 
v.).  Whist  soon  became  the  fa- 
vorite game,  and  after  the  advent 
of  John  Rheinart  (q.  v. ),  the  play 
of  the  club  was  raised  to  a  high 
degree  of  efficiency.  The  name 
was  changed,  and  it  became  the 
first  exclusive  whist  club  in  this 
country.  Its  first  match  was  played 
with  a  club  at  Racine,  Wis.,  and 
the  record  was  three  games  won 
and  two  lost.  Aside  from  this,  the 
Milwaukee  Club  had,  up  to  the  first 
whist  congress,  won  forty-four 
games  and  lost  none,  its  total  win- 
ning score  being  2840  points,  and 
its  losing  score  but  52  points.  At 
the  congress  the  club  distinguished 
itself  by  defeating  the  visitors 


"  MINNEAPOLIS  LEAD  "      268 


MISDEAL 


(twenty-six  tables,  fifty-two  players 
on  each  side),  by  a  score  of  1525 
against  1258,  being  267  points 
ahead. 

On  May  7,  1892,  forty  players 
from  the  Chicago  Whist  Club  de- 
feated an  equal  number  from  the 
Milwaukee  Club  by  sixty  points, 
after  the  Chicago  Club  had  sus- 
tained nine  successive  defeats  in 
their  efforts  to  obtain  victory.  This 
was  the  first  defeat  for  Milwaukee 
in  many  years,  and  on  June  4  it 
was  followed  by  another  defeat  at 
the  hands  of  the  Chicago  Club, 
which  won  by  three  tricks. 

The  Milwaukee  Whist  Club  was  al- 
ready several  years  old  when  he  [John 
Rheinartl  first  entered  its  doors;  it  then 
contained  a  goodly  number  of  eager 
whist-students,  who  were  anxious  to  per- 
fect themselves  in  the  game,  and  who 
thought  they  were  doing  so  when  they 
played  rigidly  according  to  rule.  They 
were  book-players,  and  nothing  else. 
Mr.  Rheinart's  play  was  a  revelation  to 
them.  At  first  they  would  have  none  of 
it,  then  doubted,  and  finally  warmly  em- 
braced its  principles.  The  success  that 
has  attended  the  Milwaukee  Club  during 
the  last  twelve  years  is  largely  the  result. 
—  Whist,  August,  1892. 

"Minneapolis  Lead." — A  vari- 
ation in  the  American  leads,  which 
consists  in  leading  the  fourth  best 
instead  of  the  ace,  in  the  combina- 
tion of  ace  and  four  or  more  others 
not  including  the  king.  The  usual 
rule  is  to  lead  the  fourth  best  only 
from  a  suit  of  four  or  less,  headed 
by  the  ace,  and  to  lead  the  ace  when 
there  are  more  than  four  in  the 
suit.  With  strength  in  trumps, 
however,  some  players  prefer  to 
hold  back  the  ace,  also,  in  suits  of 
five,  in  the  belief  that  it  will  more 
likely  prove  of  value  on  a  subse- 
quent round  than  on  the  first.  The 
play  is  said  to  have  originated  with 
the  members  of  the  Minneapolis 
team,  in  1893,  or  at  least  to  have 
been  adopted  by  them  at  that  time, 
when  they  won  the  championship 


trophy  at  the  annual  whist  con- 
gress. The  captain  of  the  team  in- 
formed R.  F.  Foster  that  he  thought 
the  same  lead  lost  the  champion- 
ship for  them  in  1894.  Foster  is 
inclined  to  agree  with  W.  H.  Whit- 
feld,  the  English  analyst,  that  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  especially  in 
straight  whist,  the  lead  of  the  small 
card  is  unsound. 

Minneapolis  Trophy. — At    the 

fifth  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  held  at  Minneapo- 
lis, Minn.,  in  1895,  a  cup  was  do- 
nated by  the  Minneapolis  Chess, 
Checkers,  and  Whist  Club,  to  be 
played  for  by  pairs  at  each  annual 
congress.  It  was  won  at  the  sixth 
congress,  at  Manhattan  Beach, 
Brooklyn,  in  1896,  by  Beverley  W. 
Smith  and  A.  H.  McCay,  from  the 
Baltimore  Whist  Club,  who,  how- 
ever, were  at  first  tied  by  a  pair 
from  the  Hamilton  Whist  Club,  of 
Philadelphia  ( Paul  Clayton  and  Ar- 
thur D.  Smith),  the  final  result 
being  determined  by  the  trick  score, 
by  which  the  Baltimoreans  were 
ahead.  At  Put-in-Bay,  in  1897,  the 
trophy  was  won  by  F.  W.  Mathias 
and  L.  J.  Mathias,  the  pair  repre- 
senting the  Toledo  (Ohio)  Whist 
Club. 

Misdeal. — An  incorrect  deal  of 
the  cards.  A  misdeal  loses  the  deal 
in  straight  whist,  but  in  duplicate 
whist  the  player  who  misdeals  is 
simply  required  to  deal  again. 

Under  the  head  of  "  Misdeal,"  law  44, 
section  5,  it  is  stated:  "  Should  the  dealer, 
under  an  impression  that  he  has  made  a 
mistake,  either  count  the  cards  on  the 
table  or  remainder  of  the  pack."  it  is  a 
misdeal.  The  wording  of  this  law  is  bad: 
a  quibbler  may  stop  during  the  deal  and 
begin  counting  the  cards;  the  adversaries 
would  claim  a  misdeal.  "  Certainly  not," 
would  say  the  quibbler;  "there  is  nothing 
in  the  laws  against  my  counting  the 
cards.  I  am  not  under  the  impression 
that  I  have  made  a  misdeal;  I  know  I 
have  not  done  so.  I  may  count  the  cards 


MISDEALING 


269          MITCHELL,  JOHN  T. 


if  I  choose."  By  rule  17,  section  j,  of  the 
American  Code.it  says:  It  is  a  misdeal  if 
he  counts  the  cards  on  the  table  or  in  the 
remainder  of  the  pack,"  no  mention  be- 
ing made  as  to  the  "impression"  of  the 
dealer.—  A.  W.  £>rajrson[L+A+],  "Whist 
Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 
It  is  a  misdeal:  — 

I.  If  the  dealer  omits  to  have  the  pack 
cut  and  his  adversaries  discover  the  error 
before  the  trump  card  is  turned,  and  be- 
fore looking  at  any  of  their  cards. 

II.  If  he  deals  a  card  incorrectly  and 
fails  to  correct  the  error  before  dealing 
another. 

III.  If  he  counts  the  cards  on  the  table 
or  in  the  remainder  of  the  pack. 

IV.  If,  having  a  perfect  pack,  he  does 
not  deal  to  each  player  the  proper  num- 
ber of  cards,  and  the  error  is  discovered 
before  all  have  played  to  the  first  trick. 

V.  If  he  looks  at  the  trump  card  before 
the  deal  is  completed. 

VI.  If  he  places  the  trump  card  face 
downwards  upon  his  own  or  any  other 
player's,  cards. 

A  misdeal  loses  the  deal,  unless,  during 
the  deal,  either  of  the  adversaries  touches 
a  card  or  in  any  other  manner  interrupts 
the  dealer.—  Laws  of  Whist  (American 
Code),  Section  ij. 

Misdealing,    How  to    Avoid.  — 

If  for  any  cause  you  must  stop 
before  finishing  the  deal,  adopt  the 
unfailing  rule  of  stopping  with 
yourself  —  i.  e.,  deal  yourself  the 
last  card  —  and  when  you  resume 
begin  with  your  left-hand  adver- 
sary, as  in  the  beginning  of  the 
deal. 


«•  Miss  Todd's  Whist  Party."— 

Anthony  Trollope,  in  his  novel,. 
"The  Bertrams,"  gives  a  rather 
amusing  old-time  picture  of  a  whist 
party  which  was  given  by  Miss 
Todd.  "  Nearly  all  the  women  in 
the  room  quarreled  consumedly 
over  the  game,  and  at  last  one  of 
the  victims  of  the  denunciation  of 
others,  who  '  had  suffered  from 
paralysis,  '  spread  consternation 
throughout  the  company  by  behav- 
ing as  if  she  were  about  to  have  a 
fit.  Fortunately  she  possessed  suf- 
ficient strength  of  body  to  retire 
from  the  room,  and  vigor  enough 


as  she  withdrew  to  make  a  savage 
thrust,  which  went  home,  at  the 
sharp-tongued  lady,  Miss  Ruff, 
whose  persistent  reproaches  had 
driven  her  within  a  measurable  dis- 
tance of  frenzy." 

Mistakes. — To  err  in  whist  is 
human,  as  in  other  things.  The 
best  of  players  are  liable  to  make 
mistakes.  It  is  only  when  mistakes 
are  repeated  over  and  over,  and 
persisted  in,  that  they  become  evi- 
dence of  ignorance  and  bad  play. 
Nor  should  we  do  like  Sir  James 
Mackintosh's  friend,  of  whom  he 
records  in  his  diary  that,  although 
in  love  with  whist,  he  "  always 
lost,  because,  instead  of  thinking 
how  he  was  to  play  the  hand  be- 
fore him,  he  thought  only  of  his 
blunders  in  the  last  hand." 

I  never  make  a  mistake,  and  I  don't  see 
•why  you  should.  If  you  do,  never  admit 
it.— "The  Roarer,"  in  "  The  Whist  Table." 

The  bulk  of  players,  when  they  go 
•wrong,  see  the  mistake  they  have  made, 
and  this  is  sufficiently  mortifying- a  gen- 
tleman should  not  add  to  the  pain  by 
harping  on  this  one  string. —  Westminster 
Papers  [L+O.]. 

Then  there  is  the  nervous  partner  (I 
feel  deeply  for  him),  who,  if  he  makes  a 
mistake,  is  so  impressed  by  its  enormity 
that  his  head  is  turned  into  a  humming- 
top,  and  his  play  becomes  wildly  inco- 
herent.—^-fames  Payn  [L.  <?.]. 

Mitchell,  John  T.— Author  of 
the  first  book  on  duplicate  whist 
ever  published,  and  the  leader  of 
the  duplicate  whist  movement  in 
America.  Mr.  Mitchell  was  born 
in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  April  3,  1854, 
and  came  to  this  country  in  1875. 
For  five  years  he  was  at  Milford, 
Conn.,  and  after  a  year  in  Detroit, 
Mich.,  he  went  to  Chicago  in  1882, 
where  he  is  now  located  with  the 
Union  National  Bank.  He  com- 
menced playing  whist  in  1888,  in 
which  year  his  attention  was  called 
to  a  clipping  from  the  London 


MITCHELL,  JOHN  T.  270      MNEMONIC  DUPLICATE 


Field,  describing  a  match  between 
the  Carleton  and  Wanderers'  Clubs 
at  Glasgow,  his  native  place,  in 
•which  use  was  made  of  a  new  kind 
of  duplicate  play  devised  by  Jaines 
Allison  (q.  v.}.  This  led  to  his 
taking  up  the  study  of  the  dupli- 
cate game,  and  in  the  same  year  he 
organized  the  Chicago  Duplicate 
Whist  Club  (all  the  members  of 
which  are  now  also  members  of  the 
Chicago  Whist  Club).  He  has  been 
an  enthusiastic  exponent  of  the 
game  ever  since,  and  has  played  in 
many  matches  and  written  much  on 
the  subject  of  duplicate  whist.  He 
joined  the  Carleton  Club,  of  Chi- 
cago, in  1890,  but  resigned  shortly 
after  the  Chicago  Whist  Club  was 
organized,  in  1891,  and  became  a 
charter  member  of  the  latter.  In 
1895  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Hyde  Park  team,  which  won  the 
championship  the  same  year  at  the 
fifth  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League.  In  1892  he  wrote 
"Duplicate  Whist,"  the  first  book 
on  the  subject.  Mr.  Mitchell  was 
on  the  tournament  committee  of 
the  third  whist  congress  of  the 
League,  held  at  Chicago,  in  1893, 
and  played  for  the  Chicago  Dupli- 
cate and  the  Chicago  Whist  Clubs  at 
Philadelphia,  in  1895.  In  1896  he 
was  elected  a  director  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League.  Early  in  1897 
appeared  a  greatly  enlarged  and 
thorougly  revised  edition  of  his 
book,  now  called  "Duplicate  Whist 
and  Modern  Leads." 

Mr.  Mitchell  is  an  advocate  of 
the  long-suit  game  and  American 
leads,  although  in  regard  to  the 
latter  he  favors  certain  modifica- 
tions, as  set  forth  in  his  letter  to 
Whist,  September,  1896.  (See, 
"American  Leads,  Changes  in.") 
He  is  well  in  touch  with  "  Caven- 
dish," except  in  the  matter  of  the 
discard.  He  says,  in  a  letter:  "I 
believe  in  the  weak-suit  discard, 


except  to  protect  honors  in  adver- 
saries' suits,  and  am  opposed  to 
the  discard  from  the  strong  suit 
when  adversary  leads  trumps,  and 
that  is  my  main  point  of  difference 
with  '  Cavendish.' " 

The  new  [Chicago  Whist]  club  soon  be- 
came famous  for  its  Wednesday  and  Sat- 
urday night  duplicate  tournaments, 
which  *  *  *  were  suggested  and 
arranged  by  Mr.  Mitchell.  Full  accounts 
of  the  marvelous  attendance  on  these 
whist  nights  appeared  in  the  Chicago 
papers,  and  were  widely  copied,  with  the 
natural  result  that  other  cities  quickly 
followed  the  example,  and  Mr.  Mitchell 
was  kept  busy  writing  instructions  to 
people  who  wanted  to  play  duplicate.  To 
his  efforts  in  Chicago  the  great  popularity 
of  duplicate  whist  is  undoubtedly  due, 
and  he  is  generally  spoken  of  as  "the 
father  of  duplicate  whist." — R.  F.  Foster 
\S.  0.],  Monthly  Illustrator,  1897. 

In  1891  the  writer  picked  up  in  a  Chi- 
cago bookstore  a  slim,  blue-colored  vol- 
ume entitled,  "Duplicate  Whist:  Its 
Rules  and  Methods  of  Play.  Being  a  Full 
Description  of  the  New  and  Scientific 
Game  which  Equalizes  the  Strength  of 
Opposing  Hands,  thus  Reducing  the  Ele- 
ment of  Luck  to  a  Minimum.  By  John 
T.  Mitchell."  It  was  the  first  effort  to  put 
systematically  into  print  the  schedules 
and  arrangement  of  players  through 
which  the  then  new  game  of  duplicate 
whist  was  slowly  groping  toward  perfec- 
tion. It  was  a  treasure,  a  delight,  a  reve- 
lation of  the  possibilities  of  the  new 
game.  Nearly  up  to  that  time  the  local 
enthusiasts  had  played  their  cards  to  the 
centre,  picked  them  out  afterwards  by  a 
record  previously  made,  and  preserved 
the  hands  in  envelopes.  No  system  of 
play  including  more  than  one  table  was 
understood.  Mitchell's  "  Duplicate 
Whist"  changed  all  this,  and  the  ''team 
of  four"  and  the  "progressive"  games 
became  possible. — H.  M.lVheelock  [L.  A.}, 
Wheelock's  Weekly,  Fergus  Falls,  Minn. 

"  Mixers." — Players  who  em- 
ploy both  long  and  short-suit  tac- 
tics. An  American  phrase. 

Mnemonic  Duplicate  Whist.— 

Duplicate  whist  played  by  four 
players  at  one  table;  the  single- 
table  game.  Called  also  mnemonic 
because  the  memory  may  assist  the 
players  in  playing  the  hands  again 
more  easily  than  in  the  game  where 


MODEL  HANDS 


271     "  MODIFIED  GAME,  THE  " 


more  tables  and  players  are  em- 
ployed. For  this  reason,  the  laws 
of  duplicate  whist  allow  the  trump 
to  be  declared  for  the  sitting  in  the 
mnemonic  game,  the  fact  being 
recognized  that  the  turning  of  a 
trump  for  each  deal  would  aid  the 
players  in  remembering  the  hands. 
(See,  "  Duplicate  Whist.") 

It  is  a  question  whether  any  advantage 
[at  duplicate  whist]  is  gained  by  trying 
to  memorize  the  hands.  Egregious  errors 
are  sometimes  made  by  those  trying  to 
recognize  and  act  upon  some  peculiarity, 
as  a  loss  is  apt  to  occur  by  mistaking  the 
hand.  There  are  occasional  hands,  how- 
ever, which  intrude  on  the  memory,  and 
in  which  a  variation  of  play  may  lead  to 
an  advantage.  The  only  fair  thing  to  do 
is  to  play  the  cards  in  strict  accordance 
•with  whist  maxims,  or  throw  out  the 
deal.—  Whist  [L.A.]. 


Model    Hands.  —  See, 
trative  Hands." 


1  Illus- 


Modern    Scientific    Game. — 

Whist  played  scientifically  and 
after  the  manner  of  the  modern 
school,  of  which  "Cavendish"  is 
the  head  and  chief  exponent.  The 
modern  scientific  game  is  defined 
as  follows  by  Dr.  Pole,  in  his  "  Evo- 
lution of  Whist:"  "We  are  now 
able  to  enunciate  the  fundamental 
theory  of  the  modern  scientific 
game,  which  is,  that  the  hands  of 
the  two  partners  shall  not  be  played 
singly  and  independently,  but  shall 
be  combined,  and  treated  as  one. 
And  in  order  to  carry  out  most 
effectually  this  principle  of  combi- 
nation, each  partner  shall  adopt 
the  long-suit  system  as  the  general 
basis  of  his  play."  (See,  also, 
"American  Leads,"  "Long-Suit 
Game,"  and  "Old  and  New 
Schools.") 

Even  to-day  persons  may  play  excellent 
•whist  without  reference  to  the  modern 
system;  yet  the  fact  remains  that  they 
must  play  a  vastly  better  game  than  their 
opponents  in  order  to  win  from  those  who 
avail  themselves  of  that  system. — Emery 
Boardman  [L-\-A.],  "Winning  Whist." 


The  reproach  oftenest  applied  to  the 
modern  system  is  the  allegation  that  the 
ability  developed  for  play  is,  in  general, 
much  inferior  to  that  acquired  for  signal- 
ing. That  system,  however,  does  tend  to 
create  a  host  of  acceptable  partners  for 
experts,  which  is  a  boon  to  both,  making 
life  much  pleasnnter  for  the  fine  players, 
and  they,  in  turn,  for  their  partners. — 
Emery  Boardman  [L+A.],  -'Winning 
Whist." 

The  essential  difference  between  mod- 
ern whist  and  the  style  of  game  which  we 
call  old-fashioned  lies  in  the  recognition 
of  the  principle  stated  by  Clay:  "  It  is  of 
more  importance  to  inform  your  partner 
than  to  deceive  your  adversary."  This  is 
not  universally  true,  and  it  might  be 
qualified  by  saying  that  information  is 
of  more  use  to  the  strong  hand  than  to 
the  weak,  for  when  the  adversaries  de- 
velop great  strength,  or  a  partner  shows 
decided  weakness,  to  give  exact  informa- 
tion would  be  very  bad  whist. — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter [S.  O.],  "Johnson's  Universal  Cyclo- 
ptzdia,"  1895. 

"  Modified     Game,     The."— A 

method  of  play  for  advanced  play- 
ers devised  by  Charles  S.  Street, 
which,  while  growing  out  of  the 
long-suit  game,  differs  from  it  in 
essence  and  structure.  It  was  com- 
piled from  the  long-suit  and  from 
the  short-suit  games,  and  is  in- 
tended to  "  embody  the  good  points 
of  each,  and  to  remedy  the  weak- 
nesses of  both."  Mr.  Street  em- 
phasizes one  great  point  in  whist: 
"  The  player  who  opens  a  suit  with 
a  small  card  does  so  at  a  great  cost; 
this  cost  he  should  incur  only  when 
he  is  fairly  sure  that  he  can  reim- 
burse himself  and  his  partner  by  a 
subsequent  gain  in  the  hand." 
Having  laid  down  this  platform, 
he  continues:  "  Forgetful  of  this, 
the  long-suiter  errs  in  his  low  leads 
from  useless  five-card  suits,  and  in 
his  ruthless  exposure  of  single 
court  cards  and  tenaces  in  four-card 
suits;  and  the  short-suiter  errs  in 
his  lead  of  a  low  singleton  or  a  low 
two-card  suit. "  The  remedy  is  the 
modified  game.  While  a  player 
of  this  game  leads  from  almost  any 
five-card  suit  with  two  or  more 


"MOGUL" 


272 


MOGUL1 


honors  in  it,  while  he  even  leads  a 
low  card  in  true  orthodox  way  from 
any  five-card  suit  with  but  one 
honor  in  it,  he  halts  there.  While 
he  leads  any  four-card  suit,  with 
three  honors,  he  is  wary  about  suits 
of  this  length  when  they  contain 
two  honors  forming  a  real  or  possi- 
ble tenace,  or  when  they  contain 
but  one  honor,  or  none;  while  he 
leads  short  suits,  or  even  singletons, 
he  refuses  to  do  so  when  they  are 
low  cards  demanding  high  play 
from  third  hand.  In  brief,  the 
modified  game  is  built  upon  these 
five  prohibitions: 

1.  Do  not  lead  a  small  card  (any 
card  under  the  nine)  from  a  suit 
which  you  are  unlikely  to  estab- 
lish, or  at  least  to  protect. 

2.  Do  not  lead  a  small  card  from 
a  four-card  suit  not  containing  an 
honor. 

3.  Do  not  lead  a  low  card  as  a 
singleton,  or  in  a  two-card  suit. 

4.  Unless  compelled  to,  avoid  lead- 
ing four-card  suits  containing  king, 
queen;  ace,  queen;  ace,  jack;  king, 
jack;  or  a  single  king  or  queen. 

5.  Do  not  lead  five  trumps  just 
because  you  have  them,  with  noth- 
ing else  to  make. 

This  play  was  practiced  and  per- 
fected by  Mr.  Street  and  his  part- 
ners on  a  team  of  four — Messrs. 
Charles  S.  Knowles,  Charton  L. 
Becker,  and  William  Donald — to 
whom  he  dedicated  Part  II.  of  his 
"  Whist  Up-to-Date." 

"  Mogul." — A  pseudonym  un- 
der which  Matthias  Boyce,  a  lead- 
ing English  opponent  of  "  Ameri- 
can leads,"  has  written  much  in 
opposition  to  "  Cavendish"  and  the 
modern  scientific  school.  Mr. 
Boyce  was  born  on  July  3,  1829,  at 
Richmond,  Surrey,  near  London, 
and  has  practiced  as  a  solicitor  in 
the  latter  city  for  nearly  fifty  years. 
Having  a  mathematical  turn  of 


mind,  and  his  father  being  a  very 
good  whist-player,  he  took  to  the 
game  while  still  in  his  teens.  Not 
content  with  merely  watching  fine 
play,  he  studied  the  best  treatise 
then  available,  "Major  A.'s" 
"Short  Whist"  (a  rechaufee  of 
Mathews'  treatise,  then  out  of 
print).  In  1866  he  began  a  series 
of  papers  on  whist  in  the  Field, 
under  the  nom  deplume  of  "Mo- 
gul," and  continued  them  for  some 
six  years.  His  contributions  em- 
braced such  subjects  as  the  prin- 
ciples of  play,  the  construction  of 
the  laws,  and  the  etiquette  of  the 
game,  the  principal  articles  being: 
"  On  the  Play  of  Second  Hand 
with  King  and  one  Small  One;" 
"The  Lead  from  Ace  and  Four 
Small  Ones;"  "The  Lead  from 
Queen,  Knave,  Ten,  and  Others;" 
"  On  the  Grand  Coup,"  etc.  In 
1867,  he  tells  us,  he  advocated  the 
lead  of  the  ten  from  queen,  ten, 
jack,  and  others,  as  ensuring  the 
command  of  the  suit  on  the  third 
round ;  ' '  but, ' '  he  adds,  ' '  '  Caven- 
dish' then  objected  to  it."  After 
that  he  ceased  for  a  time  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  Field,  but  sent  numer- 
ous papers  to  The  Westminster  Pa- 
pers and  Knowledge,  with  which 
he  was  more  in  sympathy.  He 
also  wrote  for  the  Cornhill  Maga- 
zine an  article  on  "Whist,  Ra- 
tional and  Artificial."  The  papers 
in  Knowledge  included  one  on 
"Discarding,"  and  another  "On 
the  Original  Lead."  For  the  pur- 
poses of  the  latter  he  drew  up  sev- 
eral hands,  and  submitted  them  to 
the  leading  English  players  for 
their  opinions  as  to  the  lead.  "  By 
this  means,"  he  says,  "  I  was  able 
to  prove  that  '  Cavendish's'  cast- 
iron  rules  for  leading  were  not 
generally  adopted,  and  that  nearly 
all  the  experts  allowed  themselves 
a  much  greater  latitude  in  leading 
than  'Cavendish*  enforced."  In 


"MOGUL" 


273         MORALITY  OF  WHIST 


1884,  and  subsequently,  "Mogul" 
attacked,  in  the  Field,  the  lead  of 
the  penultimate  and  the  succeed- 
ing American  leads.  He  has  since 
contributed  a  few  papers  also  to 
Whist  (Milwaukee),  including  one 
on  "  Private  Conventions,"  where- 
in he  strongly  condemns  all  private 
signals,  and  also  all  signals  which 
are  purely  arbitrary.  We  are  as- 
sured that  his  opinions  on  these 
points  are  unchanged,  and  in  his 
judgment  "the  chief  effect  in 
England  of '  Cavendish's'  endeavor 
to  make  American  leads  and  other 
signals  an  integral  part  of  the 
game  has  been  to  lower  his  pres- 
tige and  authority;"  in  fact,  ac- 
cording to  "  Mogul's"  experience, 
"  the  great  bulk  of  players  prefer 
to  keep  on  the  old  highroads  of 
the  game,  based  on  rational  deduc- 
tions, rather  than  to  be  led  into  by- 
paths smothered  with  sign-posts 
leading  to  chaos. ' ' 

' '  Mogul' '  considers  the  American 
game  of  playing  for  tricks  less  in- 
teresting (as  is  quite  natural  for  an 
Englishman  of  his  conservatism) 
than  the  English  mode  of  playing 
games  and  rubbers.  In  his  opinion, 
the  American  game  "  loses  entirely 
some  of  the  nicest  points  of  play 
consequent  on  the  necessity  of 
playing  to  the  score."  In  1896  he 
took  E.  C.  Howels's  book  on  the 
short-suit  game  as  his  text  for  an 
article  in  the  Field,  showing  the  pit- 
falls consequent  on  conflicting  sys- 
tems of  signals,  and  the  confusion 
thereby  created.  "Mogul"  holds 
that  the  play  of  every  hand  must 
be  adapted  to  its  peculiarities,  hav- 
ing regard  to  the  score;  he  scouts 
the  idea  that  a  hand  ought  to  be 
played  in  accordance  with  fixed 
rules  in  order  that  a  player  may 
earn  a  character  for  straightforward 
play,  as  unfair  to  his  then  partner; 
in  fact,  he  approves  of  the  "  com- 
mon-sense" game,  "provided  the 

18 


player  has  qualified  himself  to  bring 
common  sense  to  bear  on  the  sub- 
ject by  mastering  the  theory  of  the 
game,  for  otherwise  untrained  com- 
mon sense  is  no  better  guide  at 
whist  than  it  would  be  in  naviga- 
tion." 

Mongrel  Whist.— Whist  which  is 
not  played  in  accordance  with  any 
well-defined  method  or  system;  a 
mixture;  bumblepuppy. 

Morality  of  Whist,  The.— Of  all 

card  games  whist  is  the  best,  not 
only  scientifically,  but  morally 
considered.  In  this  country  at 
least  it  is  not  in  any  way  associated 
with  play  for  money,  and  throws 
no  temptation  in  the  way  of  the 
young.  The  first  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  in  1891, 
did  away  even  with  the  often  trivial 
table  stakes  which  obtain  in  Eng- 
land and  other  countries,  by  de- 
claring them  to  be  "contrary  to 
good  morals."  The  infinite  re- 
sources of  the  game  were  deemed 
sufficient  in  themselves  to  lend 
charm  and  interest  to  it  in  the 
eyes  of  all  classes  of  players.  The 
changes  in  its  laws  and  the  manner 
of  play  made  in  this  country  are 
all  in  harmony  with  these  ideas. 
The  elimination  of  honors  from  the 
count,  the  change  from  five  to  seven 
points  in  counting  game,  and  the 
introduction  of  duplicate  play  all 
greatly  reduced  the  element  of 
chance,  and  made  American  whist 
essentially  a  deliberate  game  of 
skill,  unsuited  entirely  to  the  pur- 
poses of  those  who  play  for  money. 
Whist,  thus  purified  and  elevated, 
may  safely  be  recommended  to 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  as  a 
means  of  amusement,  recreation, 
and  mental  training.  (See,  also, 
"  Whist  as  an  Educator.") 

One  phase  of  the   interest    In    •whist 
which  is  spreading  among  women  should 


MORGAN,  H.  F. 


274 


"MORT" 


not  be  overlooked.  This  is  its  added  re- 
source to  woman's  power  and  home  influ- 
ence. To  its  lover,  whether  man  or 
woman,  the  charm  of  whist  is  its  mental 
recreation,  and  if  good  whist  can  be  had 
at  home  or  in  the  social  circle,  most  of  the 
inducement  for  seeking  it  elsewhere  is 
lost.— Charles  S.  Boutcher  [L.  A.}. 

But  if  whist  is  not  a  game  for  the  saloon 
or  the  gambling-hell,  it  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  game  for  the  home;  a  game  in 
which  any  bright  child  may  innocently 
indulge,  and  that  will  assist  in  training 
his  mental  faculties  to  such  a  condition 
of  excellence  as  will  materially  aid  him 
in  the  duties  of  after-life.  We  wish  that 
we  could  see  this  game  introduced  into 
every  American  home,  for  we  believe  that 
it  would  do  more  to  keep  our  boys  out  of 
dangerous  places,  and  put  them  under 
safe  and  ennobling  influences,  than  al- 
most any  other  agency. — Cassius  M.  Paine 
[L.  A.],  Whist. 

Morgan,  H.  F. — Author  of  a 
treatise  on  whist  ("The  Whist- 
Player's  Guide,"  1881),  which  deals 
with  the  subject  by  way  of  ques- 
tions and  answers.  He  was  a  cap- 
tain of  the  Twenty-eighth  English 
regiment. 

"Mort."— Whist  for  three,  or 
French  dummy  {whist  a  trots),  is 
popularly  known  as  "  mart."  The 
dummy  hand  is  called  mart,  and 
dummy's  partner  vivant,  or  the 
living  hand;  the  other  players  are 
known  as  the  right  and  left.  These 
are  also  collectively  spoken  of  as 
the  adversaries.  The  table  is  usually 
composed  of  four  players,  one  of 
them  sitting  out  until  the  end  of  a 
rubber.  The  player  cutting  the 
lowest  card  has  mort  as  partner  for 
the  first  game,  and  is  known  as 
vivant;  he  has  the  choice  of  seat 
and  cards.  When  four  are  playing, 
each  player,  after  occupying  the 
position  of  vivant,  immediately 
sits  out  for  the  next  game,  usually 
occupying  mart's  seat,  and  making 
himself  useful  by  sorting  mart's 
cards,  etc.,  although  he  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  play.  When 
stakes  are  played  for,  vivant  is 
obliged  to  pay  double  when  losing, 


and  entitled  to  receive  double  when 
winning.  Honors  are  not  counted 
in  "  mort,"  but  a  special  value  of 
twenty  points,  for  the  side  making 
it,  attaches  to  a  slam.  The  slam, 
however,  is  credited  on  the  general 
score,  and  has  no  effect  on  the 
game  in  which  it  is  made,  the  cards 
being  played,  and  points  counted, 
as  if  no  slam  had  been  made.  On 
the  general  score  are  counted  also 
the  number  of  points  won  on  each 
game  by  each  side,  all  the  cards 
being  played  out  each  time.  The 
winners  count  three  extra  points 
for  a  triple  game,  if  their  opponents 
have  not  scored;  two  points  for  a 
double,  if  the  opponents  are  not 
halfway;  or  one  point  for  a  single, 
if  the  opponents  are  three  or  four. 
The  winners  also  add  four  points  as 
a  bonus,  corresponding  to  the  rub- 
ber points  in  English  whist.  From 
the  total  points  found  upon  adding 
up  are  deducted  the  points  scored 
by  the  losers.  The  cards  in  "mort" 
are  played  the  same  as  in  whist, 
and  the  rules  and  laws  governing 
dummy  largely  apply.  Owing  to 
the  feature  of  counting  the  slam, 
however,  a  change  is  made  in  the 
laws  governing  revokes,  it  being 
provided  that  the  revoking  player's 
tricks  shall  not  be  reduced  to  noth- 
ing. At  least  one  trick  must  re- 
main, so  that  slams  shall  not  be 
made  through  revoke  penalties. 
Where  a  player  revokes  to  an  extent 
that  would  make  him  liable  to  lose 
all  his  tricks,  or  more,  the  other 
side  leaves  him  one  trick,  and  adds 
the  unpaid  tricks  to  its  own  score. 

The  French  game  of  mort  is  dummy, 
with  a  better  system  of  scoring  intro- 
duced.—/?. F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Complete 
Hoyle." 

A  few  years  back  I  passed  a  winter  in 
Algiers,  and  found  dummy  whist  played 
there  in  a  way  that  was  altogether  new  to 
me,  and  which  I  consider  vastly  superior 
to  the  old-fashioned  game.  Single  games 
are  played  and  not  rubbers,  and  each 
player  plays  one  in  his  turn.  Honors  are 


MOSSOP,  CHARLES 


275 


MOSSOP,  CHARGES 


not  counted,  but  each  trick  counts  for 
one,  and  the  winning  of  the  game  for 
four.  Thus,  if  twelve  out  of  the  thirteen 
tricks  are  made,  the  value  of  the  game  is 
fifteen  points,  viz. :  eleven  for  tricks  and 
four  for  the  game.  And  if  all  thirteen 
tricks  are  made,  which  is  commonly 
called  the  "grand  slam,"  the  winner  re- 
ceives seventeen  points  from  each  adver- 
sary, viz.,  thirteen  for  the  tricks  and  four 
for  the  game  points.  But  this  hand  does 
not  count  towards  the  game  in  which  it 
has  occurred,  and  that  game  proceeds  as 
if  no  grand  slam  had  been  made.  When 
dummy  is  played  in  this  way  no  hands 
are  thrown  up,  as  every  trick  is  of  value. 
*  *  *  I  recommend  it  as  a  great  im- 
provement on  the  old  game,  anJas  much 
more  instructive  to  those  who  wish  to  be- 
come good  whist-players.  —James  Clay 
[L.  0+1. 

This  highly  scientific  game  is  almost 
universal  in  France.  It  involves  a  mode 
of  play  entirely  different  from  ordinary 
whist.  Honors  are  not  counted.  Each 
player  takes  dummy  in  turn  as  partner. 
Each  trick  over  six  counts  one.  Either 
side  making  all  thirteen  tricks,  counts  a 
"grand  slam,"  the  winner,  or  winners, 
counting  twenty  points  against  each  ad- 
versary: but  this  slam  does  not  affect  the 
game  being  played.  The  gatne  goes  on 
as  if  no  slam  had  been  made.  If  the 
party  making  the  slam  makes  more 
points  in  the  following  hand  they  are 
added  to  the  slam;  if  he  lose,  they  are 
deducted.  If  either  side  makes  five  points 
over  and  above  the  first  six,  he  goes  out, 
and  counts  (if  his  adversaries  have  made 
none),  five  for  points,  three  for  a  treble, 
and  four  for  game,  or  "consolation," 
equal  to  twelve  points,  which  are  added 
to  all  the  points  he  may  have  made  in  the 
previous  hand  or  hands.  In  some  clubs 
the  slam  is  not  counted,  in  which  case 
eighteen  points  is  the  most  that  can  be 
•won  or  lost  in  one  game,  viz.,  four  previ- 
ous hand  or  hands,  seven  tricks,  a  treble, 
and  the  "  consolation."  In  some  parts 
of  France  dummy  is  counted  thus:  Single 
games  without  honors,  each  player  takes 
dummy  in  turn;  each  trick  taken  counts 
one,  and  four  for  "consolation."  If  the 
grand  slRm  is  made,  the  winner  receives 
seventeen  points  from  each  adversary, 
and  the  game  continues;  if  twelve  tricks 
are  made,  the  winner  receives  the  value 
of  sixteen  points.  In  dummy  whist,  as 
played  at  the  Washington  Club  [in  Paris], 
points  are  not  counted  as  above,  but 
counted  the  same  as  short  whist— so  much 
a  game  of  five  points. — "A.  Trump,  Jr." 
[L.  O.],  "Short  Whist,"  1880. 

Mossop,  Charles. — An  advo- 
cate of  the  old  leads  and  old  style 
of  play,  who,  for  eleven  years,  as 


editor  of  the  famous  Westminster 
Papers,  exercised  an  influence 
over  English  whist-players  second 
only  to  that  of  "  Cavendish"  in  the 
Field.  Mr.  Mossop  was  born  at 
Long  Sutton,  Lincolnshire,  Eng- 
land, November  6,  1833,  and  edu- 
cated at  the  Diocesan  School,  Lin- 
coln. Later  he  studied  law,  and 
passing  his  examination  before  he 
was  of  age,  he  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  1854.  His  career  as  a 
lawyer  has  been  very  successful,  as 
the  long  list  of  celebrated  litiga- 
tions in  which  he  has  come  off  vic- 
torious fully  attests,  and  at  this 
writing  he  is  the  senior  partner  in 
the  firm  of  Mossop  &  Rolfe,  solici- 
tors, practicing  at  46  Cannon  street, 
E.  C.,  London. 

Mr.  Mossop  comes  of  a  whist- 
loving  family,  his  father  and  uncles 
all  being  players  of  reputation. 
He  himself,  at  an  early  age,  took 
an  interest  in  games  of  skill,  such 
as  chess,  whist,  and  double  dummy. 
He  was  fond  of  whist,  he  tells  us, 
from  his  childhood.  In  April, 
1868,  the  Westminster  Papers  was 
started,  at  first  as  a  chess  journal; 
then  the  originators  suggested  that 
Mr.  Mossop  join  them,  and,  as  he 
says,  go  in  for  whist  as  well.  His 
love  for  the  game  induced  him  to 
do  so,  and,  for  eleven  years,  as 
proprietor  and  editor,  he  conducted 
the  periodical,  writing  an  article 
on  whist  every  month.  "His 
style,"  says  a  writer  in  "Lead- 
ing Men  of  London,"  "  was  rough, 
but  very  trenchant,  and  few  could 
mistake  his  meaning."  The  West- 
minster Papers  was  started  in  part 
because  all  the  other  journals  then 
devoted  to  chess  were  controlled 
by  Staunton,  who,  it  was  claimed, 
was  often  dictatorial  and  unjust  to 
his  rivals.  In  whist,  something  of 
the  same  opinion  was  held  of 
"Cavendish"  and  the  Field,  by 
Mr.  Mossop  and  his  friends. 


NATIONAL  TRUMP  276      NEWBOLD,  MRS.  WM.  H. 


As  a  lawyer  he  was  distinguished 
for  his  shrewdness,  readiness  in  de- 
bate, and  great  aggressiveness.  He 
was  a  born  fighter,  and  these  same 
qualities,  when  carried  into  whist, 
made  his  journal  a  thing  of  force 
and  character,  and  something  that 
•was  well  worthy  of  the  serious  at- 
tention of  those  opposed  to  him  in 
opinion.  In  1879  the  journal  was 
discontinued,  not  for  want  of  sup- 
port, but  because  Mr.  Mossop  took 
up  public  work,  serving  for  ten 
years  as  a  member  of  the  Chelsea 
vestry,  and  part  of  the  time  as  its 
representative  on  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works. 

Since  then,  while  he  has  re- 
tained his  interest  in  whist,  his 
legal  practice  has  prevented  him 
from  taking  a  very  active  part.  He 
has  for  years  had  the  reputation  of 
being  a  fine  player,  and  was  chosen, 
with  A.  B.  Bellief,  F.  H.  Lewis, 
and  A.  G.  Barnes,  to  represent  the 
Westminster  Club  in  its  whist 
match  with  the  Cavendish  Club, 
the  players  of  the  latter  being 
Messrs.  Foster,  Martin,  Walker, 
and  Boyce,  at  the  time  considered 
the  pick  of  London  whist-players. 
"The  Whist  Table,"  a  large  vol- 
ume, edited  by  "  Portland,"  pub- 
ished  in  1894,  is  largely  made  up 
from  Mr.  Mossop's^wri  tings  in  the 
Westminster  Papers. 

National  Trump.— The  laws  of 
duplicate  whist  permit  a  suit  to  be 
declared  for  the  entire  sitting  in  the 
mnemonic,  or  single-table,  game, 
the  object  being  to  lessen  the 
chance  of  remembering  the  hands 
by  the  turned  trump.  For  other 
good  reasons,  it  seems  to  us,  trumps 
might  be  declared  instead  of  turned 
from  the  pack  in  all  forms  of  dupli- 
cate whist  (and  they  now  are,  in 
fact,  frequently  so  declared).  Nor 
do  we  see  any  valid  reason  why  a 
permanent  trump  should  not  be 


selected  for  straight  as  well  as  du- 
plicate. A  national  trump  would 
simplify  the  game  and  add  strength 
to  it,  as  it  would  not  only  remove 
the  annoyance  caused  by  many 
players  constantly  forgetting  what 
card  was  turned,  but  it  would  en- 
able each  and  every  one  to  expend 
the  mental  effort  required  in  keep- 
ing track  of  the  trump  suit  to  bet- 
ter purpose  upon  the  play  of  the 
hand.  There  need  be  no  fear  that 
the  failure  to  turn  trumps  each 
time  may  in  some  mysterious  man- 
ner disturb  the  proportions  and 
harmony  of  whist,  or  attach  too 
great  an  advantage  to  the  deal,  for 
where  all  are  agreed  and  no  excep- 
tion is  made,  in  any  given  mode  of 
play,  there  cannot  be  any  disad- 
vantage to  any  one,  per  se.  Take, 
as  an  example,  the  non-counting  of 
honors  in  the  American  game.  All 
are  agreed  upon  it,  and  no  one  is 
at  a  disadvantage.  When  the  laws 
of  whist  are  again  revised,  the  per- 
manent, or  national,  trump  should 
receive  due  consideration  as  a  sim- 
plification and  improvement  of  the 
game. 

Newbold,  Mrs.  William  Henry. 

— Mrs.  Newbold  may  with  justice 
be  called  the  pioneer  of  woman's 
whist  in  Philadelphia.  Her  enthu- 
siasm as  a  player,  her  social  posi- 
tion, and  attractive  personality  gave 
her  a  special  opportunity  to  arouse 
an  interest  in  the  game  among  the 
women  of  the  Quaker  City.  It  is 
largely  due  to  her  efforts  that  Phil- 
adelphia stands  to-day  at  the  head 
of  .all  whist  centres,  so  far  as  her 
women  players  are  concerned. 

Mrs.  Newbold  began  teaching 
about  the  year  1891,  and  has  always 
devoted  the  proceeds  of  her  teach- 
ing to  charity.  Her  system  of 
teaching  is  conservative  for  begin- 
ners, consisting  of  the  long-suit 
game  with  American  leads,  as  in- 


NEW  DEAL 


277 


'NEW  PLAY,  THE" 


culcated  by  "Cavendish"  and  his 
school.  When  they  have  grasped 
their  elementary  instruction  and 
proved  discriminative,  she  teaches 
them  the  game  of  the  advanced 
players.  Her  "Condensed  Text- 
book of  Whist,"  which  she  pub- 
lished under  the  name  of  Roberta 
G.  Newbold,  is  a  deservedly  popu- 
lar whist  primer. 

Mrs.  Newbold  was  elected  an  as- 
sociate member  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  June  20,  1896,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Woman's  Whist 
League  in  April,  1897.  She  is  one 
of  the  most  expert  players  of  the 
League.  "  Her  game,"  says  Mrs. 
H.  E.  Wallace,  in  Vogue,  January 
7,  1897,  "  is  a  strong  and  brainy 
one,  great  skill  being  shown  in 
trump  management,  strengthening 
cards,  leading  through  weakness, 
and  skill  in  discarding.  The  latter 
feature  of  her  plan  caused  consid- 
erable complimentary  comment 
among  the  men-players  at  the  whist 
congress  in  June,  at  the  Oriental 
Hotel,  Manhattan  Beach,  where 
among  other  clever  discards  one  of 
the  king  of  hearts  made  a  gain  of 
several  tricks  in  the  hand  as  played 
by  her." 

The  team  of  four  captained  by 
Mrs.  Newbold  won  the  Andrews 
trophies  in  1896,  and  successfully 
defended  them  nine  times  against 
all  comers  up  to  December,  1897. 

New  Deal.— A  fresh  deal  of  the 
cards  when,  for  any  reason,  the 
previous  deal  is  void. 

There  must  be  a  new  deal  by  the  same 
dealer:  (i)  If  any  card  except  the  last  is 
faced  in  the  pack.  (2)  If  during- the  deal, 
or  during  the  play  of  the  hand,  the  pack 
is  proved  incorrect  or  imperfect;  but  any 
prior  score  made  with  that  pack  shall 
stand. 

If  during  a  deal  a  card  is  exposed  the 
side  not  at  fault  may  demand  a  new  deal, 
provided  neither  of  that  side  has  touched 
a  card.  If  a  new  deal  does  not  take  place 


the  exposed  card  is  not  liable  to  be  called. 
— Laws  of  Whist  {American  Code),  Sections 
14,  '5- 

There  must  be  a  new  deal:  (i)  If  dur- 
ing a  deal,  or  during  the  play  of  a  hand, 
the  pack  be  proved  incorrect  or  imperfect. 
(2)  If  any  card,  excepting  the  last,  be 
faced  in  the  pack. 

If,  whilst  dealing,  a  card  be  exposed  by 
the  dealer  or  his  partner,  should  neither 
of  the  adversaries  have  touched  the  cards, 
the  latter  can  claim  a  new  deal;  a  card 
exnosed  by  either  adversary  gives  that 
claim  to  the  dealer,  provided  that  his 
partner  has  not  touched  a  card;  if  a  new 
deal  does  not  take  place  the  exposed  card 
cannot  be  called. 

If  during-  dealing  a  player  touch  any 
of  his  cards  the  adversaries  may  do  the 
same  without  losing  their  privilege  of 
claiming  a  new  deal,  should  chance  give 
them  such  option. 

If  in  dealing  one  of  the  last  cards  be 
exposed,  and  the  dealer  turn  up  the  trump 
before  there  is  reasonable  time  for  his  ad- 
versaries to  decide  as  to  a  fresh  deal,  they 
do  not  thereby  lose  their  privilege. 

If  a  player,  while  dealing,  look  at  the 
trump  card  his  adversaries  have  a  right 
to  see  it,  and  may  exact  a  new  deal. 

If  a  player  take  into  the  hand  dealt  to 
him  a  card  belonging  to  the  other  pack 
the  adversaries,  on  discovery  of  the  error, 
may  decide  whether  they  will  have  a 
fresh  deal  or  not. — Laws  of  Whist  {Eng- 
lish Code),  Sections  37-42. 

New  Deal,  Not  Entitled  to  A.— 

At  a  game  of  whist,  one  of  the  par- 
ties, immediately  after  the  trump 
card  was  turned,  threw  down  his 
hand  and  exclaimed:  "I  am  enti- 
tled to  a  new  deal,  as  I  have  neither 
trump,  ace,  nor  court  card."  His 
demand  was  refused,  whereupon  he 
said  he  would  wager  he  was  right, 
and  the  matter  was  referred  to 
Whist  for  decision.  The  latter,  of 
course,  decided  that  the  claim  for  a 
new  deal  was  unfounded. 

"  New  Play,  The." — A  term  em- 
ployed by  G.  W.  Pettes,  in  his 
"American  Whist  Illustrated,"  to 
designate  his  proposed  system  of 
leads,  whereby  he  intended  to  show 
the  number  of  lower  cards  held  in 
the  hand,  in  the  same  manner  that 
the  fourth-best  lead  shows  the  pos- 
session of  a  certain  number  of 


41  NIGHTMARE  WHIST ' 


278 


NINE-SPOT,  THE 


higher  cards.  For  instance,  he 
says:  "  By  the  American  lead  of 
eight  you  know  that  three  higher 
cards  are  held.  By  the  new  play 
of  the  queen  you  know  that  three 
lower  cards  are  held."  This  sys- 
tem, and  the  American  leads,  he 
desired  to  incorporate  into  what  he 
called  his  former  system  of  Ameri- 
can whist.  "  The  American  game," 
he  said,  "appropriates  and  makes 
available  all  the  advantages  that 
both  plans  can  offer."  He  appears 
to  have  submitted  his  idea  to 
"Cavendish,"  who,  he  says,  "re- 
cognizes that  a  portion  of  its  influ- 
ence can  be  used  in  English  whist, 
but  because  of  its  newness,  and  the 
necessity  of  knowing  the  manner 
of  its  application,  very  properly 
says:  '  It  will,  for  the  present,  at 
least,  be  accepted  only  by  players 
of  the  first  force.'  "  Upon  the  death 
of  Mr.  Pettes  these  improvements, 
as  well  as  other  special  leads  which 
he  advocated,  fell  into  disuse.  (See, 
"  Nine-Spot, "and  "  Pettes,  G.W.") 

•«  Nightmare  Whist."  —  Whist 
which  is  not  played  as  a  pastime, 
but  as  a  severe  means  of  exercise 
and  training  in  the  game,  or  as  a 
means  of  exhausting  the  possibili- 
ties of  certain  hands.  (See,  "  Per- 
ception Problems,"  and  "Study 
Whist") 

There  is  a  large  (and  it  is  gratifying  to 
know  a.n  increasing)  class  of  players  who, 
having'been  initiated  into  the  rudiments 
of  the  game,  are  not  content  until  they 
have  exhausted  all  there  is  of  it,  and  who 
find  that  the  more  study  they  put  upon  it 
the  more  there  is  left  for  them  to  le_arn. 
An  example  of  this  class  is  the  coterie  of 
the  Boston  Press  Club  who  play  to  the 
eighth  trick,  then  stop  and  try  to  locate 
the  remaining  cards,  writing  down  their 
estimates  on  blanks  prepared  for  the 
purpose.  After  playing  the  last  five  tricks 
they  pass  the  blanks  around  and  have 
them  corrected.  Finally  they  discuss 
from  top  to  bottom  the  play  of  the  deal, 
and  in  a  doomsday  book  put  down  a  big 
black  mark  opposite  the  name  of  any- 
body who  loses  a  trick.  Our  correspon- 


dent in  September  Whist  remarks  that 
"  they  seem  to  enjoy  this  sort  of  thing; 
but  there  are  others  who  call  it  nightmare 
whist."  Probably  it  is  a  nightmare  to 
those  whose  inclinations  or  ability  forbid 
them  to  indulge  in  such  study.  It  is  a 
recorded  fact  that  men  have  lived  who, 
after  a  hard  day's  work,  would  find  their 
recreation  in  solving  problems  of  Euclid. 
What  to  them  was  undoubtedly  sport  or  a 
pleasant  pastime,  would  unquestionably 
be  to  ordinary  people  a  most  hideous  sort 
of  nightmare.—  Whist  [L.  A.],  October, 
*89S- 

Nine-Spot,The.— The  sixth  card 
in  rank  or  value  in  the  pack;  the 
highest  of  the  low  cards.  It  is  in- 
cluded among  the  high  cards  by 
some  authorities. 

The  original  lead  of  the  nine  has 
occasioned  not  a  little  discussion. 
In  the  system  of  old  leads  it  is  not 
now  led  from  any  high-card  combi- 
nation, except  as  it  may  happen  to 
be  the  penultimate  or  antepenulti- 
mate. But  R.  A.  Proctor,  a  well- 
known  advocate  of  old  leads, 
advocated  the  lead  of  the  nine 
("How  to  Play  Whist,"  1889)  as 
the  proper  lead  from  king,  jack, 
nine;  and,  in  case  of  a  forced  lead, 
from  nine  and  two  others. 

In  the  system  of  American  leads 
the  nine  is  led  as  a  fourth -best  card, 
but  under  this  rule  it  so  happens 
that  it  is  restricted  to  just  two  com- 
binations of  four  cards  each — ace, 
queen,  ten,  nine;  and  ace,  jack,  ten, 
nine.  G.  W.  Pettes,  while  accept- 
ing the  American  leads,  insisted 
upon  a  number  of  variations,  and 
one  of  his  ideas  was  to  treat  the 
nine  as  a  high  card  and  lead  it  from 
the  single  combination  of  king, 
jack,  nine,  with  or  without  others, 
excepting  ace  and  queen.  In  order 
to  effect  his  special  lead  of  the  nine, 
he  led  ace  from  ace,  queen,  ten, 
nine;  and  from  ace,  jack,  ten,  nine. 
Although  for  a  time  the  fad  met 
with  considerable  favor,  it  was 
shown  to  be  unsound,  and  is  now 
entirely  fallen  into  disuse.  "  Cav- 
endish" strongly  condemns  it. 


NOEL,  MRS.  LILLIAN  C.       279       NOEL,  MRS.  LILLIAN  C. 


In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  system, 
the  lead  of  the  nine  (or  the  ten) 
indicates  the  supporting-card  game; 
followed  by  jack  or  ten,  it  indicates 
a  suit  of  four  or  more,  and  does  not 
deny  higher  cards  in  the  suit. 

Some  of  the  things  he  ["Cavendish"] 
condemns  have  long  since  been  dead 
issues  in  this  country,  such  as  the  lead  of 
ace  from  ace,  queen,  ten,  nine,  and  ace, 
jack,  ten,  nine,  which  was  suggested  by 
G.  W.  P.,  who  wished  to  restrict  the  nine- 
lead  to  king,  jack,  ten,  nine,  or  king, 
jack,  nine,  and  others.  If  any  one  plays 
the  G.  W.  P.  game  now  he  is  a  curiosity. — 
R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},New  York  Sun,  July  if, 
2897. 

Experimental  whist  commenced  its 
career  in  America  by  the  practice  of  lead- 
ing nine,  instead  of  fourth  best,  from 
king,  knave,  nine,  and  one  or  more  small 
cards.  The  lead  of  nine  was  to  show 
absolutely  the  possession  of  king,  knave, 
etc.  It  was  not  to  be  led  from  any  other 
combination.  Now,  if  any  special  ad- 
vantage is  to  be  gained  by  showing  king, 
knave  in  hand,  the  nine-lead  might  be 
submitted  to  as  an  irregular  opening,  with 
a  particular  object.  But  the  reverse  is  the 
case.  If  the  adversaries  hold  any  high 
cards  in  the  suit,  the  lead  of  nine,  on  this 
system,  instructs  them  how  to  take  the 
best  chance  of  making  tricks.  Moreover, 
it  gives  less  information  than  the  lead  of 
nine  [as  fourth  best]  from  the  recognized 
combinations,  as  well  as  compelling  un- 
usual leads  from  them.  Deeper  analysis 
of  the  fad  would  be  waste  of  space.  It 
has  been  tried,  and  is  now  generally 
given  up. — "  Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  Scribner's 
Monthly,  July,  1897. 

Noel,  Mrs.  Lillian  Curtis. — One 

of  the  foremost  exponents  of  whist 
in  the  great  Southwest.  Mrs.  Noel 
became  interested  in  whist  while  a 
mere  child.  Her  father  was  fond 
of  the  game,  and  it  was  as  his  suc- 
cessful partner  against  opponents 
(gentlemen)  who  considered  them- 
selves hard  to  defeat,  that  her 
game  first  attracted  attention. 
During  her  school-days  whist  was 
her  recreation,  one  hour  being  de- 
voted to  it  every  evening  before  she 
went  to  her  studies.  An  early  edi- 
tion of  G.  W.  P. 's  "American 
Whist"  was  the  authority  consulted. 
Upon  her  marriage  she  removed 


from  her  whist  surroundings,  and 
did  not  play  a  game  for  several 
years.  When  she  returned  to  St. 
Louis  she  found  her  friends  play- 
ing the  "  book  game,"  and  this  in- 
duced her  to  take  up  whist  and 
study  it  scientifically.  Before  long 
she  was  frequently  referred  to  as  an 
authority  upon  doubtful  points  by 
those  who  had  not  had  the  advan- 
tage of  an  early  training  similar  to 
hers,  and  later  she  was  urged  by 
many  to  become  their  teacher. 
Having  never  heard  of  any  one 
teaching  whist,  she  hesitated,  but 
was  finally  persuaded.  She  thus 
began  giving  instruction  in  1893, 
and  soon  became  very  successful  in 
the  work,  which  is  very  congenial 
to  her  tastes.  She  finds  in  every 
beginner  something  new  and  inter- 
esting, and  is  very  popular  with 
her  classes.  Although  she  has  had 
many  flattering  offers  from  other 
cities,  she  has  thus  far  almost  ex- 
clusively devoted  her  time  to  teach- 
ing in  St.  Louis,  where  the  de- 
mands upon  her  time  are  so  great 
that  she  finds  none  to  spare.  J.  E- 
Shwab,  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  induced 
her  to  go  to  Nashville,  in  the  win- 
ter of  i896-'97,  and  deliver  a  lec- 
ture on  whist  for  the  benefit  of  the 
woman's  building  at  the  Nashville 
Centennial  Exposition.  That,  and 
a  summer  spent  in  teaching  at 
some  of  the  Northern  watering- 
places,  have  been  her  chief  experi- 
ences away  from  home. 

Mrs.  Noel  was  elected  an  asso- 
ciate member  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  June  17,  1895,  at 
the  Minneapolis  congress.  In  the 
previous  year  she  had  organized 
the  Woman's  Whist  Association,  of 
St.  Louis,  which  has  since  grown 
to  be  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
successful  women's  clubs  in  the 
country.  In  1897  it  had  nearly 
reached  the  limit  of  one  hundred 


NOM  DE  PLUME 


280   NUMBER-SHOWING  LEADS 


members.  In  order  that  it  might 
start  with  the  most  desirable  mem- 
bership, an  examination  in  whist 
•was  prescribed  for  all  applicants. 
Mrs.  Noel  has  been  its  president 
ever  since  its  organization.  She  is 
very  proud  of  the  high  standard  of 
the  whist  played  by  the  members; 
and  well  she  may  be,  as  it  is  large- 
ly due  to  her  untiring  efforts.  We 
cannot  do  better,  in  closing  this 
brief  sketch,  than  to  quote  the  fol- 
lowing from  a  review  of  the  whist 
congress  in  the  Minneapolis  Jour- 
nal of  June  19,  1895: 

"  While  Miss  Wheelock  may  lay 
claim  to  the  title  of  '  whist  queen," 
nevertheless  yesterday,  at  the  con- 
vention, she  was  obliged  to  divide 
honors  with  a  St.  Louis  lady,  who 
has  also  entered  the  domain  of 
whist  with  conquering  step.  Not 
that  she  seeks  notoriety,  for  she  is 
as  modest  as  her  sister  'queen,' 
Miss  Wheelock;  but  she  has  been 
very  successful  in  her  work.  She 
is  Mrs.  L.  C.  Noel,  and  it  is  small 
•wonder  that  her  whist  classes  are 
popular,  for  she  is  as  charming  as 
any  ambitious  beginner,  or,  for  that 
matter,  an  expert  at  the  game, 
could  wish  to  meet.  She  is  a 
typical  Southern  woman,  with  all 
the  easy  grace  which  distinguishes 
the  members  of  her  sex." 

Nom  de  Plume.— See,  "Pseudo- 
nyms of  Whist  Authors." 

Non  -  Informatory    Game.  —  A 

style  of  game  by  which  no  informa- 
tion is  conveyed  between  partners; 
primitive  whist;  bumblepuppy. 

The  player  who  never  read  a  book  on 
whist  sometimes,  though  rarely,  gains  an 
advantage  by  his  non-conventional  play. 
He  puzzles  his  partner,  but  also  puzzles 
his  adversaries,  and  perhaps  once  out  of 
three  or  four  times  he  gains  a  success  by 
this  confusion.  Then  he  remembers  his 
success,  and  forgets  his  disasters,  and  is 
more  firmly  convinced  than  ever  that 
reading  is  of  no  practical  benefit.—  A.  IV. 


Drayson  [L+A  +],  "The  Art  of  Practical 
Whist." 

N-S,  E-W.— Letters  chiefly  used 
to  distinguish  the  players  at  dupli- 
cate whist,  but  sometimes  also  used 
in  printed  or  published  hands  of 
straight  whist.  North  and  south 
are  partners  against  east  and  west 
A  good  rule  would  be  to  let  north 
always  represent  the  leader,  un- 
less otherwise  stated.  (See,  "A-B, 
Y-Z.") 

The  cardinal  points  of  the  compass, 
familiar  from  childhood  and  almost  daily 
used  as  guides,  are  the  simplest  symbols 
we  can  conceive  of  for  denoting  relative 
positions. —  Whist  [L.  A.},  December,  1892. 

Number-Showing    Leads. — A 

name  sometimes  applied  to  the 
American  leads  (q.  z>.),  because 
they  give  information  concerning 
the  number,  as  well  as  the  charac- 
ter, of  the  cards  held  in  hand.  R. 
F.  Foster,  in  his  articles  in  the 
Monthly  Illustrator  (1897),  holds 
that  Charles  Mossop,  the  editor  of 
the  famous  Westminster  Papers, 
was  ' '  the  originator  of  the  principle 
of  showing  the  number  of  cards  in 
the  suit  by  varying  the  leads  of 
high  cards  in  sequence."  His  first 
suggestion  was  contained  in  an 
answer  to  a  correspondent,  "  L. 
D.,"  in  the  Westminster  Papers  of 
July,  1868,  page  45,  as  follows:  "The 
regular  lead  from  a  five-card  suit 
headed  by  the  ace  is  the  ace;  but 
from  a  five-suit  headed  by  ace-king, 
the  king.  We  disapprove  this  dis- 
tinction, and  think  it  preferable  in 
the  latter  case  to  lead  the  ace,  be- 
cause it  is  more  important  to  tell 
your  partner  that  you  have  five  of 
the  suit  than  the  commanding  card 
thereof.  With  less  than  five, 
headed  by  ace-king,  the  king  is, 
of  course,  the  right  card  to  lead." 
This  certainly  agrees  with  the  ideas 
subsequently  carried-out  as  part  of 
the  system  of  American  leads.  In 
the  Westminster  Papers  for  Au- 


NUMBER-SHOWING  LEADS   281 


ODD  TRICK,  THE 


gust,  1869,  page  63,  Mr.  Mossop  re- 
iterates his  position,  in  answer  to 
another  correspondent;  and  in  No- 
vember, 1869,  he  published  what  is 
held  to  be  the  first  published  hand 
(No.  19)  in  which  number-showing 
leads  were  employed.  The  nine  of 
hearts  is  turned;  the  underscored 
card  wins  the  trick,  and  the  card 
under  it  is  the  next  one  led: 


in 
1 

•c 
& 

I 

2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1  1 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

A  * 

10* 

Q* 

V  2 
*  2 
*  3 
V  6 

<?  7 
<9  8 

5  * 
2  4 
9  4 
*  9 
*  K 

3  4 

8  4 

<2  A 

K  * 

V  Q 

*  4 
*  5 
<?  3 
*  6 
9  * 
7  0 
J   * 

*  A 

*  Q 
V  10 
V  9 
5  0 
*  8 
*10 
*  J 
J  0 
KO 

V  J 

Q?  K 

7  * 
9?  5 

*  7 
3  0 
4  0 

100 

60 

6  * 

20 
AO 

4  * 

9  0 
8  0 

QO 

Score:  A-B,  9;  Y-Z,  4. 

11  By  his  first  and  second  lead," 
says  Foster,  ' '  A  shows  the  three 
other  players  that  he  holds  at  least 
five  spades.  This  information  is 
not  of  the  slightest  use  to  his  part- 
ner; but  it  should  have  enabled  Y, 
his  adversary,  to  prevent  A-B  from 
winning  the  game.  At  trick  eight 
it  should  be  obvious  to  Y  that  if  A 
had  five  spades  originally,  B  could 
have  only  one  more,  and  that  if  Y 
passes  this  trick,  refusing  to  trump 
it,  B  will  have  to  continue  with  his 
only  remaining  spade,  and  Y  can 
then  trump  with  safety,  knowing 
from  Z's  leads  that  he  has  the  best 
club,  and  from  his  discard  that  he 


holds     some    protection    in     dia- 
monds." 

Object  of  Whist  Play.— The  first 
object  in  whist  is  to  see  which  side 
can  make  the  most  tricks;  the  next 
object  ought  to  be  to  see  which 
pair  of  partners  can  do  this  in  the 
most  scientific  manner,  and  by 
means  of  the  most  correct  play. 

The  object  of  all  whist  play  is  to  win 
as  many  tricks  as  possible.  Every  play 
which  has  not  that  end  immediately  or 
remotely  in  view  is  bad;  while  any  that 
can  be  show_n  to  tend  towards  that  end, 
in  the  majority  of  cases  is  good. — R.  f. 
Foster  [S.  0.],  "Whist  Manual." 

Observation. — One  of  the  most 
important  and  necessary  qualities 
in  a  successful  whist-player.  The 
memory  cannot  be  exercised  unless 
you  first  observe,  and  you  cannot 
remember  the  fall  of  the  cards  un- 
less you  first  note  the  same. 

Job  never  had  for  a  partner  an  unob- 
servant player,  or  his  reputation  for  pa- 
tience would  not  have  been  gained. — A. 
W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "Art  of  Practical 
Whist." 

Begin  by  recording  in  your  mind  the 
broad  indications  of  the  hand  as  it  pro- 
gresses, and  you  will  gradually  acquire 
the  power  of  noting  even  the  minor  feat- 
ures without  great  effort. — C.  E.  Coffin 
[L.A.],  "Gist  of  Whist." 

Odd  Trick,  The.— Out  of  the 
thirteen  tricks  constituting  each 
deal,  the  odd  trick  is  the  seventh 
first  turned  by  one  side  or  the  other. 
Sometimes  only  this  odd  trick  is 
necessary  to  win  the  game  (both 
sides  being  at  even  score,  or  one 
side  lacking  but  one  point  of  going 
out),  and  then  all  energies  are  bent 
towards  playing  for  the  odd  trick, 
and  a  more  cautious  game  is  played 
than  usually,  there  being  no  neces- 
sity for  a  great  game  in  which 
many  tricks  may  be  taken  at  con- 
siderable risk.  The  odd  trick  is 
not  played  for  in  duplicate  whist, 
the  great  object  being  to  see  which 


ODDS  AT  ENGLISH  WHIST    282      OLD  AND  NEW  SCHOOLS 


side  can  make  the  most  tricks  out 
of  the  same  hands. 

Remember  that,  between  winning  and 
losing  the  odd  trick,  there  is  a  relative 
difference  of  two  in  the  scores. — Clement 
Davies  [L.  A+],  "Modern  Whist." 

In  playing  for  the  odd  trick,  you  play  a 
closer  game  than  at  other  scores.  You 
lead  from  single  cards  and  force  your 
partner,  when  at  another  time  you  would 
not  be  justified. —  Thomas  Mathews  \L.  £>.] . 

Be  cautious  of  trumping  out  [drawing 
the  trumps],  notwithstanding  you  have  a 
good  hand.  For  since  you  want  the  odd 
trick  only,  it  would  be  absurd  to  play  a 
great  game. —  William  Payne  \L.  O.], 
r'  Whist  Maxims,"  1770. 

Odds  at  English  Whist.— Cur- 
rent odds  at  whist  (English  game) 
are  calculated  as  follows:  On  the 
dealer  it  is  5  to  4  for  game,  and  6  to 
5  for  rubber  (the  layers  in  this  case 
are  considered  by  the  most  recent 
authorities  to  have  the  worst  of  the 
bet);  i  to  "  love,"  with  the  deal,  it 
is  1 1  to  8  for  game,  and  5  to  4  for 
rubber;  2  to  "  love,"  with  the  deal, 
it  is  13  to  8  for  game,  and  3  to  2  for 
rubber;  i  or  2  to  "love,"  deal 
against,  it  it  n  to  8  for  game, 
and  ii  to  8  for  rubber;  3  or  4  to 
"love,"  with  the  deal,  it  is  2  to  I 
for  game,  and  2  to  I  for  rubber;  3 
or  4  to  "love,"  deal  against,  it  is 
15  to  8  for  game,  and  15  to  8  for 
rubber.  The  first  game  being  won, 
is  5  to  2  on  the  winner.  (This  is 
the  current  bet,  but  the  real  odds 
are  rather  more  than  3  to  i, 
about  guineas  to  pounds,  with  the 
deal;  rather  less  than  3  to  i  with 
the  deal  against. )  The  first  game 
being  won,  and  i  to  "love"  of  the 
second,  is  7  to  3  on  the  winner. 
The  first  game  being  won,  and  i  to 
"  love"  of  the  second,  deal  against, 
is  3  to  i  on  the  winner.  First 
game,  and  2  to  "love"  second, 
with  deal,  is  7  to  2  on  the  winner. 
First  game,  and  3  or  4  to  "love," 
with  the  deal,  or  against,  is  4  to  I 
on  the  winner.  It  is  an  even  bet 
the  dealer  has  two  points  or  more. 


The  deal,  by  many  good  players,  is  not 
considered  an  advantage,  the  lead  being 
deemed  equivalent  to  the  trump  turned. 
One  to  love,  the  odds  are  5  to  4;  2  to  love, 
5  to  3;  3  to  love,  5  to  2;  4  to  love,  5  to  i.— 
A.  Trump,  Jr.  [L.  <?.]. 

Offenses,  Claims  for.  —  See, 
"Penalties." 

Old     and     New    Schools. — In 

whist,  as  in  politics,  religion,  medi- 
cine, and  other  great  departments 
of  human  activity,  there  is  a  grand 
division  into  conservatives  and  lib- 
erals, and  a  subdivision  of  the  latter 
again  into  liberals  proper,  radicals, 
and  revolutionists.  Thus  the  old 
school  and  the  new  school  exist  for 
the  best  interests  of  whist;  for,  as  in 
other  matters,  the  conservative  ele- 
ment acts  as  a  balance  to  the  other- 
wise too  impetuous  reformers  and 
innovators.  Even  in  the  early  part 
of  the  century  there  existed  a  new 
school  in  whist,  and  it  has  con- 
tinued to  exist  in  one  form  or 
another.  Just  now  the  new  school  is 
in  the  hands  of  "  Cavendish,"  Pole, 
Drayson,  and  others,  in  England; 
Trist,  Hamilton,  Ames,  Coffin,  and 
others,  in  this  country.  Opposed  to 
them  are  "Mogul,"  Mossop  (and 
the  late  R.  A.  Proctor,  and  ' '  Pern- 
bridge,"  also  recently  deceased),  in 
England,  and  Foster,  Howell, 
Starnes,  and  others,  in  this  country. 
Some  there  be  who  see  in  all 
division  and  disagreement  a  deplor- 
able state  of  affairs.  To  us  the 
alignment  of  forces,  progressive 
and  conservative,  seems  natural 
and  proper.  Whist  would  die  of 
dry  rot,  on  the  one  hand,  or  degen- 
erate into  the  fantastic  and  ridicu- 
lous, on  the  other,  without  these 
opposing  influences,  between  which 
it  is  bound  to  become  more  and 
more  perfect  and  permanently  use- 
ful and  beautiful,  ever  adapting 
itself  to  the  new  requirements  of 
the  times. 


OLD  AND  NEW  SCHOOLS      283     OLD  AND  NEW  SCHOOLS 


If  the  old  school  of  whist-players  are 
content  to  stand  still  no  one  can  prevent 
them,  but  they  may  be  sure  that  the 
whist-players  of  the  future,  having  noth- 
ing1 to  unlearn,  will  adopt  the  improved 
system. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.]. 

In  America  very  few  representatives  of 
the  old  school  are  left,  but  in  England  the 
best  players  have  never  adopted  modern 
methods.  For  thirty  years  "Mogul"  and 
"  Pembridge"  have  wielded  their  pens  in 
defense  of  the  old  masters,  and  both  by 
their  writings  and  their  play  have  dem- 
onstrated that  there  is  no  advantage  in 
anv  of  the  conventionalities  of  modern 
wh'ist.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Monthly  Il- 
lustrator. 

The  old-fashioned  player's  game  is  fos- 
silized ;  he  cannot  alter  it,  and  he  does  not 
wish  to  alter  it.  He  actually  would  cease 
to  take  an  interest  in  the  game  if  he  had 
to  play  according  to  new  ideas.  All  his 
whist  traditions  are  based  upon  old-fash- 
ioned play.  "King  ever,  queen  never," 
and  "when  in  doubt  play  a  trump,"  are 
his  maxims,  and  these  he  carries  out  to 
the  bitter  end.  He  usually  tires  after  three 
rubbers,  and  then  gives  up  for  the  even- 
ing.— A.  W.  Dravson  [L+A+],  "The  Art 
of  Practical  Whist." 

The  "blue  peter  "  was  the  introduction 
to  whist  of  a  purely  arbitrary  signal  or 
convention,  and  its  seed  has  spread  like 
a  thistle's,  until  it  has  entirely  overrun 
the  old  game  of  "  calculation,  observa- 
tion, position,  and  tenace;"  leaving  in  its 
place  long  suits,  American  leads,  plain- 
suit  echoes,  four  signals,  and  directive 
discards.  These  seem  to  have  choked  up 
all  the  dash,  brilliancy,  and  individuality 
in  our  whist-players,  reducing  them  all 
to  the  same  level — not  by  increasing  the 
abilities  of  the  tyro,  but  by  curtailing  the 
skill  of  the  expert.— .ff.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
The  Monthly  Illustrator. 

The  danger  now  is  that  the  game  will 
be  made  too  abstruse.  The  mystery  of  its 
practice  would,  if  certain  writers  and 
players  had  their  way,  become  more  mys- 
terious than  ever.  Rules  are  now  being 
propounded  for  the  play  of  cards  which 
may  come,  in  the  ordinary  way,  once  or 
twice  in  a  hundred  rubbers.  The  mind 
is  in  danger  of  being  clogged  with  an  in- 
finity of  maxims  as  to  the  particular  card 
to  be  played  at  a  definite  juncture.  In 
whist,  the  exercise  of  intelligence  should 
have  the  first  place  with  a  fine  player, 
but  intelligence  will,  unless  a  determined 
stand  be  made  against  the  invaders,  soon 
be  deposed  for  arbitrary  custom.  An  addi- 
tional argument  against  the  adoption  of 
these  new  modes  of  play  lies  in  the  fact 
that  several  of  them  clash  with  those  laid 
down  by  older  players  for  several  genera- 
tions in  succession. —  IV.  P.  Courtney  [Z.+ 
0.],  "English  Whist." 


Fortunately,  for  the  purposes  of  com- 
parison, there  are  on  record  a  great  num- 
ber of  hands  played  on  the  old  style. 
That  very  valuable  collection,  the  West- 
minster Papers,  is  full  of  them.  Here  is 
one,  played  long,  long  ago,  in  which  A 
and  B  were  partners  against  Y  and  Z.  Z 
dealt  and  turned  up  the  heart  seven.  The 
underlined  card  wins  the  trick,  and  the 
card  under  it  is  the  next  one  led. 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

20 
2  * 

<?  A 

QO 

70 
Q* 

<?  Q 
<2  9 
A  * 

6  0 
5  * 

V  4 
V  6 
8  4 
<2  7 

100 

*  3 

*  8 

10* 
V  2 
V  K 

<?  5 
4  * 
6  * 
3  0 
*  A 

K* 

<y  3 
V  8 
*  2 
3  * 
7  * 
J  * 
5  0 
KO 

<3  J 

<910 

4  K 

*  4 
*IO 

*  7 
40 
8  0 
9  0 
A  0 

*  5 
*  6 

+  9 
*  J 

*Q 

9  * 

J  0 

Score:  A-B,  10;  Y-Z,  3. 

The  lead  of  the  small  diamond  may 
surprise  some,  but  the  old  school  never 
led  an  ace  unless  they  had  the  king. 
They  kept  aces  to  kill  high  cards  with. 
How  beautifully  B  shuts  out  that  spade 
suit,  and  kills  that  re-entry  king  of  dia- 
monds in  Y's  hand  !  How  neatly  he  takes 
advantage  of  his  position  in  clubs  at  the 
ninth  trick,  and  puts  the  screws  on  Y  at 
the  eleventh  !  In  all  the  championship 
matches  in  this  country,  there  is  not  a 
hand  recorded  that  approaches  this  one. 

The  same  cards  were  given  to  the  play- 
ers in  the  recent  whist  tournament  by 
correspondence,  and  each  of  them  had  a 
week  in  which  to  study  over  every  card  he 
played.  The  hand  was  opened  in  the 
same  way,  with  a  small  diamond,  by  Cas- 
sius  M.  Paine,  the  editor  of  Whist.  His 
partner  B  is  the  author  of  "Howell's 
Whist  Openings."  Y  was  Harry  Trum- 
bull,  captain  of  the  team  that  won  the 
championship  of  the  world  at  the  Phila- 
delphia Whist  Congress,  and  Harry  Ste- 
vens, Z,  is  the  man  whom  "Cavendish" 
thought  the  finest  whist-player  he  met 
during  his  first  visit  to  America.  These 


" OLD-FASHIONED  PARTY "  284  "OLD-FASHIONED  PARTY1 


famous  players  got  only  six  tricks  out  of 
A  and  B's  cards,  by  letting  Y  make  three 
tricks  in  spades  and  by  killing  the  club 
ace.  Here  is  the  play: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
13 

40 
2  « 

AO 

QO 
10* 
5  0 
KO 
<?  2 
<9  K 

7  0 
Q* 

6  0 
5  * 
100 

8  * 

<?  4 
<?  6 
Q?  7 

J  0 

V  9 

3  0 
V  A 

<?  Q 
9?  10 
A  * 
*10 

V  J 

V  5 
4  4 
*  7 
6  * 
*  A 
2  0 
8  0 
90 

J   « 
*  2 

<9  3 
V  8 

A  6 
4  5 
*  3 

*  8 
*  9 
4  J 

*  K 

9  * 
*  4 
*  Q 

K  + 

7  * 

3  * 

Score:  A-B,  6;  Y-Z,  7. 
— K.  F.  Foster   [S.    O.},    Monthly  fllus- 
trator. 

"Old-Fashioned  Whist-Party, 
An." — Charles  Dickens,  in  his  in- 
imitable "  Pickwick  Papers,"  ex- 
hibits Mr.  Pickwick  at  whist  on 
several  occasions.  In  chapter  six 
he  describes  an  old-fashioned  whist- 
party  at  Dingley  Dell,  in  which  the 
great  man  was  one  of  the  victims. 
Two  card-tables  had  been  set  out 
by  the  fat  boy,  one  for  ' '  Pope 
Joan,"  the  other  for  whist.  The 
whist-players,  besides  Mr.  Pick- 
wick, were,  his  partner,  the  old 
lady,  and  Mr.  Miller  and  the  old 
gentleman.  The  rest  of  the  com- 
pany played  the  round  game, 
"Pope Joan."  Dickens  continues: 

The  rubber  was  conducted  with 
all  that  gravity  of  deportment  and 
sedateness  of  demeanor  which  be- 
fit the  pursuit  entitled  "  whist" — a 
solemn  observance,  to  which,  as  it 
appears  to  us,  the  title  of  game  has 


been  irreverently  and  ignomini- 
ously  applied.  The  round-game 
table,  on  the  other  hand,  was  so 
boisterously  merry  as  materially  to 
interrupt  the  contemplations  of 
Mr.  Miller,  who,  not  being  quite  so 
much  absorbed  as  he  ought  to  have 
been,  contrived  to  commit  various 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors, 
which  excited  the  wrath  of  the  fat 
gentleman  to  a  very  great  extent, 
and  called  forth  the  good-humor  of 
the  old  lady  in  a  proportionate  de- 
gree. 

"  There,"  said  the  criminal  Mil- 
ler triumphantly,  as  he  took  up  the 
odd  trick  at  the  conclusion  of  a 
hand;  "  that  could  not  have  been 
played  better,  I  flatter  myself  ; — 
impossible  to  have  made  another 
trick." 

"Miller  ought  to  have  trumped 
the  diamond,  oughtn't  he,  sir?" 
said  the  old  lady. 

Mr.  Pickwick  nodded  assent, 

"  Ought  I,  though?"  said  the  un- 
fortunate, with  a  doubtful  appeal 
to  his  partner. 

"You  ought,  sir,"  said  the  fat 
gentleman,  in  an  awful  voice. 

"  Very  sorry,"  said  the  crest- 
fallen Miller. 

"Much  use  that,"  growled  the 
fat  gentleman. 

' '  Two  by  honors  makes  us 
eight,"  said  Mr.  Pickwick. 

Another  hand.  "Can  you  one?" 
inquired  the  old  lady. 

"I  can,"  replied  Mr.  Pickwick. 
"  Double,  single,  and  the  rub." 

' '  Never  was  such  luck, ' '  said  Mr. 
Miller. 

"Never  was  such  cards,"  said 
the  fat  gentleman. 

A  solemn  silence.  Mr.  Pickwick 
humorous,  the  old  lady  serious, 
the  fat  gentleman  captious,  and 
Mr.  Miller  timorous. 

"Another  double,"  said  the  old 
lady,  triumphantly,  making  a  mem- 
orandum of  the  circumstance  by 


OLD  LEADS 


285 


OLD  LEADS 


placing  one  sixpence  and  a  battered 
half-penny  under  the  candlestick. 

"A  double,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Pick- 
wick. 

"Quite  aware  of  the  fact,  sir," 
said  the  fat  gentleman,  sharply. 

Another  game,  with  a  similar 
result,  was  followed  by  a  revoke 
from  the  unlucky  Miller;  on  which 
the  fat  gentleman  burst  into  a 
state  of  high  personal  excitement 
which  lasted  until  the  conclusion 
of  the  game,  when  he  retired  into  a 
corner  and  remained  perfectly  mute 
for  one  hour  and  twenty-seven 
minutes;  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  emerged  from  his  retirement, 
and  offered  Mr.  Pickwick  a  pinch 
of  snuff,  with  the  air  of  a  man  who 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  a  Christian 
forgiveness  of  injuries  sustained. 
The  old  lady's  bearing  decidedly 
improved,  and  the  unlucky  Miller 
felt  as  much  out  of  his  element  as 
a  dolphin  in  a  sentry-box. 

Old  Leads — The  first  system  of 
leads  devised  for  the  game  of  whist. 
It  had  its  beginnings  in  the  days  of 


Hoyle,  but  was  much  improved  by 
subsequent  players  and  authorities, 
especially  by  Thomas  Mathews. 
The  old  leads  are  distinguished  for 
their  naturalness  and  simplicity, 
and  many  who  have  once  adopted 
them  find  it  hard  to  discard  them 
for  any  other  system.  They  show 
accurately  the  position  of  the 
high  cards  in  the  hand,  but  are  de- 
ficient in  the  important  matter  of 
indicating  to  partner  also  the  num- 
ber of  cards  in  any  given  suit,  to 
remedy  which  defect  the  more  sci- 
entific and  elaborate  American  leads 
were  devised. 

The  first  general  principle  on 
which  the  early  whist  authorities 
were  agreed  was  that  the  best  leads 
were  from  sequences  of  three  or 
more.  Being  without  sequences, 
Payne  advised  a  lead  from  the  most 
numerous  suit;  in  other  words,  the 
longest.  Mathews  agrees  with  this, 
but  must  be  strong  in  trumps  before 
leading  from  the  most  numerous. 
His  table  of  leads,  the  earliest 
which  gives  the  leads  in  detail,  was 
as  follows: 


IN  PLAIN  SUITS. 

IN  TRUMPS. 

Ace  king,  jack,  and  three  small    

Lead  Ace. 
"      Ace. 
"      Ace. 
"      Ace. 
Ace. 
"      Ace. 
"      King. 
"      King. 
Ten. 
Queen. 
"      Queen. 

Le 

ad  Ace. 
King. 
Small  card. 
Ace. 
Small  card. 
Small  card. 
King. 
King. 
Ten. 
Queen. 
Queen. 

Ace  king,  jack,  and  two  small    

Ace  king,  and  three  small     

Ace  queen,  jack,  and  two  small     

King,  queen,  ten,  and  one  small    

King,  queen,  and  two  small  

King,  jack,  ten,  and  one  small     

Bueen,  jack,  nine,  and  two  small  

ueen,  jack,  and  one  small    

From  all  others,  lead  a  small  card. 

Thus  the  leads  remained  substan- 
tially until  1835,  after  the  rise  of 
short  whist  in  England,  and  they 
are  given  as  above  in  "  Major  A.'s" 
book  on  the  new  five-point  game, 
which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as 
he  simply  adapted  Mathews  to 


"short  whist."  Between  this  pe- 
riod and  the  time  when  "Caven- 
dish," Clay,  and  Pole  first  began  to 
write  on  whist,  a  change  was  made 
in  the  ace-lead.  It  was  decided  to 
lead  the  king  originally, when  hold- 
ing both  ace  and  king.  To-day,  the 


OLD  LEADS 


286 


OLD  LEADS 


advocates  of  the  old  leads  also 
accept  the  lead  of  the  penultimate 
and  antepenultimate,  from  suits  of 
five  and  six  respectively  in  which 
there  is  no  high-card  combination, 
and  from  which,  by  the  American 
leads,  the  fourth  best  is  led.  In 
fact,  many  adherents  of  the  old 
leads  accept  the  fourth-best  lead 
itself,  and  all  of  them  admit  that 


the  trump  leads,  under  the  system 
of  American  leads,  is  an  improve- 
ment, and  their  leading  players 
practice  these  trump  leads.  This, 
however,  marks  the  dividing  line 
between  the  players  of  old  leads 
and  those  who  practice  the  Ameri- 
can leads.  In  plain  suits  the  old 
leads,  as  at  present  in  vogue,  may 
be  briefly  stated  as  follows: 


HOLDING  * 

LEAD 

FOLLOWED  WITH 

Ace,  king,  queen,  jack  

King.  . 

Tack. 

Ace,  king,  queen     
Ace,  king        

King.   . 
King. 

Queen. 
Ace. 

Ace,  queen,  jack,  and  one  other  

Ace 

Queen. 

Ace,  queen,  jack,  and  two  others  

Ace 

Jack. 

Ace 

Ten. 

Ace  and  four  or  more  others  

Ace 

Fourth  best. 

King,  queen,  jack,  ten  (no  others)     

King 

Ten. 

King,  queen,  jack,  and  one  small  
King,  queen,  jack,  and  two  or  more  others  . 

King.   . 
Jack  .  . 
King  .   . 

i  Small,  if  king  wins. 
Jack,  if  king  loses. 
King,  with  five  in  suit. 
Queen,  with  more  than  five. 
!  Fourth  best,  if  king  wins. 

Ten 

Queen,  if  king  loses. 
Fourth  best,  if  ten  wins. 

Queen  jack,  ten  

Queen  . 

King,  if  ten  loses, 
j  Jack,  with  four  in  suit. 

Any  other  combination   

4th  best 

(  Ten,  with  five  in  suit. 

*  Unless  specified,  number  of  suit  does  not  rary  the  play. 


It  is  fair  to  say  that  while  the 
American-leads  system  of  Trist  and 
"Cavendish"  is  to  a  large  extent 
based  upon  and  in  harmony  with 
old  leads,  and  while  it  embodies  in 
the  fourth-best  rule  an  extension 
and  application,  in  somewhat  dif- 
ferent and  better  form,  of  the  pen- 
ultimate and  antepenultimate  ideas 
of  "Cavendish"  and  Drayson,  the 
old  leads  themselves,  as  now  prac- 
ticed, owe  something  also  to  the 
American  leads.  Advocates  of  the 
old-leads  system  are  generally 
averse  to  the  many  additional  in- 
formatory  signals  devised  and  used 
by  those  who  believe  in  American 
leads  and  the  long-suit  game  as  the 
best  means  of  playing  whist  in 


partnership.  Many  advocates  of 
the  old  leads  despise  even  the  time- 
honored  signal  for  trumps.  Others 
are  more  liberal. 

There  never  was,  and  perhaps  never 
will  be,  in  auy  game,  any  system  of  play 
which  so  thoroughly  and  so  consistently 
fulfilled  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  in- 
tended as  the  old  leads  at  whist — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  O.],  Whisi,June,  1894. 

The  advocates  of  the  old  leads  object  to 
the  lead  of  the  ace  from  ace,  king,  and 
three  or  more  small  ones,  because  that 
lead  does  not  at  once  inform  the  partner 
of  the  position  of  the  king.  They  object 
to  the  lead  of  the  queen  from  either  ace, 
king,  queen,  and  two  or  more  others,  or 
king,  queen,  and  three  or  more  others, 
because  it  is  confusing,  it  being  often  im- 
possible to  tell  when  a  queen  is  ^ed 
whether  it  is  either  of  these  combina- 
tions, or  from  queen,  jack,  ten.  They 
object  to  the  lead  of  the  jack  from  ace, 


OMITTING  PLAYING 


287 


OPPOSITION 


king,  queen,  jack,  and  one  or  more  oth- 
ers, because  the  jack  does  not  at  once 
show  the  presence  of  the  ace,  and  they 
object  to  making  the  king  show  exactly 
four  cards  in  suit,  because  they  believe  it 
important  to  lead  it  regardless  of  number 
in  suit  to  show  the  presence  of  the  card 
next  to  it.  *  *  *  In  favor  of  the  code 
of  old  leads  it  is  urged  that  they  show 
more  accurately  than  any  other  system  by 
the  first  card  led  what  other  high  cards 
the  hand  contains.  *  *  *  A  very  strong 
point  made  is  the  fact  that  the  old  system 
presents  but  a  single  queen  lead— viz., 
queen,  jack,  ten — while  the  American 
leads  require  the  queen  to  be  led  from 
three  different  combinations.  [A  defect 
remedied  by  the  Hamilton  modifica- 
tion.] The  opponents  of  the  old  system 
argue  that,  while  it  may  have  been  good 
enough  for  the  players  of  the  past,  whist 
of  tO;day  has  advanced  beyond  it,  and 
that  it  ought  to  be  possible,  by  the  original 
lead  of  a  high  card,  to  always  give  more 
information  than  merely  what  high  cards 
are  held  in  the  hand.  *  *  *  The  an- 
swer that  the  supporters  of  the  old  leads 
make  to  this  argument  is,  that  the  most 
accurate  information  in  regard  to  the  high 
cards  is  of  more  importance  than  any- 
thing else — that  a  partner,  if  he  is  a  keen 
player,  will  find  out  the  information  as  to 
number  in  suit  soon  enough  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes. — Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.H.], 
"  Whist  of  To-day." 

Omitting  Playing  to  a  Trick. — 

In  the  English  code,  section  69,  it 
is  provided  that  if  a  player  omits 
playing  to  a  former  trick,  and  his 
error  is  not  discovered  before  he  has 
played  to  the  next,  the  adversaries 
may  claim  a  new  deal.  Should 
they  prefer  to  have  the  deal  stand 
good,  the  surplus  card  at  the  end 
of  the  hand  is  considered  to  have 
been  played  to  the  imperfect  trick, 
but  does  not  constitute  a  revoke. 

In  the  American  code,  section  19, 
it  is  provided  that  "if  any  player 
has  a  surplus  card  by  reason  of  an 
omission  to  play  to  a  trick,  his  ad- 
versaries can  exercise"  the  privi- 
lege of  a  new  deal  "  only  after  he 
has  played  to  the  trick  following 
the  one  in  which  such  omission  oc- 
curred." 

Open  Game. — The  open  game  is 
the  game  of  the  strong  hand. 


There  is  no  reason  for  employing 
methods  of  concealment  or  artifice 
when  you  have  a  goodly  number 
of  trumps  and  good  suits,  and  you 
have  reason  to  believe  your  part- 
ner is  similarly  favored.  Even  the 
most  radical  advocates  of  short-suit 
leads  admit  that  under  those  cir- 
cumstances, the  truthful,  scientific, 
long-suit  game  is  the  best. 

I  have  satisfied  myself  that  at  least  one 
trick  in  ten  is  gained  in  the  long  run  by 
playing  the  open  game,  the  two  partners 
working  together  against  two  adversaries 
working  separately. — R.  A.  Proctor[L.O.]. 

When  the  indications  show  that  your 
partner  has  a  reasonably  strong  hand,  or 
when  you  have  such  yourself,  play  the 
open  game.  Be  absolutely  truthful  in 
your  partner's  suits  and  in  your  own. 
Nothing  is  more  bewildering  and  dis- 
couraging than  a  partner  who  plays  false 
cards  and  irregular  leads  with  a  strong 
hand.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.\,  "Whist  Tac- 
tics," 

Opening. — The  opening  play; 
the  plan  upon  which  the  game  is 
begun;  the  opening  lead. 

Opening  Lead. — The  original 
lead  with  which  a  hand  is  opened; 
also,  the  first  lead  with  which  a  suit 
is  opened. 

Opponent.  —  An  adversary  at 
whist;  one  of  the  players  opposed 
to  yourself  and  partner.  In  dupli- 
cate whist,  the  player  who  plays  or 
overplays  the  same  hands  which 
you  hold;  also,  the  one  who  occu- 
pies the  same  position  that  you 
occupy,  but  at  another  table,  and 
whose  play  is  compared  with  yours. 

Opposition. — Opposition  is  the 
chief  feature  of  the  arrangement  of 
individuals,  by  schedule,  in  play- 
ing duplicate  whist.  Each  individ- 
ual player  should  be  placed  in 
opposition  to  each  other  individual 
an  equal  number  of  times.  (See, 
also,  "  Meeting  and  Opposing.") 

Opposition  must  never  for  a  moment  be 
lost  sight  of.  Any  schedule  arranged 


OPTIONAL  LEADS 


288 


ORIGINAL  LEAD 


without  keeping  this  point  in  view  is 
worthless,  no  matter  how  the  partners 
and  adversaries  may  be  arranged.— .#.  F. 
foster  [S.  0.],  "Duplicate  Whist,"  1894. 

Optional        Trump  -  Showing 

Leads. — Leads  by  means  of  which 
the  leader  may  or  may  not  indicate 
trump  strength  in  his  hand,  at  his 
option.  A  way  of  doing  this  was 
devised  by  Milton  C.  Work,  in 
order  to  meet  certain  objections 
urged  against  his  trump-showing 
leads  (q.  v.),  and  was  first  pub- 
lished by  him  in  1896.  He  takes 
the  system  of  old  leads  (q.  v.)  as 
the  standard  for  his  purpose,  and 
the  meaning  of  the  leads  is  faith- 
fully observed,  except  when  the 
leader  desires  to  show  trump 
strength.  Then,  for  this-  purpose, 
he  departs  from  the  king  lead  of 
the  old  system  to  the  lead  of  either 
ace  or  queen,  as  the  contents  of  his 
hand  may  warrant. 

The  argument  in  favorof  this  system  is 
that  if,  in  the  opinion  of  the  leader,  he  is 
placed  with  a  hand  iu  which  it  will  do 
more  good  than  harm  to  announce  trump 
strength,  he  can  do  it;  while,  on  the  other 
band,  if  he  has  trump  strength,  but  does 
not  desire  to  announce  it,  he  is  not  bound 
to  do  so;  and  the  adversaries  cannot  play 
him  with  certainty  for  trump  weakness, 
merely  because  the  strength  has  not  been 
announced.  The  principal  objections  to 
this  system  are  the  uncertainty  in  regard 
to  the  trump  strength  which  necessarily 
exists  in  the  majority  of  cases,  and  the 
absence  of  the  elaborate  information  in 
regard  to  length  in  suit  given  by  the 
American  leads.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A. 
H.],  "  Whist  of  To-day." 

Original    Fourth     Best.  —  The 

fourth-best  card  of  a  suit  as  at  first 
held  in  the  hand  before  a  card  of 
the  suit  is  played.  A  phrase  first 
employed  in  the  second  maxim 
of  American  leads.  (See,  also, 
"Fourth  Best.") 

After  an  experience  of  fourteen  years, 
I  cannot  agree  with  "Cavendish"  in  the 
modification  of  American  leads  adopted 
by  him  of  following  the  ace  with  fourth 
best  remaining  in  hand,  and  I  still 
adhere  to  the  follow  with  original  fourth 


best,  as  formulated  when  those  leads 
were  first  introduced;  in  which  position, 
I  am  pleased  to  say,  I  am  sustained  by  so 
able  a  writer  as  Mr.  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton. — 
N.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.],  Harper's  Weekly  July 
4,  1896. 


Original  Lead.— The  first  lead 
after  the  cards  have  been  dealt; 
also,  the  lead  with  which  any 
player  opens  his  hand. 

This  play  forms  the  rock  upon 
which  the  greatest  number  of  whist- 
pla5'ers  break  asunder,  or  part  com- 
pany. Upon  one  original  lead  all 
are  agreed,  however,  and  that 
is,  having  overwhelming  trump 
strength,  you  lead  trumps  first. 
Then  comes  the  rub,  the  opening 
lead  from  your  best  plain  suit.  The 
advocates  of  the  old  leads  esteem 
suits  containing  high-card  sequen- 
ces the  very  best,  but  many  of  them 
also  play  the  long-suit  game  and 
lead  from  their  longest  suit,  irre- 
spective of  sequences.  The  advo- 
cates of  American  leads  generally 
open  from  the  long  suit;  this  is  the 
play  of  "  Cavendish,"  Drayson, 
Pole,  Trist,  Ames,  Hamilton,  Coffin, 
and  the  modern  scientific  school. 
Then  corne  the  advocates  of  short- 
suit  play,  of  various  degrees  of  radi- 
calness,  the  most  radical  preferring 
at  all  times  to  lead  originally  from 
a  short  suit  (one  of  less  than  four 
cards),  just  as  the  radical  long- 
suiter  prefers  the  long  suit.  Be- 
tween the  two  extremes  there  are 
many  players  who  take  into  con- 
sideration their  hand  first,  and  then 
apply  whatever  leads,  long  or  short 
suit,  they  think  best  adapted  to  it. 
Here  there  is  a  difference  in  method 
again,  the  liberal  long-suiter  play- 
ing according  to  a  system  of  forced 
leads  (q.  v. ),  which  is  a  comple- 
ment of  the  long-suit  game,  and 
the  liberal  short-suiter  playing  the 
Howell  system  fundamentally;  or 
perhaps  the  common-sense  game 
of  Foster,  to  a  certain  extent,  but 


ORIGINAL  PLAY 


289       ORNDORFP,  THOMAS  C. 


not  ignoring  frequent  opportunities 
to  establish  and  bring  in  a  long 
suit,  which  involves  the  highest 
form  of  whist  strategy.  (See,  also, 
"Long-Suit  Game,"  and  "Short- 
Suit  Game.") 

In  a  general  way,  the  latest  usage 
among  long-suit  players  and  ad- 
herents of  the  American  leads,  is  to 
lead  trumps  originally,  when  hold- 
ing five  or  more;  otherwise,  lead 
from  the  longest  plain  suit,  and, 
when  holding  two  equally  long 
ones,  select  the  stronger.  When 
your  longest  plain  suit  contains 
four  cards  only,  with  no  card 
higher  than  a  nine,  and  you  hold 
at  the  same  time  a  suit  of  three 
higher  cards,  in  sequence,  lead 
from  the  three-card  suit.  (See, 
"Forced  Leads.")  With  four 
trumps  and  only  three  cards  in 
each  plain  suit,  choose  the  lesser 
evil  by  leading  trumps. 

The  6rst  or  original  lead  should,  in  al- 
most every  case,  be  from  your  numeri- 
cally strong  suit.— A.  W.  Drayson,  [Z.+ 
A+],  "The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Let  your  first  lead  be  from  your  most 
numerous  suit  in  your  hand,  or  at  least 
from  a  suit  of  not  less  than  four  cards. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Philosophy  of 
Whist." 

The  great  advantage  of  having  the 
original  lead  is,  that  you  can  develop  the 
game  in  any  direction  you  may  select. — 
A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "  The  Art  of 
Practical  Whist." 

There  are  only  six'  original  leads 
[American  leads  system]  with  which 
the  game  may  be  properly  opened.  *  * 
These  leads  are  the  ace,  king,  queen, 
jack,  ten,  and  fourth  best.— C.  E.tomn  [L. 
A.],  "  Gist  oj  Whist." 

That  the  opening  play  of  a  hand  should 
generally  be  made  from  five  or  more 
trumps,  "or  from  the  longest  plain  suit 
held  by  the  first  player,  and  that  the 
onginal  lead  by  each  subsequent  player 
should  be  subject  to  the  same  rule  (ex- 
cept in  so  far  as  it  should  be  modified  by 
the  results  of  the_  preceding  play),  was 
an  established  principle  in  the  days  of 
Hpyle. — Emery  Boardman  [£.+^4.] ,"  Win- 
ning Whist." 

Original  Play. — The  first  play  of 
a  deal  in  duplicate  whist.  The 

19 


hands  are  preserved  separately  in 
trays  provided  for  that  purpose, 
and  are  then  overplayed,  or  played 
in  duplicate. 

Orndorff,  Thomas  C. — Inventor 
of  the  Orndorff  method  of  playing 
twenty-four  whist  hands  in  dupli- 
cate by  two  teams  of  four  players 
each,  which  was  tried  at  the  first 
congress  of  the  American  Whist 
League,  at  Milwaukee,  in  1891,  and 
was  among  the  very  earliest  at- 
tempts to  provide  a  system  for 
the  equitable  movements  of  the 
players  and  trays,  which  has  since 
been  elaborated  into  schedules 
covering  any  number  of  tables  or 
players.  Mr.  Orndorff 's  schedule, 
although  confined  to  two  teams  of 
four,  was  highly  commended.  N. 
B.  Trist  said  of  it:  "I  believe  it 
will  make  the  best  average  skill  as 
near  perfect  as  possible,  by  chang- 
ing, as  you  do,  the  relative  position 
of  the  players  at  every  hand. ' '  Mr. 
Orndorff 's  ideas  were  set  forth  as 
follows:  "That  it  is  possible  for 
some  players  to  remember  hands 
in  their  overplay,  as  has  been  de- 
monstrated, is  a  great  disadvan- 
tage. The  fact  that  methods  con- 
fined to  four  players  are  limited  in 
their  use,  thus  unfitting  them  for 
team  contests;  that  in  their  use  the 
scoring  of  tricks  won  is  often  incor- 
rect, showing  them  to  be  unrelia- 
ble, and  that  the  trump  card  is  not 
exposed,  thereby  depriving  the 
game  of  one  of  its  essential  points, 
makes  it  desirable  that  a  method 
be  secured  that  will  be  free  from 
the  objections  named."  In  his 
method  two  teams  of  four  are  en- 
gaged. Twenty-four  hands  in  du- 
plicate, or  forty-eight  in  all,  are 
played  in  each  contest.  No  player 
overplays  the  same  hand.  The 
trump  card  is  turned  at  each  deal. 
Two  trays  and  two  packs  of  cards 
only  are  used.  The  team  scoring 


ORNDORFF,  THOMAS  C.       290 


"OUIDA'S"  TRIBUTE 


over  312  tricks  wins  the  contest. 
Each  player  has  four  of  the  oppos- 
ing team  to  play  against,  and  three 
of  his  own  team  to  play  with.  He 
therefore  plays  twelve  times  against 
each  of  the  opposing  team,  and  eight 
times  with  his  own  team.  He  plays 
six  times  in  each  position  -  dealer, 
first,  second,  and  third  hand.  He 
plays  through  each  one  of  the  op- 
posing teams  six  times,  and  in  turn 
is  played  through  by  each  one  of 
the  opposing  team  six  times.  He 
plays  at  each  table  twelve  times. 
In  a  letter,  under  date  of  July  31, 
1897,  Mr.  Orudorff  says:  "  By  nu- 
merous changes  in  the  method  of 
play,  the  system  has  been  generally 
adopted,  but  with  many  variations; 
so  many,  in  fact,  that  one  would 
hardly  recognize  the  original  sys- 
tem." 

Mr.  Orndorff  was  born  at  Zanes- 
ville,  O.,  September  15,  1840;  en- 
tered the  service  of  the  Adams 
Express  Company  in  1860,  and  that 
of  the  United  States  Ordnance  De- 
partment in  1863;  for  five  years 
from  the  close  of  the  war  was  with 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
Company;  located  in  Worcester, 
Mass.,  in  1882,  where  he  has  since 
been  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  military  cartridge  belts.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  first  congress  of 
the  American  Whist  League,  repre- 
senting New  England,  with  Messrs. 
Barney  and  Sturdy.  At  the  second 
congress  he  was  made  a  director  of 
the  League. 

Mr.  Orndorff's  system  was  given  a  fair 
test,  and  it  was  a  great  success.  It  is,  in 
our  opinion,  the  best  method  yet  devised 
for  playing  duplicate  whist  in  teams  of 
four  against  four.  By  this  method  a 
record  of  the  play  is  preserved,  and  each 
player  of  each  team  plays  an  equal  num- 
ber of  hands  with  each  player  of  his  own 
team  as  a  partner.  In  this  way  the  rela- 
tive strength  of  the  contesting  teams  is 
shown  by  the  total  number  of  points 
scored.  The  strength  of  the  players  as 
pairs  is  made  evident,  as  is  also  the  indi- 


vidual   rank  of  the  contestants. — C.   S. 
Boutcher  [L.A.],"  Whist  Sketches,"  1893. 

Otis,  T.  E. — A  well-known  player 
and  writer  on  whist  subjects,  who 
for  two  years  also  taught  whist 
professionally.  It  was  while  suffer- 
ing from  physical  disability,  such 
as  obliged  him  to  give  up  mercan- 
tile pursuits  for  a  time.  In  order  to 
occupy  his  mind,  he  gave  instruc- 
tions in  the  game,  to  the  great 
benefit  of  a  large  number  of  pupils. 
In  1897  he  returned  to  active  busi- 
ness life  as  general  manager  of 
the  Guaranty  Development  Com- 
pany, of  New  York,  and  treasurer 
of  the  Davidson  Box  Company,  and 
whist  teaching  is  now  with  him  a 
matter  of  leisure,  and  confined 
chiefly  to  the  training  of  the  team 
of  the  New  Jersey  Whist  Club,  of 
which  he  is  captain. 

Mr.  Otis  is  forty-three  years  of 
age,  and  has  resided  in  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  nearly  all  his  life,  his 
present  home  being  at  East  Orange, 
N.  J.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Poly- 
technic School,  of  Brooklyn.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Knickerbocker  Whist  Club,  of  New 
York;  the  Orange  Whist  Club;  the 
New  Jersey  Whist  Club;  and  the 
New  Jersey  Whist  Association, 
being  at  present  president  of  the 
latter.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Orange  Whist  Club  and  the  Brook- 
lyn Whist  Club.  For  two  years  Mr. 
Otis  has  held  the  position  of  whist 
editor  of  the  Newark  News,  and  as 
such,  as  well  as  by  his  contributions 
to  Whist,  he  became  widely  known 
among  the  whist-players  of  this 
country. 

"Ouida'a"  Tribute  to  the 
Game. — Among  the  many  authors 
who  have  spoken  in  praise  of  whist 
as  a  highly  intellectual  game,  is 
"Ouida,"  the  novelist,  who  says  in 
"Chandos"  (chapter  4):  "A  man 


OUT 


291 


PAINE,  CASSIUS  M. 


who  has  trained  his  intellect  to  per- 
fection in  whist  has  trained  it  to  be 
capable  of  achieving  anything  that 
the  world  can  offer.  A  campaign 
does  not  need  more  combination;  a 
cabinet  does  not  require  more  ad- 
dress; an  astronomer- royal  does  not 
solve  finer  problems;  a  continental 
diplomatist  does  not  prove  greater 
tact." 

Out. — The  cards  that  have  been 
played  are  said  to  be  out. 

Out  of  Turn,  Playing.  —  See, 
"Error,  Cards  Played  in." 

Overplay. — The  second  or  dupli- 
cate play  of  a  deal  in  duplicate 
whist;  the  replay. 

Overtrump. — To  trump  over;  to 
cover  a  trump  with  a  higher  trump. 
It  is  important  to  know  when  to 
overtrump  and  when  to  let  the  ad- 
versary have  the  trick.  The  former 
is  advisable  when  you  have  no  good 
suit  and  are  playing  for  immediate 
tricks,  or  when  you  desire  the  lead 
for  any  purpose.  Do  not  over- 
trump, however,  with  a  good  suit, 
for  in  that  case  it  is  very  important 
to  play  your  trumps  in  a  manner 
that  may  extract  the  trumps  of  the 
adversaries,  and  bring  in  your  long 
cards. 

With  a  good  suit,  overtrumping  is  bad 
play,  for  while  there  is  any  hope  for  your 
suit  it  is  very  important  to  keep  your 
trumps  intact.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.O.},"  Whist 
Tactics." 

Overtrumping  is  usually  safe  if  the  left- 
hand  adversary  is  strong  in  trumps,  and 
is  always  best  if  the  partner  wishes  that 
trumps  should  be  played.  If,  after  the 
successful  overtrump,  a  trump  can  be  led, 
the  result  is  usually  advantageous. — G. 
W.  Pettes  [L.A.P.],  "American  Whist  Il- 
lustrated." 

Only  the  experienced  whist-player  has 
the  strength  to  resist  the  temptation  to 
overtrump;  the  novice  invariably  takes 
the  bait,  and  by  doing  so  may  ruin  a  great 
game.  The  veteran  calmly  examines  the 


situation  in  all  its  phases,  and  often  to 
his  advantage.  He  reasons  that  if  he 
overtrumps  he  must  lead  something,  and 
whether  he  can  lead  to  advantage  is  a 
matter  of  concern. — C.  D.  P.  Hamilton 
[L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

Cases  often  happen  where  it  is  not  ad- 
visable to  overtrump.  Most  of  these  de- 
pend upon  the  fall  of  the  cards  and  on 
inferences  from  the  play,  and  cannot  be 
generalized.  But  there  is  one  case  in 
which  it  is  never  right  to  overtrump,  viz., 
when  three  cards  remain  in  each  hand 
and  one  player  holds  the  second  and 
third-best  trumps,  with  one  of  which  he 
trumps  the  card  led.  If  the  player  to  his 
left  has  the  best  and  fourth-best  trumps, 
he  can  never  gain  anything  by  over- 
trumping, and  may  lose  a  trick. — "Cav- 
endish "  [L.  A.],  "Laws  and  Principles  of 
Whist." 

Pack. — The  fifty-two  cards  used 
in  playing  whist.  By  old  writers 
on  the  game  the  pack  was  variously 
called  a  pair  of  cards,  a  stock,  or  a 
deck.  Pack  is  the  term  now  gen- 
erally used.  A  faulty  pack  is  one 
which  is  imperfect.  (See,  ' '  Imper- 
fect Pack.") 

Packet. — A  subdivision  of  a  pack 
of  cards  made  in  cutting  or  in  gath- 
ering up  the  tricks  at  table  during 
play. 

Paine,  Cassius  M. — The  foun- 
der, editor,  and  (at  present)  sole 
proprietor  of  the  only  journal  in 
the  world  devoted  exclusively  to 
whist;  a  leading  advocate  of  the 
"  Cavendish "-Tnst  school,  and  the 
leading  inventor  of  apparatus  used 
in  playing  duplicate  whist. 

Mr.  Paine  was  born  in  Milwau- 
kee, Wis.,  October  12,  1859.  His 
father  was  Hortensius  J.  Paine,  of 
James  H.  Paine  &  Sons,  counsel- 
lors-at-law,  who  achieved  distinction 
in  ante-bellum  days  by  reason  of 
their  uncompromising  abolition 
principles.  The  family  came  to 
Wisconsin  from  Ohio,  and  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm  origi- 
nally from  Connecticut.  Mr.  Paine's 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Horatio 


PAINE,  CASSIUS  M. 


292 


PAIR,  A. 


N.  Joy,  a  farmer,  who  came  to  Wis- 
consin in  1833  from  New  York 
State.  Hortensius  Paine  died  in 
1865,  leaving  a  widow  and  three 
children,  of  whom  Cassius  was  the 
second.  From  this  period  his  life 
was  spent  on  a  farm  until  he  was 
twelve  years  old,  when  he  began 
his  business  career  as  messenger  in 
a  bank.  He  had  received  but  a 
common-school  education,  but  as 
banking  hours  were  short,  and  the 
boy  studiously  inclined,  he  found 
opportunity  to  further  improve  his 
mind.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three 
he  engaged  in  business  for  himself, 
and  has  been  actively  occupied  in 
commercial  pursuits  ever  since,  his 
chief  business  at  present  being  that 
of  a  grain  merchant. 

Mr.  Paine  first  became  interested 
in  the  game  of  whist  about  the 
year  1885,  when  he  joined  the  Mil- 
waukee Whist  Club.  In  the  fall  of 
1890  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
club,  and  it  was  during  his  admin- 
istration that  the  first  American 
whist  congress  was  held  at  Milwau- 
kee, in  1891.  Mr.  Paine  was  one 
of  the  first  to  take  up  duplicate 
whist,  obtaining  his  cue  from  John 
T.  Mitchell,  of  Chicago.  He  con- 
ducted the  first  duplicate  contest 
of  moment  between  clubs,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1890,  when  the  Milwaukee  and 
Evanston  teams  played  a  match  of 
twelve  tables.  It  was  while  mak- 
ing preparations  for  this  match 
that  he  discovered  the  idea  which 
shortly  afterwards  was  elaborated 
by  J.  L.  Sebring,  of  Kalama- 
zoo,  Mich.,  and  led  to  the  manu- 
facture of  the  duplicate  whist 
metliod  now  known  as  the  Kala- 
mazoo  system. 

Immediately  after  the  whist  con- 
gress, and  largely  with  a  view  of 
sustaining  interest  in  the  League, 
which  was  a  matter  of  great  pride 
to  the  Milwaukee  Whist  Club,  the 
journal  Whist  was  founded  by 


Eugene  S.  Elliott,  Cassius  M. 
Paine,  and  George  W.  Hall.  Mr. 
Hall  died  the  October  following, 
and  the  enterprise  was  continued 
by  Mr.  Elliott  and  Mr.  Paine  until 
1896,  when  Mr.  Paine  acquired  the 
entire  interest. 

Mr.  Paine  was  elected  in  1895  to 
the  presidency  of  the  Milwaukee 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  a  body  of 
six  hundred  of  Milwaukee's  most 
prominent  citizens,  in  which  office 
he  served  two  terms.  He  is  also 
president  of  the  Milwaukee  Ethical 
Society.  When  asked  to  define  his 
present  position  in  regard  to  the 
play  of  whist,  he  said,  in  a  letter 
under  date  of  November  30,  1897: 
"I  am  a  staunch  advocate  of 
'Cavendish's' maxims,  but  I  have 
always  believed  in  paying  great 
regard  to  the  development  or  the 
deal,  and  the  personality  of  the 
players;  and  these  considerations 
often  induce  me  to  pursue  a  differ- 
ent course  from  that  which  a  hide- 
bound book-player  might  follow. " 

Mr.  Paine  is  a  very  conscientious  edi- 
tor. He  says  it  has  always  been  his  first 
thought  to  publish  all  the  news,  as  he 
believes  vanety  to  be  the  only  thing  that 
will  hold  a  large  class  of  readers,  and  that 
if  a  subscriber  finds  what  he  likes  in  a 
publication,  he  is  usually  satisfied,  even 
if  some  things  appear  which  do  not  par- 
ticularly interest  him.  In  the  discussion 
of  important  topics,  Mr.  Paine  expresses 
his  opinions  suggestively  rather  than  dic- 
tatonally,  and  encourages  whist-players 
to  investigate  and  to  think  for  themselves, 
•which  he  finds  induces  them  to  partici- 
pate in  discussions  on  moot  points.  He 
has  little  fear  for  the  solid  principles  of 
the  game,  and  thinks  that  the  public  is 
discriminating,  and  will  not  long  be  im- 
posed on  by  false  theories.  While  an 
editor  may  direct  and  suggest,  the  public 
must  approve,  and  its  verdict  is  the  final 
test.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Monthly  Illus- 


Pair,  A. — The  two  players  sitting 
north  and  south,  or  east  and  west, 
at  duplicate  whist.  Two  partners 
constitute  a  pair.  Duplicate  whist 
scores  are  arranged  tor  Individ- 


PAIR,  A 


293 


PARTNER 


uals,  pairs  teams  of  four  or  more, 
etc.  When  pairs  form  the  basis 
of  the  match  play,  each  pair  plays 
together  throughout  the  sitting, 
never  changing  partners,  but  mov- 
ing in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  op- 
posed an  equal  number  of  times  to 
each  of  the  other  pairs. 

The  need  of  a  more  satisfactory 
method  of  keeping  the  scores  for 
pairs,  especially  in  tourneys  or  for 
a  season's  play,  has  been  strongly 
felt.  The  usual  way  is  to  keep  a 
record  of  the  points  made  and  de- 
cide the  standing  of  each  pair  by 
means  of  its  plus  or  minus  score; 
but  this  has  been  found  unsatisfac- 
tory, especially  in  clubs,  because 
the  pairs  were  soon  so  far  separa- 
ted that  those  away  behind  became 
discouraged.  Another  method  has 
been  tried  by  some:  that  of  keep- 
ing a  record  of  games  won  or  lost, 
and  deciding  the  standing  of  the 
pairs  thereby.  But  a  plus  frac- 
tional margin  in  this  case,  it  is 
objected,  has  too  great  weight. 
The  latest  suggestion  (made  by 
John  C.  Meredith,  of  Kansas  City, 
Mo. , )  is,  that  a  record  of  both 
points  and  games  be  kept,  and 
' '  that  the  number  of  points,  plus 
or  minus,  be  multiplied  by  60  and 
divided  by  100,  and  the  number  of 
games  won  or  lost  multiplied  by  40 
and  divided  by  100,  and  the  sum 
total  taken  as  the  standing  of  the 
pair  in  the  tourney." 

Another  difficulty  in  the  play  of 
pairs  is  the  effect  which  the  in- 
equality of  the  sides  has  on  the 
score.  In  some  clubs  the  whist 
committees  equalize  the  sides  as  far 
as  possible  by  their  knowledge  of 
the  players.  In  the  Kansas  City 
Whist  Club,  during  1897,  the  po- 
sition of  the  players  was  decided 
by  their  standing  in  the  tourney, 
as  follows:  The  pair  standing  high- 
est was  placed  north  and  south; 
next  highest,  east  and  west;  third 


highest,  north  and  south;  and  so 
on  until  all  the  pairs  were  placed. 
When  the  schedule  of  play  for  the 
evening  placed  a  pair  on  the  wrong 
side,  the  next  highest  pair  took  its 
place.  When  the  standing  of  two 
pairs  was  equal,  and  they  were 
scheduled  to  play  at  the  same  table, 
their  positions  were  decided  by  lot. 
This  is  declared  unsatisfactory,  be- 
cause the  standing  of  the  pairs  in 
the  early  part  of  the  tourney  de- 

Sends  too  much  on  whether  they 
ave  played  the  strong  or  weak 
teams  in  the  tourney.  In  com- 
menting on  this,  Mr.  Meredith 
says:  "I  suppose  we  shall  never 
have  a  perfect  game  of  duplicate 
until  some  one  invents  a  pack  of 
duplicate  cards  so  arranged  that 
the  same  hands  can  be  played  by 
your  adversaries,  but  in  such  form 
that  they  will  not  be  recognized." 
The  editor  of  Whist  fears  that  "  the 
matter  of  equalizing  the  sides  pre- 
sents a  problem  which  will  ever 
remain  insoluble." 

Partie. — The  same  playei's  play- 
ing two  rubbers  consecutively,  or, 
should  it  be  necessary,  a  third,  to 
decide  which  has  the  best  of  the 
three. 

Partner. — One  who  plays  with 
another  player,  and, with  the  latter, 
against  two  other  players.  Part- 
ners sit  facing  each  other  at  the 
table,  with  an  adversary  on  each 
side.  One  partner  should  not  de- 
ceive another  by  his  play,  but 
should  have  due  regard  for  the 
other's  hand,  affording  him  all  the 
help  he  can,  and  utilizing,  as  far  as 
possible,  all  his  resources  for  the 
common  good.  Each  should  try  to 
play  both  hands  as  one.  The  one 
who  has  the  best  hand,  and  the 
most  likely  chance  of  bringing  in  a 
long  suit,  indicates  it  at  once  by 
his  first  lead  or  two,  and  then 


PARTNER 


294 


PARTNER 


the  other,  unless  equally  strong, 
promptly  sacrifices  his  hand  in 
building  up  and  assisting  partner's 
game.  A  player  must  not  make 
the  mistake  of  always  trying  to 
take  the  lead  in  the  partnership. 
Be  sure  you  have  the  best  hand,  or 
at  least  as  good  a  hand  as  partner, 
before  ignoring  his  claims.  Do  not 
insist  upon  playing  a  doubtful  or 
disastrous  game  with  your  own  piti- 
ful resources  when  you  could  turn 
in  and  help  improve  his  splendid 
opportunities.  Nothing  could  be 
more  exasperating  to  him,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  effect  your  conduct 
has  upon  the  score.  Next  to  the 
bumblepuppist  who  plays  in  bliss- 
ful ignorance  of  the  existence  of 
partner,  ranks  the  new  style  of 
bumblepuppist  who  has  no  use 
for  him  except  as  a  vassal  to 
do  his  bidding  and  work  for  his 
glory. 

Every  good  whist  book  is  full  of 
maxims  for  the  guidance  of  part- 
ners in  their  mutual  play.  Do  not 
forget  to  return  partner's  lead,  after 
indicating  your  own  strong  suit; 
but  if  you  hold  the  best  card  in  his 
suit,  lead  it  to  him  at  the  first  op- 
portunity, even  before  opening 
your  own  suit.  Do  not  fail  to  re- 
spond to  his  trump  signal,  unless 
you  have  the  weightiest  of  reasons. 
Give  him  all  the  information  you 
can  consistent  with  proper  play. 
Force  him  if  you  are  strong  in 
trumps,  and  thereby  enable  him  to 
make  tricks  with  his  trumps.  Do 
not  force  him  if  you  are  weak  in 
trumps,  unless  either  of  the  adver- 
saries have  shown  trump  strength, 
or  he  has  shown  a  desire  to  be 
forced.  Get  rid  of  the  commanding 
card  in  his  suit,  so  as  not  to  block 
his  game. 

With  a  strong  trump  hand,  play  your 
own  game;  with  a  weak  trump  hand, 
play  vour  partner's  game.— "Cavendish" 
\L.  A.}. 


Remember  always  that  you  and  your 
partner  have  twenty-six  cards  to  play  for 
the  common  cause,  of  which  you  have  but 
thirteen.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.A.H.]. 

Remember  that  your  partner  is  equally 
interested  with  you,  and  do  not  play  your 
own  hand  without  regard  to  his.— Fisher 
Ames  [L.  A.],  "Practical  Guide  to  Whist."1 

Partner's  weakness,  when  exposed, 
gives  entire  authority  to  manage  your 
play  with  little  or  no  regard  to  him,  and 
will  particularly  alter  three  things:  the 
second-hand  play,  the  discard,  and  the 
management  of  trumps  .— N.  T.  Horr  [L. 
A.],  Whist,  January,  1893. 

The  fine  player  will  scarcely  have  asked 
for  a  better  partner  than  one  who,  by 
careful  attention  to  rule,  hasgiveu  to  him 
every  possible  indication  of  the  position 
of  the  cards,  and  has  enabled  him,  so  to 
speak,  to  plav  twenty-six  cards  instead 
of  thirteen.— James  Clay  [Z..  <?+]. 

If  I  were  asked  what  I  regarded  as  the 
most  valuable  working  quality  in  a  part- 
ner, I  should  answer:  Readiness  in  deter- 
mining whether  an  aggressive  game, 
aiming  at  the  bringing  in  of  a  long  suit, 
should  be  entered  on.  or  a  defensive  pol- 
icy pursued. — R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

You  and  your  partner  play  against  two 
other  partners.  It  is  twenty-six  cards 
against  twenty-six  when  the  partners 
play  to  mutually  assist  one  another.  It  is 
thirteen  cards  against  twenty-six  when 
each  partner  plays  for  his  own  hand.— A. 
W.  Dravson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of  Prac- 
tical Whist." 

When  the  partner  of  the  original  lender 
•wins  the  first  trick,  he  may  do  any  one  of 
four  things:  (i)  Lead  trumps  if  he  has 
five  or  more,  or  four  with  an  established 
suit  and  a  card  of  re-entry;  (2)  lead  back 
the  best  card  of  the  leader's  suit,  il  he 
holds  it.  before  introducing  his  own;  (3) 
lead  his  own  suit,  if  it  is  worth  trying  to 
establish;  (4)  return  the  leader's  suit, 
with  the  lowest,  it  he  has  three  or  more 
remaining;  with  the  higher  if  only  two, 
no  matter  what  they  are.  When  the  orig- 
inal lead  is  a  trump,  the  partner  should 
always  return  it  if  he  has  one.  K.  F.  Fos- 
ter \S.  O.],  "Johnson's  Universal  Cyclopes- 
dia,"  1805. 

T.  E.  Otis  writes  as  follows  in  the  New- 
ark News:  "  Observe  the  following  sim- 
ple rule,  and  it  will  greatly  aid  you  in 
knowing  when  to  play  your  partner's 
hand  instead  of  your  own:  When  you 
win  your  partner's  lead  and  are  not 
strong  enough  in  trumps  to  lead  them, 
return  your  partner's  suit,  unless  you 
have  won  it  with  a  card  as  low  as  the 
jack  and  have  none  higher  of  that  suit  in 
your  hand,  or  when  you  have  an  estab- 
lished suit,  or  one  which  can  be  estab- 


PARTNER,  A  BAD 


295 


PARTNER'S  HAND 


lished  in  the  first  round."  *  *  *  With 
all  of  the  above  Philadelphia  whisters 
are  heartily  in  accord,  except  the  sugges- 
tion that  when  you  win  your  partner's 
suit  with  a  jack  you  should  not  return  it. 
Under  these  circumstances  your  partner 
holds  either  the  ace  and  queen,  or  the 
king.  The  opponent  to  your  right  holds 
the  face  cards  your  partner  does  not.  If 
your  partner  has  the  two  face  cards,  it  is 
most  advantageous  to  return  the  suit.  If 
the  adversary  holds  them,  it  is  even  yet 
apt  to  be  the  best  thing  you  can  do,  since, 
if  you  do  not,  your  left-hand  adversary 
will  later,  and  nothing  will  be  gained  by 
the  omission  on  your  part;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  you  will  have  delayed  estab- 
lishing your  partner's  suit,  and  been  at 
the  disadvantage  of  opening  a  new  one. 
It  seems  a  good  rule  to  always  return 
your  partner's  suit,  unless  you  are  strong 
enough  to  lead  trump,  or  hold  a  suit  that 
is  sure  to  be  established  in  one  round,  or 
is  headed  bv  the  queen-jack-ten  combi- 
nation.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A .  H.} ,  Phil- 
adelphia Press,  November  24,  1897. 

Partner,  a  Bad. — A  bad  partner 
is  one  who  is  either  naturally  an 
inferior  player,  or  one  whose  whist 
education  has  been  neglected  or 
perverted.  When  his  condition  is 
utterly  hopeless,  he  is  generally  de- 
scribed as  a  bumblepuppist  (q.  v.). 
The  only  safe  way  to  play  with  a 
bad  partner  is  to  ignore  him  and 
play  your  own  hand,  watching  in 
the  meanwhile  if  there  is  method 
in  his  badness.  It  may  be  that  he 
makes  the  same  bad  moves  every 
time  in  an}'  given  situation,  and 
even  from  these  earmarks  some 
valuable  inferences  may  be  drawn. 
In  the  meantime  do  not  needlessly 
expose  your  own  hand  to  the  ad- 
versaries by  trying  to  convey  any 
information  to  him.  You  have  an 
unscientific  and  difficult  game  to 
play,  but  try  to  play  it  without 
losing  your  temper. 

With  a  bad  partner,  what  should  influ- 
ence you  in  selecting  a  suit  to  lead  from  ? 
That  "suit  which  is  best  for  your  hand, 
considered  on  its  merits  exclusively. — 
Arthur  Campbell- Walker  [L.  £>.]. 

The  excitable  player  is  one  of  the  most 
dangerous  partners  that  you  can  sit  op- 
posite to.  You  can  never  predict  what 
blunders  he  may  not  commit. — A.  W. 


Drayson  [L+A+],  "Art  of  Practical 
Whist," 

When  you  are  unfortunately  tied  to  an 
untaught  partner,  especially  if  at  the 
same  time  you  are  pitted  against  observ- 
ant adversaries,  you  should  expose  your 
hand  as  little  as  possible,  particularly  in 
respect  of  minor  details. — "Cavendish" 
[L,  A.],  " Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist." 

I  am  confident  I  should  not  have  had  a 
gray  hair  in  my  head  these  ten  years  to 
come  if  it  were  not  for  that  wretch  who 
refused  to  lead  back  my  trump,  in  order 
that  he  might  make  one  miserable  trick 
by  a  ruflf.  The  "second  murderer,"  too, 
who  never  will  lead  twice  for  the  same 
suit,  has  aged  me  more  than  all  my  gout. 
As  to  the  tatuous  imbecile  that,  when  he 
plays  a  card,  always  looks  at  his  partner, 
and  never  once  at  the  board,  there  is  not 
a  club  in  Europe  without  some  dozens  of 
them.—  A  non. 

One  of  these  bores  is  the  "if  you  had" 
partner,  who  constantly  greets  you  with 
"if  you  had  only  done  so  and  so  we 
should  have  made  so  and  so."  My  favorite 
retort  to  the  "  if  you  had"  partner  is  to 
ask  if  he  has  ever  heard  the  story  of 
"  your  uncle  and  your  aunt."  If  he  has, 
he  does  not  want  to  hear  it  again,  and  is 
silent.  If  he  has  not,  and  innocently 
falls  into  the  trap  by  expressing  a  desire 
to  hear  it,  I  say,  in  a  solemn  voice:  "  If 
your  aunt  had  been  a  man,  she  would 
have  been  your  uncle." — "Cavendish"  [L. 
A.},  "Card-Table  Talk." 


Partner's  Hand. — The  principle 
that  partners  should  play  their 
hands  in  such  a  manner  as  to  ren- 
der each  other  the  most  efficient  aid, 
is  one  that  was  recognized  from  the 
earliest  times.  "  Study  your  part- 
ner's hand,"  was  one  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Folkestone  school, 
which  preceded  Hoyle.  "The 
more  clearly  you  demonstrate  your 
hand  to  your  partner  the  better," 
says  Mathews,  in  1804.  "  Your 
play  should  be  such  as  to  give  youf 
partner  an  insight  into  your  hand," 
is  the  advice  which  Admiral  Bur- 
ney  gives,  in  1823.  "  Major  A.," 
writing  in  1835,  has  this  to  say: 
"  The  good  player  plays  his  part- 
ner's hand  and  his  own,  or  twenty- 
six  cards;"  and  General  de  Vautre", 
in  1840,  uses  a  similar  expression, 
when  he  says:  "  I  teach  the  modfe 


PARTNERSHIP 


296 


PATENTS 


of  playing  with  twenty-six  cards, 
and  not  with  thirteen. "  "  Let 
your  play  be  as  intelligible  to  a 
good  partner  as  you  can  make  it," 
writes  "  Caelebs"  in  1851.  "  Caven- 
dish," Pole,  and  other  leaders  of 
the  modern  scientific  school  elab- 
orated the  idea,  until  by  means  of 
the  American  leads  and  other  le- 
gitimate conventions  such  perfect 
information  can  be  conveyed  be- 
tween expert  partners,  that  their 
hands  may  in  truth  be  said  to  be 
one. 

Play  as  if  partner's  hand  belongs  to 
you,  and  your  hand  belongs  to  your  part- 
ner.— Fisher  Ames  \L.  A.],  "Practical 
Guide  to  Whist."" 

In  whist  each  player  is  to  consider  his 
partner's  hand  as  well  as  his  own,  and  to 
make  the  most  of  the  combined  hands 
each  partner  must  play  a  game  which  the 
other  understands. — R.  A.  J'roctor  [L.O.]. 

What  is  the  most  important  general 
rule  to  be  borne  in  mind  by  a  whist- 
player  ?  That  he  must  consider  his  part- 
ner's hand  as  equally  important  with  his 
own,  and,  if  necessary,  sacrifice  his  own 
for  the  good  of  the  partnership. — Arthur 
Campbell- Walker  [L.  O.]. 

A  good  whist-player  takes  delight  in 
planning  for  the  play  of  his  partner's 
hand,  knowing  that  such  play  is  a  com- 
pliment to  his  skill.  To  be  able  to  read 
your  partner'  s  hand,  and  play  to  make 
Ats  cards,  is  whist  of  the  highest  order. — 
C.  D  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Modern 
Scientific  Whist." 


Partnership. — The  idea  of  part- 
nership in  the  game,  and  playing 
both  hands  as  one,  which  is  made 
one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  his  philosophy  of  whist  by  Dr. 
Pole,  was  foreshadowed  by  the 
earlier  writers  on  whist,  and  strong- 
ly emphasized  by  General  de  Vau- 
tre",  in  France,  1843,  and  a  German 
authority,  Ludwig  von  Coeckel- 
bergle-DUtzele,  whose  "  Rationelle 
Whist"  (rational  whist)  appeared 
at  Vienna  in  the  same  year.  It  was 
also  popularly  inculcated  in  a  set 
of  rhymed  rules  published  in 
France,  about  1854,  by  "  Un  Ge"u- 


€ral  d'Artillerie."  The  following 
is  an  extract  from  von  Coeckelber- 
gle-Dutzele's  work:  "In  order  to 
make  the  best  and  most  advanta- 
geous use  of  your  own  as  well  as 
of  your  partner's  hand,  you  must 
endeavor  to  find  out  what  his  cards 
are,  and  to  afford  him  similar  infor- 
mation as  to  your  own.  Both  these 
objects  are  effected  by  what  is 
called  the  language  of  the  cards 
(Kartensprache],  or  the  art  of  sig- 
naling (Signalkunst} .  The  cards 
selected  to  be  played  serve,  by  their 
relative  values,  as  telegraphic 
signs,  by  which  the  two  partners 
carry  on  a  reciprocal  communica- 
tion, and  convey  indications  as  to 
what  cards  they  hold,  as  well  as 
suggestions  of  their  respective 
views  and  wishes.  By  this  means 
they  are  enabled  to  give  better  sup- 
port to  each  other,  to  calculate 
more  easily  the  chances  of  the 
game,  and  to  anticipate  more  cor- 
rectly the  effect  of  any  particular 
play." 

It  might  be  supposed  that  as  the  part- 
nership was  so  obvious,  the  combination 
of  the  hands  would  be  a  natural  conse- 
quence (and  indeed  a  distinct  notion  of 
it  was  given  by  the  Crown  Coffee-House 
students),  but  it  was  only  by  the  earnest 
study  of  the  club  players  and  of  the  Little 
School,  after  a  century  and  a  quarter's 
existence  of  the  simple  Hoyle  game,  that 
the  combination  principle  became  fully 
established  and  applied.—  William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Partner's  Suit. — The  best  plain 
suit  in  partner's  hand;  his  long 
suit,  which  it  is  desirable  to  estab- 
lish; the  first  plain  suit  led  from  by 
him,  in  case  he  plays  the  long-suit 
game. 

Pass. — When  a  player  makes  no 
effort  to  take  a  trick,  although  able 
to  do  so,  he  is  said  to  pass.  To 
pass  a  trick  is  to  allow  it  to  go  to 
your  adversary. 

Patents.—  See,  "Whist Patents." 


PAYNE,  GEORGE 


297 


"  PEMBRIDGE  " 


Payne,  George. — A  distinguished 
English  whist-player,  who  died  Sep- 
tember 2,  1878,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
five  years.  Charles  Mossop  says  of 
him:  "No  doubt  he  was  a  good 
player  in  his  prime.  All  the  world 
said  so.  In  our  day  he  was  a  good 
player,  but  not  a  fine  player.  We 
do  not  think  that  he  was  in  the  first 
rank,  but  age  had  begun  to  tell  be- 
fore we  saw  him  play.  Winning  or 
losing,  he  was  always  genial  and 
kind.  He  was  a  strong  opponent 
and  a  good  partner." 

Payne,  William.— The  author  of 
the  second  book  on  whist  ever  pub- 
lished. It  is  thought  he  was  a 
teacher  of  mathematics.  His  work 
came  out  in  London  in  1770,  shortly 
after  Hoyle's  death,  and  was  enti- 
tled, "  Maxims  for  Playing  the 
Game  of  Whist,  with  All  Necessary 
Calculations,  and  the  Laws  of  the 
Game."  Although  it  appeared 
anonymously,  it  wt.~  referred  to  as 
"  Payne's  Maxims."  Its  contents 
were  well  arranged.  Some  of  the 
"maxims"  were  new,  and,  in  Dr. 
Pole's  opinion,  "foreshadowed  a 
more  modern  phase  of  game." 
In  the  preface  Payne  says:  "The 
game  of  whist  is  so  happily  com- 
pounded betwixt  chance  and  skill 
that  it  is  generally  esteemed  the 
most  curious  and  entertaining  of 
the  cards,  and  is  therefore  become 
a  favorite  pastime  to  persons  of  the 
first  consequence,  and  of  the  most 
distinguished  abilities.  The  great 
variety  of  hands,  and  critical  cases, 
arising  from  such  a  number  of 
cards,  renders  the  game  so  nice 
and  difficult  that  much  time  and 
practice  has  heretofore  been  neces- 
sary to  the  obtaining  a  tolerable 
degree  of  knowledge  in  it.  The 
following  maxims  were  begun  by 
way  of  memorandum  for  private 
use,  and  are  published  with  a  design 
to  instruct  beginners,  to  assist  the 


moderate  proficient,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, to  put  the  players  more  upon 
equality  by  disclosing  the  secrets 
of  the  game."  The  "maxims" 
were  incorporated  into  the  so-called 
"improved"  editions  of  Hoyle, 
published  thereafter. 

Payne  was  the  first  to  do  two 
very  important  things  in  his  work. 
He  arranged  the  rules,  or  maxims, 
under  their  proper  heads,  as 
"leader,"  "second  hand,"  "third 
hand,"  "leading  trumps,"  etc., 
and  he  added  to  each  rule  a  state- 
ment giving  his  reason  or  justifi- 
cation. 

Peculiarities    of    Players.  —  A 

player  may  not  only  have  individu- 
ality and  mannerisms,  shown  in  his 
way  of  playing,  but  he  may  have 
deeper  rooted  peculiarities  in  the 
play  itself.  He  may  adhere  to  one 
system  or  another,  or  a  combina- 
tion of  both;  he  may  play  a  system 
of  his  own,  or  abjure  all  system 
and  play  bumblepuppy.  These  are 
a  few  of  the  peculiarities  which  it 
is  necessary  to  become  acquainted 
with  as  soon  as  possible  in  sitting 
down  with  such  a  player  for  a  part- 
ner. (See,  also,  "Mannerisms.") 

Nothing  is  so  wearisome  and  worrying 
to  your  partner,  and  indeed  to  the  whole 
table,  as  that  eternal  pondering  over  your 
hand,  or  partially  drawing  out  several 
cards  before  you  play. — " Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel B."  [L.  O.]. 

After  sitting  down  at  the  table,  you 
should  infer  as  quickly  as  possible  in 
what  style  of  game  you  are  involved,  and 
the  peculiarities  of  vour  partner  and  op- 
ponents. If  watchful,  you  may  help  a 
bad  partner  to  make  tricks  in  spite  of 
himself  and  his  bad  play:  and  a  little  ob- 
servation may  reveal  some  method  in  the 
madness  of  an  adversary's  game.  With 
strangers  always  begin  by  playing  a  very 
careful  and  conventionally  accurate 
game,  watching  for  signs  of  appreciation 
and  reciprocity  from  them. — R.  f.  foster 
[S.  0%* 

"  Pern  bridge." — A  pseudonym 
under  which  John  Petch  Hewby, 


"PEMBRIDGE" 


298 


'  PEMBRIDGE 


B.  A.  Oxon.,  M.  R.  C.  S.,  wrote 
much  upon  the  subject  of  whist. 
He  was  the  eldest  son  of  William 
Hewby,  gentleman,  of  Ripon  and 
York.  He  was  graduated  from 
Worcester  College,  Oxford,  with  the 
degree  of  B.  A.,  in  1859,  and  was 
educated  as  a  surgeon  at  St. 
George's  Hospital,  London,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  Royal 
College  of  Surgeons  in  1864.  He 
was  a  keen  and  satirical  writer,  but 
mixed  so  much  humor  with  his 
satire  that  his  essays  on  whist  will 
long  be  enjoyed  even  by  those  who 
radically  disagree  with  him  in  the- 
ory. His  "Whist,  or  Bumble- 
puppy  ?' '  brought  the  latter  word 
into  such  prominence  as  a  term  for 
bad  play  that  the  "Century"  and 
"Standard"  dictionaries  placed  it 
in  their  vocabularies,  quoting  him 
as  their  authority,  and  the  future 
editions  of  the  various  dictionaries 
will  all  be  obliged  to  recognize  the 
term.  The  book,  published  in  Lon- 
don, 1880  (two  editions),  and  in 
Boston  in  1883,  is  as  full  of  humor 
as  its  title.  It  consists  of  a  series 
of  so-called  lectures  on  how  not  to 
play  whist.  A  revised  and  enlarged 
edition  appeared  in  1895.  Another 
volume,  "The  Decline  and  Fall  of 
Whist,"  published  in  London  in 
1884,  is  also  written  in  a  peculiarly 
bright  and  attractive  vein.  Al- 
though a  firm  advocate  of  the  old 
school  of  play,  and  a  bitter  oppo- 
nent of  the  "American  leads," 
' '  Pembridge"  had  the  admiration 
and  respect  of  the  entire  whist 
world.  He  died  February  i,  1896, 
of  thoracic  aneurism,  and  was  sixty- 
one  years  of  age,  as  appears  from 
the  following  memoranda  regard- 
ing himself  which  he  furnished  at 
the  request  of  Whist,  and  which 
was  published  in  that  journal  for 
March,  1895: 

"  I  was  born  sixty  years  ago  of 
stern  and  puritan  parents  who  had 


a  rooted  antipathy  to  all  games, 
and  no  pack  of  cards  was  ever 
allowed  to  cross  their  gloomy 
threshold  ;  but  as  the  twig  is  bent 
the  tree  is  not  always  inclined,  for 
under  these  unfavorable  circum- 
stances I  have  played  whist  pretty 
regularly  for  over  forty  years,  and 
during  the  last  thirty  have  won — 
or  lost — more  than  sixty  thousand 
rubbers. 

"As  a  humble  member  of  the 
school  of  'Cam,'  'Mogul,'  F.  H. 
Lewis,  and  Mossop — in  addition  to 
4  Whist,  or  Bumblepuppy  ?'  and 
'  The  Decline  and  Fall  ot  Whist'— 
in  the  Westminster  Papers^  The 
Field,  and  other  periodicals,  I  have 
made  numerous  attempts  to  leave 
my  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time. 
Even  if  introduced — in  defiance  of 
common  sense  and  the  Queen's 
English — as  an  extension  of  prin- 
ciple, I  have  been  ready  to  adopt 
any  convention  which  appeared 
conducive  to  trick-making;  but 
firmly  believing  with  Clay,  that 
'  no  rules  are  without  an  excep- 
tion' (even  the  twig  and  the  tree), 
'  and  few  more  open  to  exceptional 
cases  than  rules  for  whist,'  and 
with  my  very  old  friend  'Cam,' 
'  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an 
absolute  never  or  always,'  I  con- 
sider it  absurd  to  lay  down  hard 
and  fast  rules  embracing  all  kinds 
of  hands,  or  to  make  minute  and 
elaborate  regulations  for  a  state  of 
things  which  may  occur  once  in  a 
blue  moon.  Good  players  do  not 
require  them;  to  the  duffer  they 
are  a  mockery,  a  delusion,  and  a 
snare. ' ' 

If,  then,  we  designate  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  as  a  first-class  doubter,  we 
imply  nothing  of  reproach;  in  the  doubts 
of  such  thinkers  as  John  Fetch  Hewby  is 
to  be  found  the  confirmation  of  many 
truths.  Mr.  Hewby  is  by  nature  a  con- 
troversialist. He  loves  a  fight,  some- 
times, perhaps,  "not  wisely  but  too  well.'' 
To  this  characteristic  is  largely  due  his 
opposition  to  whist  innovations,  which 


PENALTY 


299 


PENULTIMATE 


must  be  of  a  high  order  of  merit  to  win 
his  approbation.  He  is  a  leading  repre- 
sentative of  a  school  of  whist  critics  that 
would  have  made  life  miserable  for  "  Cav- 
endish," if  he  had  not  been  equally  as 
fond  of  a  row  as  his  critics. —  Whist 
[L.  A.],  March.  1895. 

Many  persons  will  learn  with  regret  of 
the  death  of  John  Fetch  Hewby,  better 
known  as  "Pembridge,"  who  wrote 
"Whist,  or  Bumblepuppy?"  "The  De- 
cline and  Fall  of  Whist,"  and  contributed 
to  the  Westminster  Papers  some  of  their 
best  articles  on  his  favorite  game.  He 
was  a  curious  combination  of  bad  luck 
and  good  play.  So  unfortunate  was  he — 
for  periods  of  five  years  each,  he  be- 
lieved— that  he  frequented  a  small  club 
where  they  played  threepenny  points; 
just  one-tenth  of  the  popular  English 
stake,  which  is  half-a-crown.  He  was 
bitterly  opposed  to  American  leads,  plain- 
suit  echoes,  and  all  the  alleged  improve- 
ments of  "  modern"  whist.—/?.  F.  Foster 
IS.  O.],  New  York  Sun,  March  1, 1896. 


Penalty. — A  fine  or  punishment 
imposed  for  breaking  the  laws  of 
whist.  The  penalties  under  the 
English  code  are  severer  than  those 
prescribed  by  the  American  code. 
For  instance,  the  penalty  for  lead- 
ing out  of  turn  is  by  the  latter  code 
reduced  from  the  double  penalty 
of  a  call  or  lead  to  the  single  pen- 
alty of  a  lead;  and  the  penalty  for 
a  revoke  is  reduced  from  three  to 
two  tricks  to  be  taken  from  the  re- 
voking players.  (See,  "American 
and  English  Laws.") 

No  player  should  purposely  incur  a 
penalty  because  he  is  willing  to  pay  it, 
nor  should  he  make  a  second  revoke  in 
order  to  conceal  one  previously  made. — 
Etiquette  of  IVhist  {American  Code). 

Play  strictly  or  not  at  all,  and,  if  you  in- 
cur a  penalty,  pay  it  with  a  good  grace, 
and  never  dream  of  hinting  that  any 
player,  keeping  strictly  within  the  law,  is 
a  sharp  practitioner. — C.  Mossop  [L+O.], 
Westminster  Papers,  May  i,  1878. 

At  the  end  of  law  39,  American  code: 
"  If  the  wrong  adversary  demands  a  pen- 
alty, or  a  wrong  penalty  is  demanded, 
none  can  be  enforced."  The  above  is  an 
unwritten  law  of  the  English  code  as  far 
as  the  wrong  penalty  is  concerned. — 
A.  W.  Dray  son  [L+A+],  "Whist  Laws 
and  Whist  Decisions." 


In  all  cases  where  a  penalty  lias  been 
incurred  the  offender  must  await  the  de- 
cision of  the  adversaries.  If  either  of 
them,  with  or  without  his  partner's  con- 
sent, demands  a  penalty  to  which  they 
are  entitled,  such  decision  is  final.  If  the 
wrong  adversary  demands  a  penalty,  or  a 
wrong  penalty  is  demanded,  none  can  be 
enforced.  —  Laws  of  Whist  (American 
Code),  Section  39. 

There  is  no  greater  breach  of  etiquette 
than  for  an  adversary  to  attempt  to  claim 
a  penalty  to  which  he  is  not  entitled. 
Such  a  proceeding  must  be  assumed  to  be 
due  to  ignorance  only.  The  penalty  for 
such  an  incorrect  claim  is  now  very  justly 
decided  to  be  that  the  original  offender  is 
released  from  all  punishment  for  his  of- 
fense. To  play  a  game  during  many 
years  without  making  one's  self  ac- 
quainted with  the  laws  which  govern  this 
game  is  not  an  unusual  proceeding.—^. 
W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "Whist  Laws  and 
Whist  Decisions." 

Penultimate. — The  lowest  card 
but  one  of  a  suit;  a  former  name 
for  a  conventional  lead  from  a  five- 
card  suit,  first  advocated  by  ' '  Cav- 
endish," but  now  superseded  by 
the  fourth  best  (q.  v.). 

"Cavendish,"  in  an  interesting 
article  on  the  origin  of  American 
leads  (see  Whist,  January,  1894), 
tells  how  he  first  obtained  his  idea 
of  the  penultimate  lead  by  noticing 
that  the  old-fashioned  players  al- 
ways led  either  the  highest  or  low- 
est of  their  suit.  This  led  him  to 
make  several  suggestions  to  the 
Little  Whist  School  (q.  v.),  and 
that  body  decided  upon  the  play 
whereby  from  an  intermediate  se- 
quence of  three  middling  cards  the 
lowest  of  the  sequence,  instead  of 
the  lowest  of  the  suit,  was  led. 
James  Clay,  to  whom  the  matter 
was  submitted,  did  not  give  his  ap- 
proval. Several  years  later,  "  Cav- 
endish "  renewed  the  discussion  at 
the  County  Club,  in  Albemarle 
street,  and  in  the  course  of  his  ex- 
periments he  arrived  at  this  point 
of  inquiry:  "Where  is  the  lead 
from  intermediate  sequences  to 
stop?  If  the  lead  is  right  from  ten, 
nine,  eight,  or  from  nine,  eight, 


PERCEPTION 


300     PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


seven,  is  it  wrong  from  eight,  seven, 
six?  I  finally  convinced  myself," 
he  says,  "that  no  line  could  be 
drawn,  and  that  if  the  rule  of  play 
were  to  be  followed  it  must  include 
all  intermediate  sequences,  by,  as 
I  then  called  it,  extension  of  prin- 
ciple. Next,  I  got  stuck  again  over 
the  sequence  of  five,  four,  three. 
These  being  in  sequence  with  the 
two,  ought  I  to  lead  the  three  or 
the  two,  as  there  was  no  inter- 
mediate sequence.  Talking  it  over 
with  a  friend  at  the  County  Club, 
he  said,  '  Why,  Jones,  you  show 
five,  anyway,  by  leading  the  three.' 
'  Yes,'  I  replied,  'and  you  have 
helped  me  to  hit  it.  You  ought  to 
lead  the  penultimate  offive,zv/iether 
you  have  an  intermediate  sequence 
or  not.'  "  Clay  subsequently  gave 
the  lead  his  adherence,  and  it  came 
into  general  use,  although  not  with- 
out opposition  from  the  more  con- 
servative players. 

Trumping  with  the  penultimate. — Many 
players  believe  it  good  policy,  when  hold- 
ing four  or  more  trumps,  to  trump  with 
the  lowest  but  one,  in  order  to  show  their 
partner  that  they  can  take  the  force  again 
several  times,  or  to  show  their  original 
holding,  should  they  or  he  lead  trumps 
later.— R.  F.  Foster  \S.  a],  "  Whist  Tac- 
tics." 

Perception. — In  whist,  the  abil- 
ity to  perceive  what  is  in  partner's 
of  the  adversaries'  hands,  from  the 
fall  of  the  cards;  the  power  to  draw 
correct  inferences  from  the  play  of 
any  given  cards.  Quick  and  cor- 
rect perception,  sometimes  amount- 
ing almost  to  intuition,  is  one  of 
the  invariable  attributes  of  a  player 
of  the  first  rank. 

Perception  Problems. — Prob- 
lems, exercises,  or  puzzles,  intended 
to  test  and  strengthen  the  percep- 
tive powers  of  whist-players.  A 
perception  problem  consists  of  a 
partially  exposed  and  partially 
played  hand  or  deal,  of  which  the 


student  is  required  to  locate  and 
supply  the  proper  play  of  the  re- 
maining cards,  by  means  of  infer- 
ences drawn  from  that  portion  of 
the  play  which  is  made  known; 
also,  to  give  the  reason  for  his  play 
at  every  trick.  The  solving  of 
problems  of  this  kind  was  first 
brought  into  popularity  in  this 
country  by  Charles  M.  Clay  (q.  v.), 
of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  although  earlier 
examples  of  "placing  cards  at 
whist,"  as  it  was  called,  are  not 
wanting.  Proctor,  in  his  "  How  to 
Play  Whist,"  reproduces  one  from 
the  Westminster  Papers,  in  part  as 
follows: 

B's  HAND. 

6  10,  9,  6,  5  (trumps). 

V  A,  Q,  4,  2. 

A  A,  10,  8. 

0  Q,6. 

The  first  four  tricks  are  as  follows,  the 
underscored  card  winning  the  trick,  the 
card  below  it  being  the  next  one  led: 


en 

•<! 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

•c 

H 

1 

4  6 

4  J 

*  A 

*  3 

2 

^?  9 

<y  5 

<?  2 

£>  1O 

3 

8  0 

J  0 

QO 

40 

4 

J   * 

A  • 

5  * 

7  « 

After  these  four  tricks  have  been  played, 
B  is  able  to  place  every  card,  supposing 
that  all  the  players  have  followed  the 
usual  rules  of  play. 

"  What  we  have  said  about  whist- 
leads  and  two  general  rules,  one  for 
second,  the  other  for  third  player, 
suffices  to  give  a  solution  of  this 
problem,"  remarks  the  editor  of 
the  Westminster  Papers.  "  These 
are,  first,  that  second  player,  if  he 
has  a  sequence  of  two  high  cards 
and  one  small  one,  plays  the  lowest 
of  the  sequence  second  hand  on  a 
small  card  led;  secondly,  that  third 
in  hand  plays  highest  if  he  has  any 
card  higher  than  (and  not  in  se- 


PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS  301  PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


quence  with)  his  partner's  lead, 
and  no  sound  finesse  open  to  him, 
but  otherwise  plays  his  lowest." 
Proctor  points  out  that  Z  might 
hold  the  heart  king  from  anything 
that  appears  from  the  fourth  round. 
In  general,  the  problem  is  not  to 
be  compared  with  those  of  Charles 
M.  Clay. 

Mr.  Clay  first  began  contribut- 
ing perception  problems  to  Whist, 
beginning  with  the  November, 
1893,  issue.  The  hand  was  one 
actually  dealt,  and  after  four  tricks 
had  been  played  Mr.  Clay  was 
able  to  read  all  the  hands  of  the 
players,  and  after  the  fifth  trick 
he  practically  placed  all  the  cards. 
In  response  to  the  publication  of 
the  problem,  forty  answers  were 
received,  but  only  one  correct  one, 
that  of  C.  Hatch,  of  Norwalk, 
Conn.,  who  succeeded  in  naming 
every  card.  (See  Whist,  February, 
1894).  Mr.  Clay  believes  that  the 
study  of  perception  problems  is  of 
more  value  to  the  average  player 
than  dummy  problems,  and  makes 
frequent  use  of  them  in  assisting 
friends  to  a  better  knowledge  of 
whist.  His  published  contributions 
illustrate  every  important  phase  of 
actual  whist  play.  Being  a  master 
in  constructing  problems  of  this 
kind,  it  is  but  natural  that  he 
should  be  an  adept  at  solving  them; 
and  this  fact  was  demonstrated  in 
the  whist  match  by  correspondence 
(g.  v. )  instituted  by  R.  F.  Foster. 
At  the  suggestion  of  H.  S.  Stevens, 
of  the  University  Club,  Chicago,  a 
prize  was  offered  to  the  player  who 
would  be  able  to  correctly  place  the 
most  cards,  after  the  completion  of 
the  ninth  trick,  in  the  hands  played 
in  the  match.  Mr.  Stevens  was  not 
aware  that  among  the  players  was 
the  leading  whist  perceptionist  in 
the  world.  As  might  have  been 
expected,  Mr.  Clay  found  this  little 
addition  to  the  tourney  very  enjoy- 


able. He  correctly  placed  237  cards 
out  of  324,  giving  both  suit  and 
size  exactly,  and  his  reasons.  He 
also  correctly  placed  seventy  suit 
cards,  in  thirty  of  which  he  was 
unable  to  give  the  exact  size,  and 
in  forty  of  which  he  stated  the 
wrong  size.  Only  seventeen  out  of 
the  324  cards  were  misplaced  by 
him,  and  in  only  two  instances  did 
he  misplace  the  command.  That 
this  was  a  remarkable  performance 
may  further  be  judged  from  the 
fact  that  some  eighty-odd  false  cards 
were  played  in  the  first  nine  rounds 
of  the  twenty-eight  hands.  Dr. 
Richard  Lennox,  of  Brooklyn, 
came  next  in  the  contest,  placing 
62  per  cent.;  E.  C.  Howell,  third, 
with  56  per  cent. ;  H.  B.  French,  of 
Philadelphia,  fourth,  with  52  per 
cent.;  and  George  Tatnall,  of  Wil- 
mington, Del.,  fifth,  with  51  per 
cent. 

In  response  to  a  request  to  point 
out  what  he  considers  his  best  two 
problems,  Mr.  Clay  informs  us  that 
one  of  the  best,  although  not  the 
very  best  in  his  estimation,  ap- 
peared originally  in  Whist  for  Oc- 
tober-November, 1896.  We  give  it 
herewith,  as  a  representative  of 
its  kind: 

"At  the  American  Whist  Club,  of 
Boston,"  says  Mr.  Clay,  "the  in- 
closed hand  at  whist  was  played. 
When  east  led  five  of  spades  at 
trick  five,  south  exclaimed,  '  I 
can  read  and  place  all  the  rest  of 
the  cards,  substantially!"  Upon 
this  being  doubted,  the  play  was 
stopped,  and  south  wrote  down 
his  reading  of  the  hands,  which 
proved  to  be  correct.  I  send  it  as 
an  interesting  case  of  whist  per- 
ception in  actual  play.  South  was 
well  aware  that  east's  play  could 
be  interpreted  in  different  ways, 
but  that  makes  it  all  the  more  in- 
teresting, perhaps,  to  determine  the 
correct  one." 


PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS  302  PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


THE  HANDS. 

*  7,  6,  4. 
Q?  4- 

*  Q.  J,  10,  9,  7,  6. 
0  Q.J.9- 


4  K,  J,  10,  8,  2. 

Q?  K,Q,9,8,  7. 

*  3- 

0  8,2. 


W. 


N, 


S. 


*  5- 

<?  A,  J,  10,  5. 

4  A,  K. 

0  A,  K,  6,  5,  4,  3. 


*  A,  Q,  9,  3. 
V  6,  3,  2. 

*  8,  5,  4,  2. 
0  Jo,  7- 


Trump  turned,   four  of   hearts; 
east  to  lead. 


0> 

1 

£ 
i 

2 
3 

4 
5 

North. 

Bast. 

South. 

West. 

e  0 
J  o 

4  6 
*  7 

AO 

70 
IOO 
4  2 
4  4 

80 
20 
4  3 
8  * 

KO 
4  A 

4  K 

5  * 

Score:  N-S.,  i;  E-W,  12. 

Inferences  and  analysis  by  Mr. 
Clay: 

Trick  2. — The  six,  five,  four,  and 
three  of  diamonds  are  with  east. 
The  queen  is  yet  doubtful  between 
west  and  north.  West  has  called 
for  trumps. 

Trick  4. — West  has  not  queen  of 
diamonds,  or  he  would  have  dis- 
carded it  instead  of  eight  of  spades, 
because,  if  he  holds  it,  neither 
north  nor  south  has  another  dia- 
mond, and  it  would  surely  block 
east's  suit.  Hence,  west  held  origi- 


nally ten  hearts  and  spades,  both  of 
which  must  have  been  strong  suits 
to  justify  his  original  call  when  so 
weak  in  diamonds  and  clubs.  He 
probably  held  five  trumps,  with  at 
least  two  honors,  and  five  spades. 
In  this  case  the  spades  must  be 
king,  jack,  ten,  eight,  and  one 
more  small. 

Trick  5. — Why  did  not  east  lead 
trumps  to  his  partner's  call  ?  Either 
(i)  because  he  had  none,  or  (2) 
because  he  was  so  strong. 

Let  us  examine  each  in  detail: 
If  he  had  none,  his  hand  must 
have  been  six  diamonds,  five  or 
six  clubs,  and  two  or  one  spades. 

In  this  case,  north  has  four  or 
five  trumps  with  one  or  two  honors. 
But  if  east  had  held  this  hand,  he 
would  have  known  that  they  had 
commanding  strength  in  all  the 
suits,  and  certainly  would  not  have 
led  out  both  ace  and  king  of  clubs, 
but  would  have  led  spades  at  trick 
four  to  put  his  partner  in.  But  the 
ace,  followed  by  the  king,  is  some- 
times led  to  show  no  more.  Assum- 
ing this,  east  must  have  held  six 


PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS     303     PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


diamonds,  two  clubs,  four  hearts, 
and  one  spade.  The  probabilities 
are  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  latter 
reading. 

East,  then,  can  trump  spades  and 
clubs,  and  sees  that  west  can  trump 
diamonds  and  clubs,  hence  he  dis- 
regards west's  signal  and  plays  for 
a  double-ruff. 

But  to  justify  him  in  not  trying 
trumps  once,  both  his  trumps  and 
west's  must  be  high  ones,  to  pre- 
vent overtrumping  in  diamonds 
and  spades. 

Therefore,  north  holds  one  small 
heart,  queen  of  diamonds,  queen, 
jack,  ten,  nine  of  clubs,  and  three 
small  spades. 

My  only  chance  to  win  a  trick  is 
with  the  ace  of  spades,  hence  I 
must  play  it  on  east's  five. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  Mr.  Clay 
sends  us  what  he  considers  his  very 
best  problem.  Each  different  in  its 
way,  the  two  illustrate  the  subject 
of  whist  perception  in  a  most  ad- 
mirable manner: 

SOUTH'S  HAND. 

*  K,  J,  10. 
Q?  Q,  2. 

*  A,  K,  8,  4,  2. 
O  10,  9,  8. 

The  ace  of  spades  is  turned  by  north, 
and  east  leads.  The  underscored  card 
wins  the  trick  and  the  oue  under  it  is  led 
next: 


Tricks. 

North. 

East. 

South. 

West. 

I 
2 
3 

4 

5 
6 

20 
<9  6 
2  * 

*Q 

*  9 
*10 
<910 
6  0 
6  * 

*  K 

*  5 
*  6 
*  7 
<?  K 

*  A 

*  4- 
V  Q 
8  0 
10* 

<3  7 
KO 

J  0 
3  4 

8  * 

South's  hand  and  the  play  of  the  first 
six  tricks  are  given,  and  the  problem  is  to 


read  as  many  cards  as  possible,  and  play 
for  north  and  south  to  make  the  most 
possible  out  of  the  hands. 

Mr.  Clay  has  kindly  written  out 
and  fully  annoted  the  play  and  so- 
lution for  us,  as  follows : 

Trick  I. — East  has  left  jack,  ten, 
with  one  or  more  low  clubs.  The 
three  is  with  either  east  or  west;  if 
west  has  it,  he  is  either  calling  for 
trumps  or  unblocking.  North's 
suit  is  hearts. 

Trick  2. — What  shall  south  play 
at  trick  two  ?  Ordinarily  he  would 
lead  heart  queen  to  his  partner's 
declared  suit,  and,  as  the  cards  lie, 
this  would  be  the  best  play  here. 
But  he  reasons  as  follows:  "North's 
discard  of  diamond  two  shows  that 
he  is  not  strong  enough  to  signal 
for  trumps.  Had  he  been  unwill- 
ing to  be  forced,  he  would  proba- 
bly have  discarded  a  higher  card. 
He  certainly  would  have  discarded 
to  show  four  trumps,  if  he  held 
them,  and  the  make-up  of  his  hand 
would  allow.  Had  it  been  my 
original  lead,  I  should  consider  it 
better  to  go  on  with  clubs  and  give 
north  another  discard  than  to  lead 
queen  of  hearts  to  a  suit  and  hand 
as  yet  unknown. 

"However  the  hand  be  played, 
east  must  be  left  with  two  winning 
clubs,  which  can  be  killed  only  by 
north's  trumps. 

"  Only  in  the  remote  contingency 
of  our  taking  nearly  all  the  tricks 
in  all  the  other  suits  can  this  be 
prevented,  and  the  diamonds  are 
apparently  against  us."  South, 
therefore,  goes  on  with  club  ace. 

East  has  left  jack,  ten  of  clubs, 
and  west  the  seven,  three.  North 
can  hardly  be  out  of  diamonds,  as 
well  as  of  clubs.  He  has,  then,  a 
high  diamond  which  he  does  not 
wish  to  unguard,  or  ace  which  he 
does  not  wish  to  blank,  hence  does 
not  discard  another  diamond.  East 
has  no  suit  of  more  than  four. 


PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS  304  PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


Trick  3. — North,  missing  both 
three  and  two  of  clubs,  we  can  place 
that  suit  exactly.  He  has  not  more 
than  three  trumps  left. 

Trick  4. — East  has  either  jack 
heart  and  one  low,  or  jack  alone,  or 
no  more.  North's  suit  is  probably 
ace,  nine,  eight,  seven,  and  he  held 
originally  five  hearts.  Therefore 
he  must  have  held  originally  either 
three  or  four  trumps,  and  either 
five  or  four  diamonds.  The  five, 
four,  three  of  diamonds  lie,  one 
with  east  and  two  with  west. 

Trick  5. — West's  jack  of  dia- 
monds is  a  short  lead,  hence  north 
has  the  ace,  and  he  held  four  origi- 
nally, or  his  diamond  suit  would 
have  been  better  than  his  heart, 
and  he  would  have  discarded  hearts 
first.  East  has  queen,  seven  of  dia- 
monds. Of  the  five,  four,  three, 
north  has  one  and  east  two.  This 
gives  north  exactly  four  trumps. 

Trick  6. — As  each  player  holds 
five  cards  of  plain  suits,  two  trumps 
are  to  be  given  to  each.  North 
turned  the  ace,  and  his  other  is 
higher  than  the  eight.  East's  six 
is  his  lowest,  and  the  five  and  four 
are  with  west.  If  east  had  held  the 
fourchette  of  nine,  seven,  six,  he 
would  have  played  the  nine  on 
north's  eight.  So  he  has  queen, 
seven,  and  north  has  ace,  nine. 
The  cards  are  now  all  placed. 

Trick  7. — South  sees  that  to  make 
the  most  of  his  and  his  partner's 
trumps,  north  must  have  a  chance 
to  ruff  and  lead  trumps  through 
east.  A  club  lead  will  give  this 
opportunity,  and  establish  south's 
thirteenth.  On  the  sixth  trick,  west 
could  not  cover  south's  ten  of 
trumps,  so  north  knows  that  three 
honors  lie  between  south  and  east; 
and  if  east  had  held  king,  or  two 
honors,  he  would  not  have  played 
the  six  with  the  ace  turned  to  his 
right.  Even  if  he  cannot  read  the 
tenace  in  south's  hand,  north  can 


see  that  south  wants  trumps  led 
through  east  He  further  reasons 
that,  if  he  reads  south  correctly, 
the  strongest  hand  that  can  be  held 
against  him  is  queen,  seven  of 
spades;  queen,  seven  of  diamonds; 
jack  of  clubs,  and  jack  and  one  low 
heart,  by  east.  And,  even  if  all 
this  strength  is  with  east,  the  weak- 
est hand  that  south  can  hold  is 
king,  jack  of  spades,  two  of  clubs, 
ten,  nine  of  diamonds,  and  one 
low  heart.  Granting  this  worst 
possible  situation,  they  can  win 
every  other  trick  if  he  trumps  with 
the  ace  of  spades,  and  then  puts 
south  in  with  the  nine,  that  he  may 
draw  east's  last  trump  and  force  a 
discard  with  the  two  of  clubs. 

Trick  8. — North  leads  ace  of  dia- 
monds, to  leave  east's  queen  un- 
guarded, if  he  has  it,  foreseeing  the 
forced  discard  on  south's  two  of 
clubs.  If  south  has  the  queen, 
north's  play  cannot  lose,  for  he  can 
read  seven  of  diamonds,  at  least, 
with  east.  Should  south  have  only 
one  small  heart  it  would  be  dan- 
gerous to  draw  it,  and  prevent  his 
leading  that  suit  later. 

Trick  n. — East  must  now  either 
discard  queen  of  diamonds  or  un- 
guard  jack  of  hearts.  Whichever 
way  he  plays  south  plays  accord- 
ingly, and  north  and  south  win 
every  other  trick.  Summary  of  the 
last  half  of  the  play: 


Tricks. 

North. 

East. 

South. 

West 

7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

A  » 

+  J 
7  0 
7  * 
Q* 
QO 
<?  4 
9  J 

*  8 
9  0 
J  * 

*  3 
3  0 
4  * 
5  4 
4  0 
V  3 
V  5 

A  0 

9  * 
5  0 
<9  8 
V  9 
V  A 

K  * 

*  2 

100 

£?  2 

Score:  N-S,  12;  E-W,  i. 


PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS   305  PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


Mr.  Clay  having  led  the  way,  the 
construction  of  whist  perception 
problems,  as  well  as  their  solution, 
became  popular.  Among  those 
who  contributed  such  problems  to 
Whist  during  1894,  1895,  and  1896, 
we  find  the  names  of  C.  B.  With- 
erle,  of  St.  Paul,  Minn. ;  Perry  Trum- 
bull,  of  Chicago;  H.  E.  Greene, 
of  Crawfordsville,  Ind.;  E.  H. 
Hooker,  of  Milwaukee;  and  C.  D. 
P.  Hamilton,  of  Easton,  Pa. 
Among  the  prize-winners  in  solving 
them  were:  E.  C.  Howell,  C.  M. 
Clay,  W.  C.  Coe,  of  Chicago;  J.  E. 
Russell,  Jr.,  of  Greenwich,  Conn.; 
James  S.  Peckham,  of  Newport, 
R.  I.;  W.  E.  Hickox,  of  Newton- 
yille,  Mass. ;  and  James  A.  Hutch- 
ison, of  Brock ville,  Canada. 

Mr.  Witherle  contributed  two 
problems,  and  his  second  one  (ap- 
pearing in  Whist  for  July,  1894)  won 
the  admiration  of  experts  every- 
where, as  the  finest  example  of  its 
kindyetproduced.  Itwas asfollows: 
SOUTH'S  HAND. 

«>IO. 

V  10. 

*  A,  J,  9,  8,  2. 

0  J,  10,  9,  S,  7,  3- 

Trump:  Jack  of  clubs,  turned  by  south. 
Partial  play  of  the  deal  was  as  follows, 
west  leading.  The  underscored  card 
takes  the  trick;  card  under  it  is  led  next: 


in" 

1 

£ 

i 

2 
3 
4 

5 

North. 

East. 

South. 

West. 

AO 

<?  2 
*  K 

*  4 

70 
<910 

KO 

V  7 
*  3 
<?  8 

<?  4- 
4  5 
*  6 
<2  6 

*  8 
*  2 

*10 

V  3 

Required— Inferences,  and  play  of  the 
remaining  cards. 

In  determining  the  best  answer,  the 
first  point  of  judging  merit  will  be  the 
naming  of  the  cards  correctly  as  actually 
distributed  in  the  deal,  or  the  nearest  ap- 
proach thereto.  The  second  point  of 
merit  will  be  the  best  notes  of  the  play. 

20 


That  the  nut  was  a  hard  one  to 
crack  may  be  inferred  from  some 
of  the  letters  received  and  pub- 
lished in  the  succeeding  number  of 
Whist.  Said  one  aggrieved  cor- 
respondent: "  This  is  called  '  whist 
perception,'  and  yet  it  is  impossible 
to  locate  the  spade  suit,  except  by 
mere  guesswork.  We  are  given 
the  location  of  the  ten-spot  in  the 
hand  of  south,  but  no  play  of  the 
suit  in  the  tricks  exposed.  Now, 
whilst  it  is  easy  to  place  the  num- 
ber of  the  suit  held  in  each  of  the 
three  unknown  hands,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  name  the  value  of  the  cards 
held  by  each.  Would  it  not  be  just 
as  sensible  to  offer  a  prize  for  the 
nearest  guess  at  the  number  of 
seeds  in  a  pumpkin  ?  What  sort  of 
perception  is  required  in  a  guessing 
contest?"  There  was  a  great  sur- 
prise in  store  for  "  R.  L.  M."  when 
the  correct  answer  was  published, 
and  he  found  that  all  the  important 
cards  necessary  to  the  best  play  of 
the  deal  by  north  and  south  could  in 
fact  be  located  by  good  whist  per- 
ception. Another  correspondent 
wished  to  know  whether  it  was 
necessary  to  take  American  leads 
as  a  guide  in  solving  the  problem. 
He  was  informed  that  "  a  problem 
based  on  the  simplest  principles  of 
American  leads  would  not  engage 
the  attention  of  our  best  analysts. 
In  order  to  prove  interesting,  there 
must  be  grounds  for  radical  depart- 
ure from  what  at  first  sight  might 
appear  the  natural  order  of  play. 
The  leads  are  only  one  factor  in  the 
game  of  whist;  the  drop  of  the 
cards,  whether  indicating  good  or 
bad  play,  is  a  great  factor,  and 
there  are  many  other  features  to 
tax  the  vigilance  of  the  student. 
To  succeed  he  must  examine  every 
consideration,  and  then  draw  the 
most  rational  conclusions. ' '  It  was 
also  intimated  that  the  only  way 
that  south  can  read  north's  hand, 


PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS  306  PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS 


in  the  problem,  is  by  knowing  or  as- 
suming that  north  has  read  south's 
hand.  Another  great  feature  (not 
mentioned  in  the  analysis)  is  that 
south  trumps  at  trick  five,  in  order  to 
get  rid  of  what  would  prove  a  super- 
fluous trump  and  finally  lose  a  trick. 
Out  of  twenty-two  answers  re- 
ceived in  all,  only  three  were  cor- 
rect. These  were  sent  in  by  John 
H.  Briggs,  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.;  Wil- 
liam Hudson,  of  the  same  city;  and 
C.  Hatch,  of  Norwalk,  Conn.  The 
latter  was  awarded  the  prize,  and 
Whist,  in  giving  his  solution,  com- 
mented as  follows  upon  the  prob- 
lem: "This  is  without  exception 
the  finest  perception  problem  that 
we  have  ever  seen,  and  was  given 
our  readers  to  illustrate  what  can 
be  accomplished  when  there  is  per- 
fect confidence  between  partners. 
Most  players,  when  partner  makes 
an  unusual  play,  are  too  apt  to  im- 
mediately jump  at  the  conclusion 
that  he  is  making  a  mistake.  In 
this  case  south  gave  north  credit  for 
having  a  reason  for  his  unusual 
play;  he  stopped  to  infer  what  that 
reason  might  be,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  such  a  play  on 
north's  part  would  only  be  justified 
by  his  having  the  entire  command 
of  spades  and  hearts.  He  therefore 
willingly  abandoned  his  own  game 
and  played  for  partner.  The  result 
is  a  remarkably  well-played  hand." 
Charles  M.  Clay  paid  this  tribute  to 
the  problem,  before  the  solution 
was  made  known:  "I  consider  it 
the  finest  problem  I  have  ever  seen. 
Its  unusual  merit  consists,  it  seems 
to  me,  not  merely  in  reading  the 
cards,  but  in  making  north  and 
south  read  each  other's  plans  and 
strategy.  It  is  whist  of  the  very 
highest  order,  and  requires  a  master 
of  the  game  alike  for  its  conception 
and  its  solution.  I  shall  watch 
with  much  interest  to  see  how  many 
solve  it  correctly." 


Mr.  Hatch's  solution  follows: 


Tricks. 

North. 

East. 

South. 

West. 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
IS 

J   * 

3  + 

5  * 
7  * 
9  + 
<?  J 
V  Q 
*  7 
*Q 

»  9 
10* 
3  0 
8  0 
00 

100 

J  0 

*  J 

<?  5 
2  « 

4  * 

6  * 
8  * 
<?  9 
2  0 
6  0 
QO 

A  * 

K  * 

Q  * 

V  A 
V  K 

5  0 
40 

*  A 

Score:  N-S,  12;  E-W,  i. 

Trick  i. — West  begins  the  play 
with  the  king  of  diamonds,  show- 
ing queen  and  two  below  it.  North 
reads  jack,  ten,  nine,  eight,  and 
one  smaller  than  the  seven  of  dia- 
monds with  south,  and  notes  his 
call  for  trumps.  South  locates  two 
small  diamonds  with  north. 

Trick  2. — East  opens  his  hand 
with  the  four  of  hearts,  and  is  evi- 
dently not  very  strong  in  the  suit. 
South  plays  the  ten,  west  the  seven, 
north  the  deuce.  South  credits 
north  with  strength  in  both  the 
heart  and  spade  suits,  and  notes 
that  he  does  not  "echo"  to  his 
"call."  He  infers  from  west's  drop 
of  the  seven  that  he  is  unblocking. 

Trick  3. — South  leads  his  fourth- 
best  trump,  the  eight  of  clubs; 
west  drops  the  three,  north  the 
king,  and  east  the  five.  The  deuce 
of  clubs  is  marked  with  south. 

Trick  4. — North  returns  the  ten 
of  trumps;  east  drops  the  six,  south 
the  deuce,  and  west  discards  the 
eight  of  hearts.  The  queen  and 
seven  of  clubs  are  marked  in  east's 
hand,  and  the  nine  and  a  small 
heart  with  west.  West  must  have 
two  hearts  remaining,  for  it  would 
be  bad  play  to  retain  but  one  when 
it  is  evident  to  him  that,  with  his 


PERMANENT  TRUMP          307 


PERMUTATION 


weak  hand,  he  must  play  for  his 
partner's,  and  that  it  will  require 
at  least  another  round  to  clear  it. 
West  is  marked  with  four  spades. 
South  perceives  that  if  north  has 
the  three  of  hearts  he  can  read 
every  player's  holdings  in  that  suit, 
and  also  determine  the  number  of 
spades  held  by  each. 

Trick  5. — North  leads  the  three 
of  hearts,  east  plays  the  six.  The 
lead  of  the  three  of  hearts  is  very 
informatory  to  south.  It  reveals 
the  fact  that  north  has  located  all 
the  hearts,  that  east  and  west  have 
each  four  spades,  south  but  one, 
and  no  heart. 

Now,  what  interpretation  should 
south  put  on  the  evident  intention 
of  north  to  force  him  at  this  stage 
of  the  game?  Does  not  north  say: 
"  Partner,  abandon  any  attempt  to 
bring  in  diamonds;  play  my 
game;  accept  the  force;  lead  a 
spade,  which  must  be  my  suit,  and 
I  will  assume  the  responsibility  for 
the  result." 

No  other  reasoning  can  justify  to 
south  his  partner's  radical  departure 
from  south's  original  scheme  of 
bringing  in  his  own  suit. 

Acting  on  this  conclusion,  south 
leads  a  spade,  after  trumping  the 
heart,  and  finds  that  his  partner 
holds  the  ace,  king,  queen,  jack, 
and  the  ace,  king  of  hearts.  The 
subsequent  play  is  simple.  North 
wins  the  trick  with  the  jack  of 
spades,  and  leads  successively  the 
ace,  king,  queen,  and  the  ace  and 
king  of  hearts,  upon  which  south 
discards  all  his  diamonds,  leaving 
him  at  the  twelfth  trick  with 
the  ace-jack  tenace  over  east's 
queen  and  seven  of  clubs,  and 
north  and  south  win  all  the  tricks 
but  one. 

Permanent  Trump. — See,  "De- 
clared Trump,"  and  "  National 
Trump." 


Permutation. — In  mathematics, 
the  arrangement  of  things  in  every 
possible  order.  Permutation  has 
been  found  useful  in  whist  analysis, 
in  determining  the  value  of  certain 
hands  or  play.  In  Whist  for  March, 
1897,  a  writer  who  signs  himself 
"  D.  R.  W. "  advocates  permutation 
as  a  means  of  settling  such  ques- 
tions. He  says: 

•"The  careful  and  conscientious 
play  of  open  hands,  preferably  un- 
der the  supervision  of  advocates  of 
each  side  of  a  controversy,  is  far 
more  valuable  than  competitive 
play  or  ex  cathedra  opinions.  There 
are  many  reasons  why  this  paradox- 
ical fact  is  true.  The  principal 
reason  is  that  the  margin  of  gain 
or  loss  arising  from  disputed  modes 
of  play  is  very  much  smaller  than 
the  range  in  the  score  due  to  what 
Drayson  calls  '  clerical  errors, '  and 
unskillful  end  play. 

"Speaking  broadly,  the  main 
elements  that  affect  the  score  of 
any  given  hand  are  the  relative 
distributions  of  trump  strength, 
plain-suit  strength,  and  tenace 
strength.  If  an  experimenter  sys- 
tematically alters  the  positions  of 
three  hands  of  a  given  deal,  so  as 
to  distribute  these  elements  in  as 
many  different  ways  as  possible 
with  regard  to  the  remaining  hand, 
results  derived  from  that  deal  are 
far  more  reliable,  more  truly  typical 
of  an  infinite  number  of  deals, 
than  results  derived  from  the  same 
number  of  experiments  made  at 
random. 

"  Let  A  be  the  hand  of  the  orig- 
inal leader,  in  an  experimental 
deal,  and  let  Y,  B,  and  Z  represent 
the  other  three  hands.  These  three 
hands  can  occupy  six,  and  only  six, 
positions  with  relation  to  one 
another  and  to  the  hand  of  the 
original  leader.  This  scheme  of 
six  positions  or  permutations  was 
given  in  the  December  number  of 


PERMUTATION 


308 


PERMUTATION 


Whist,   and  is  here  repeated  for 
convenience: 

Y  z  B 

A  (i)  B    A  (2)  Y    A  (3)  Z 
Z  B  Y 


Y 

A  (4)  Z 
B 


B  Z 

A  (5)  Y    A  (6)  B 
Z  Y 


"  Mathematicians  tell  us  that  any 
one  of  these  situations  is  precisely 
as  likely  as  any  other.  Note  that 
the  three  non-leading  hands  rotate 
in  the  direction  of  the  hands  of  a 
watch,  up  to  the  fourth  permuta- 
tion, when  A's  adversaries  exchange 
hands,  and  the  rotation  takes  place 
as  before.  Observing  this  facili- 
tates the  use  of  the  method. 

"  Suppose  two  whist  books  are  to 
be  compared.  The  investigator 
'crams'  on  the  two  books  till  he 
feels  competent  to  play  each  sys- 
tem, emphasizing  in  his  mind  the 
points  of  difference  between  the 
authors.  He  deals  a  pack  of  cards 
into  four  open  hands,  makes  A  and 
his  partner  play  first  one  system 
and  then  the  other,  carefully  and 
conscientiously,  according  to  the 
development,  the  adversaries  alter- 
nating with  the  rival  system.  He 
records  the  tricks  gained  by  A  and 
his  partner  under  each  system,  ro- 
tates the  three  non-leading  hands 
into  the  position  indicated  by  the 
second  permutation  above,  plays 
the  hands  twice  as  before,  and  so 
on,  until  the  twelve  trials  are  com- 
pleted. These  experiments  are  to 
be  repeated  with  other  shufflings 
until  one  system  of  play  shows  it- 
self a  sure  gainer.  Permutational 
trials  would  ordinarily  be  convinc- 
ing, whereas  the  same  number  or  a 
much  larger  number  of  unsystem- 
atic trials  would  be  merely  persua- 
sive at  best.  At  any  crucial  point 
where  two  modes  of  play  require  a 
different  card  to  be  played,  from 
any  given  hand,  the  greater  efficacy 


of  one  card  over  the  other  is  usually 
made  too  prominent,  or  not  promi- 
nent enough,  by  reason  of  some 
accidental  peculiarity  of  strength 
or  weakness  in  the  hand  of  partner 
or  adversary.  When  the  hands  of 
partner  and  adversaries  are  made 
to  occupy  all  possible  relations  to 
one  another,  the  difficulty  is  min- 
imized. 

"The  twelve  trials  necessary  to 
1  permute  '  an  ordinary  hand  take 
about  two  hours.  Permutation  is 
a  practical  arbitrator  of  great  value, 
and  will  solve  almost  any  disputed 
point  of  play,  not  only  in  whist, 
but  also  in  any  other  scientific  card 
game." 

Commenting  on  the  above,  R.  F. 
Foster,  the  well-known  whist  ex- 
pert and  author,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing discouraging  comments: 
"  In  his  suggestions  for  permuting 
whist  hands,  in  order  to  analyze 
them,  'D.  R.  W.'  entirely  over- 
looks a  very  important  factor 
in  the  result,  the  turn-up  trump. 
There  is  nothing  new  about  his 
idea,  as  he  will  find  if  he  will 
turn  to  page  120  of  my  '  Whist 
Strategy,'  in  which  I  give  the 
result  of  my  permutation  of  the 
forty  illustrative  hands  in  '  Caven- 
dish." That  was  done  in  1889, 
eight  years  ago.  I  have  since  found 
such  permutation  of  no  use  for 
general  purposes,  because  it  brings 
about  positions  which  are  not  in 
accord  with  mathematical  expecta- 
tion. If  it  were  the  dealer's  hand 
that  remained  untouched,  and  the 
three  others  that  were  permuted, 
there  might  be  something  in  it; 
but  your  correspondent  overlooks 
the  fact  that  the  moment  he  de- 
prives the  dealer  of  his  turn-up 
trump,  or,  what  amounts  to  the 
same  thing,  gives  his  entire  hand 
to  some  other  player,  he  upsets  all 
the  conditions  governing  the  orig- 
inal lead. 


V 


PERMUTATION 


otate 
of  a 
uta- 


);^^-:y     fcu'i 

u  'Xcachers 

"  Suppose  two  whist  books  are  to 
be  compare*!  The  investigator 
'crams'  on  the  two  books  till  he 

Mrs.  Lititen  C.  Noel. 
tetn,  emphasizing  in  his  mind  the 
points   of   difference    between  the 

leals  a  paclMtfJciTd'H 
into  fonr  open  hands,  makes  A  and 


of  one  card  over  the  other  is  usually 
made  too  prominent,  or  not  promi- 
nent enough,  by  reason  of  some 
accidental  peculiarity  of  strength 
or  weakness  in  the  hand  of  partner 
or  adversary.  When  the  hands  of 
partner  and  adversaries  are  made 
to  occupy  all  possible  relations  to 
one  another,  the  difficulty  is  min- 
imized. 

"The  twelve  trials  necessary  to 
4  permute  '  an  ordinary  hand  take 
about  two  hours.  Permutation  is 
a  practical  arbitrator  of  great  value, 
and  will  solve  almost  any  disputed 
point  of  play,  not  only  in  whist, 
but  also  in  any  othtr  scientific  card 

of  Whist. 

Ftxtrr.  tht  u-cii-k:;  •«>:  schist  ex- 
pert an»i  *uth«»r.  "»i«»-"  'He  fol- 
lowing dj,sc<>ur«v"4  •"•^'  .'"-.nits: 

Mrs.  Wm.  Henry  Newbold 
whist   hands,   in  order  to  analyze 
them,    '  1).     R,   \W    entirely  ovet- 
.  Andrews,   very    important 
in     the    result,  the  tv.rn-up  trump. 
There  ijsnothiniL,  new    about  his 
i.i  ¥.>ss,Fwicft?iS.  rfiallsrruc 
turn  to     page  720    of   my  'Whist 
Strategy,'    in    which    I    give     the 
result   of    my  permutation    of    the 
forty  illustrative  hands  in  '  Caven- 
dish.'    That    wa*    none 


into 


pelf  a  stire  jpim.".  }*•  .;^u,na! 
trials  woald  ordiir  *•  ••  '.^vine- 
ing,  whereas  the  satr«'  mi>-;'>er  t>i  * 
much  larger  number  of  nn^yifrro- 
atic  trials  xvould  he  niereiy  pT«u«- 
sive  at  best.  At  any  crucial  ]x>tnt 
where  two  modes  of  pi  113*  require  A 
difT'-rrnt  card  to  be  pHved,  from 
anv  v\-  (:<\  hand,  the  greater  ( fiicacv 


nip 

1C 


I  have  since  found 
•n  of  no  u«w-  for 
>.  because  it  brings 
wlni  h  />rtr  not  in 
'iiM'iuri-.-rtl  expecta- 
tlu  •  !?. -.ler's  hand 
i,  and  the 
permuted, 
'n  it; 
overlooks 
t  he  de- 
tuni-up 
t-1  the 
:«.-  hand 


PERSONAL  SKILL 


309         PETTES,  GEORGE  W. 


"  It  is  well-known  that  the  aver- 
age distribution  of  the  trumps  is 
3.060  for  each  of  the  non-dealers, 
and  3.820  for  the  dealer.  But  if 
the  hands  are  permuted,  the  orig- 
inal leader,  A,  instead  of  having  to 
consider  the  advisability  of  leading 
up  to  a  player  that  will  hold  an 
average  of  3.820  trumps  will  be 
leading  up  to  an  average  of  3. 166 
only,  if  the  dealer's  hand  is  given 
to  B  and  Y  two-thirds  of  the  time." 

To  this  "  D.  R.  W."  issues  a  re- 
joinder in  Whist  (July,  1897),  in 
which  he  disclaims  that  his  idea 
was  intended  to  be  advanced  as 
new,  and  then  proceeds  to  maintain 
his  position  as  follows:  "  It  is  easy 
to  test  two  whist  books,  or  two 
rival  modes  of  play,  and  allow  for 
the  turning  of  a  trump.  This  al- 
lowance is  a  special  application  of 
the  method,  and  is  made  by  mere- 
ly calling  A  the  dealer  instead  of 
the  original  leader,  letting  him  re- 
tain the  dealer's  hand  and  the 
turn-up  during  the  experiment,  «. 
and  always  leading  originally  from 
the  hand  at  A's  left.  *  *  *  The 
committee  on  system  of  play  are 
respectfully  assured  that  there  is 
more  in  it  than  in  competitive 
play,  'jawbone,'  and  guess  com- 
bined, if  the  experiments  be  jointly 
made  by  advocates  of  two  substan- 
tially different  systems  of  play,  be- 
fore a  fair-minded  referee." 

Personal  Skill.— See,  "Skill." 
Peter. — See,  "Trump  Signal." 

Peterborough,  Lord. — A  famous 
gamester,  whose  losses  at  whist,  on 
a  certain  night  in  the  year  1810, 
or  thereabouts,  are  popularly  said 
to  have  given  rise  to  short  whist. 
The  incident  occurred  in  one  of 
the  fashionable  English  clubs. 
Lord  Peterborough  had  suffered 
bad  luck  and  lost  a  large  sum  of 


money.  The  hour  was  late,  but  in 
order  to  give  the  loser  an  opportu- 
nity to  recoup  himself  (or,  per- 
haps, to  lose  still  quicker),  it  was 
proposed  to  cut  the  game  down 
from  ten  to  five  points.  The  result 
was  so  gratifying,  although  we  are 
not  informed  to  which  side,  that 
short  whist  was  born  then  and 
there,  and  soon  spread  with  amaz- 
ing rapidity. 

We  are  not  informed  how  Lord  Peter- 
borough personally  was  pleased  with  the 
new  game,  since,  because  of  the  dimidi- 
ating process,  he  might  have  been  de- 
prived of  his  guineas  more  speedily  than 
before;  but  it  matters  not.  Sothatmoney 
changed  hands  rapidly,  the  Englishmen 
were  delighted.— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.], 
"American  Whist  illustrated." 

Pettes,  George  W.— The  leader 
of  what  was  by  him  named  the 
"American"  school  of  whist,  which 
had  many  followers  up  to  the  time 
when  Trist  and  "Cavendish"  in- 
troduced American  leads,  where- 
upon the  "Cavendish"  school 
became  the  American  school  of 
play.  Mr.  Pettes  himself  accepted 
the  American  leads,  but  insisted 
upon  retaining  certain  modifica- 
tions peculiar  to  himself,  as  follows: 
Leading  the  ace  also  from  ace, 
queen,  ten,  nine,  and  from  ace, 
jack,  ten,  nine;  leading  queen  from 
queen,  jack,  and  two  below  the 
seven,  and  from  queen,  jack,  nine, 
and  two  or  more;  leading  jack  from 
jack,  ten,  nine,  and  one  or  more, 
and  from  jack,  ten,  and  two  small; 
leading  the  ten  from  ace,  king, 
queen,  jack,  ten;  from  king,  queen, 
jack,  ten,  and  one  or  more,  and 
from  king,  jack,  ten,  and  one  or 
more;  treating  the  nine  as  a  high 
card,  and  leading  it  from  king, 
jack,  nine,  with  or  without  others 
(excepting  ace  and  queen).  All  of 
these  have  since  fallen  into  disuse. 

George  William  Pettes  was  born 
in  Providence,  R.  I,,  August  8, 


PETTES,  GEORGE  W.    310    PETTES,  GEORGE  W. 


1821,  and  was  the  only  son  of  Dr. 
Joseph  Bass  and  Susan  ( Lawrence) 
Pettes.  Under  the  instruction  of 
Principal  Hartshorn,  head  of  one 
of  the  noted  schools  of  the  city,  he 
was  fitted  for  Brown  University, 
which  he  entered  two  years  in  ad- 
vance of  his  class.  About  this  time 
a  temporary  trouble  with  his  eye- 
sight obliged  him  to  relinquish  his 
studies,  but  the  cultivation  of  his 
inherited  literary  tastes  and  gifts 
did  not  end  with  his  college  da3rs. 
He  entered  business  life  for  a  time, 
but  not  finding  it  congenial  he  ap- 
plied himself  to  literature  and  jour- 
nalism. He  was  at  different  times 
connected,  editorially  and  other- 
wise, with  the  Boston  dailies,  and 
was  also  a  frequent  contributor  to 
other  journals  in  New  England  and 
the  West.  His  first  engagement 
was  with  the  Daily  Bee,  a  leading 
paper  of  Boston  at  that  time,  and 
he  served  as  its  editor  for  a  number 
of  years.  At  the  age  of  forty  he 
had  attained  considerable  celebrity, 
and  entered  the  lecture  field.  He 
was  considered  a  graceful  poet  and 
pleasant  speaker.  In  1878  he  was 
back  at  newspaper  work,  as  an 
editorial  writer  on  the  staff  of  the 
Boston  Daily  Advertiser.  On  re- 
tiring from  that  paper  he  resumed 
the  quiet  literary  life  for  which  he 
so  much  longed,  and  continued  his 
favorite  study  of  whist  As  a  result 
he  published  in  October,  1880.  the 
first  original  book  on  whist  written 
by  an  American  author.  It  was 
called  "  American  Whist,"  and 
eight  editions  of  it,  all  told,  of 
various  sizes,  have  been  issued. 
His  next  work ,  ' '  Whist  Universal, ' ' 
appeared  in  August,  1887,  and  ran 
through  four  editions.  Then  came 
"American  Whist  Illustrated,"  in 

1890,  of  which   ten  editions  have 
been    published.      Of    "Whist    in 
Diagrams,"    which     appeared     in 

1891,  we  are  informed,  out  one  edi- 


tion was  sold.  As  can  readily  be 
seen  from  the  above  enumeration, 
Mr.  Pettes,  by  means  of  his  books, 
exerted  a  widespread  influence  on 
the  game  in  this  country,  and  this 
was  supplemented  by  his  writings 
in  the  daily  press,  in  which  he  was 
the  first  to  establish  a  regular  whist 
department.  He  edited  such  de- 
partments in  the  Boston  Herald, 
Boston  Transcript,  and  Chicago 
Inter-Ocean.  He  did  not  sign  his 
full  name  to  his  articles,  nor  in  his 
books,  using  his  initials,  ' '  G.  W. 
P.,"  which  thus  became  a  sort  of 
nom  deplume. 

Although  standing  on  high 
ground  and  maintaining  views  con- 
sidered rather  arbitrary  by  many  of 
his  critics,  Mr.  Pettes  was,  person- 
ally, a  genial,  large-hearted,  and 
companionable  man.  His  death 
occurred  suddenly  on  March  18, 
1892,  and  was  due  to  heart  disease. 
His  last  article  on  whist,  written 
for  the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  was 
received  at  the  office  of  that  paper 
a  few  hours  before  the  telegraphic 
announcement  of  his  decease. 

Whether  discussing  financial  topics  or 
his  favorite  pastime,  whist,  he  was  al- 
ways interesting.  He  was  best  known 
for  his  intelligent  and  judicious  discus- 
sion of  this  noblest  of  all  games.  Whist 
is  suggestive  of  English  drawing-rooms, 
and  for  a  long  time  the  authorities  of  the 
g_ame  were  English.  The  idea  of  a  distinc- 
tively American  whist  would  have  been 
scouted  and  sneered  at,  much  as  Sydney 
Smith  sneered  at  American  books  But 
within  a  few  years  there  has  not  only 
come  to  be  an  American  whist,  but  it  has 
gradually  arrived  at  the  honor  ol  being 
conceded  by  the  best  whist-players  of  Eu- 
rope, as  well  as  our  own  country,  to  be  a 
decided  improvement  upon  any  other.  No 
man  in  America  did  more  to  make  whist 
popular  than  the  late  George  W.  Pettes. 
— Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  March,  1892 

Mr.  Pettes  was  the  most  voluminous 
writer  on  the  game,  and  largely  caused 
the  popularity  it  now  enjoys.  Possessed 
of  wonderful  diction,  his  writings  sparkle 
with  the  brilliance  of  genius  and  force 
applause,  while  riveting  the  attention  of 
thinking  minds.  He  was  a  vigorous  con- 
troversialist, with  an  ability  to  give  and 


PETTES,  GEORGE  W.          311        PHENOMENAL  HANDS 


take  hard  knocks  that,  provoking  the 
admiration  of  those  who  differed  with 
him,  endeared  him  to  his  friends.  *  *  * 
However  defective  his  methods  may  have 
been,  he  believed  he  was  right,  and,  be- 
lieving so,  defended  his  position  with  all 
the  vigor  of  a  master  mind.  A  thinker 
himself,  his  incisive  logic,  ready  wit,  and 
pungent  sarcasm  stimulated  to  thought, 
all  the  more  when  he  could  not  convince; 
and  for  this  American  whist  men  owe 
him  an  undying  debt  of  gratitude. — 
Casstus  M.  Paine  [L.A.],  Whist,  April, 
1892. 

He  was  devoted  to  the  game  in  all  of  the 
higher  resources  it  contains,  and  -would 
admit  no  middle  ground,  no  trifling  with 
or  perversion  of  its  resources  for  mere 
careless  pastime.  He  was  inflexible  in 
this  regard,  and  in  his  views  of  the  proper 
whist  system,  and,  in  many  cases,  he  es- 
tranged clubs  and  players  through  his 
unbending  will  upon  points  at  issue.  But 
in  all  regards  he  was  sincere  in  his  views, 
and  at  all  times  prepared  to  maintain 
them.  His  system  is  logical  and  defensi- 
ble, but  it  is  considered  unnecessarily  de- 
tailed, too  minutely  elaborated,  and 
therefore  unnecessarily  intricate,  by  the 
body  of  better  rank  players.  Mr.  Pettes 
was  himself  a  strong  player,  but  a 
stronger  whist  analyst.  His  analyses  of 
exceptional  hands  and  plays,  or  in  fact 
of  any  whist  play,  coup,  or  situation,  were 
masterly  and  very  rarely  at  fault,  even 
when  there  was  partisan  controversy. 
*  *  *  His  strong  personality  and  posi- 
tiveness  marked  all  of  his  current  writ- 
ings, and  he  neither  favored  friend  nor 
feared  opponent,  and  he  was  ready  at  all 
times  to  do  battle  for  his  favorite  theo- 
ries. His  very  antagonisms  have  done  a 
great  deal  to  build  up  and  unify  whist  in- 
terests through  the  discussions  they  have 
aroused.  *  *  *  In  his  personal  rela- 
tions Mr.  Pettes  was  very  genial  and  com- 
panionable. He  spent  a  week  here  in 
the  summer  of  1890  at  Paxinosa  Inn,  and 
the  whist  played  there  between  him  and 
his  partner,  George  W.  Parker,  and  the 
Easton  players  is  a  matter  of  record. 
There  were  frequent  sittings,  too,  before 
and  afterwards,  between  them  in  Boston. 
The  relations  between  Mr.  Pettes  and  the 
Easton  players  were  always  cordial,  and 
their  meetings  were  looked  forward  to 
with  mutual  pleasure. — C.  S.  Boutcher  [L. 
A.],  Easton  Free  Press,  March  ig,  1892. 

It  is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  so 
able  a  writer  as  Mr.  Pettes  should  have 
started  out  with  a  false  principle,  and 
should  have  spent  ten  years  and  four  vol- 
umes building  upon  a  bad  foundation. 
His  theory  of  whist  was  that  the  mere 
winning  or  losing  of  the  tricks  was  quite 
unimportant,  and  that  the  manner  in 
which  the  cards  were  played,  the  informa- 


tion conveyed  by  their  fall,  and  the  abil- 
ity of  a  player  to  distinguish  the  position 
of  the  trey  from  the  location  of  the  deuce, 
went  to  make  up  the  highest  order  of 
whist.  Winning  or  losing  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it;  ^yet  his  universal  penalty  for 
any  infraction  of  the  rules  was  the  loss  of 
a  point.  A  careful  study  of  his  published 
works,  and  the  whist  column  he  edited 
for  two  years  in  the  Boston  Herald,  forces 
one  to  the  conclusion  that  Mr.  Pettes  was 
one  of  the  most  self-deceived  men  that 
ever  took  up  the  pen  as  a  writer  on  the 
game.  He  was  a  worshiper  of  Descha- 
pelles,  and  published  hands  alleged  to 
have  been  played  by  him  in  which  the 
French  master  was  made  to  use  American 
leads,  although  he  died  forty  years  before 
they  were  invented.  He  was  a  great  ad- 
mirer of  Trist,  but,  strange  to  say,  bit- 
terly opposed  to  "  Cavendish."  His  whist 
gods  were  number-showing  leads,  plain- 
suit  echoes.unblocking,  fantastic  finesses, 
and  extraordinary  coups  and  underplays. 
No  better  indication  of  his  whist  views 
can  be  given  than  the  fact  that  he  did 
everything  in  his  power  to  discourage  du- 
plicate, because  that  form  of  the  game  was 
based  on  the  principle  that  with  equal 
cards  the  winners  of  the  most  tricks  were 
considered  the  better  players.  This  Pet- 
tes would  never  admit.  He  insisted  that 
two  men  might  play  their  cards  so  beau- 
tifully as  to  stamp  them  as  whist  geniuses 
of  the  highest  order,  and  yet  lose  twenty 
or  thirty  tricks  in  forty-eight  hands.  He 
claimed  the  only  test  of  whist  ability  was 
to  submit  the  recorded  play  to  an  expert 
for  judgment,  and  he  naively  added  that 
he  was  the  only  person  living  capable  of 
rendering  such  judgment.  And  let  it  be 
said  to  his  credit  that  he  preached  what 
he  practiced,  for  during  the  entire  exist- 
ence of  the  Deschapelles  Club,  which  he 
organized  in  Boston,  and  of  which  he  was 
the  leading  spirit,  he  always  had  the  low- 
est score,  although  he  played  the  best 
whist.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Monthly  Il- 
lustrator, 1897. 

Phenomenal  Hands. — When  we 
remember  that  there  is  one  chance 
out  of  158,750,000,000  that  the 
dealer  may  hold  thirteen  trumps 
in  a  hand  at  whist,  and  that  the 
chance  of  each  of  the  other  three 
players  also  holding  thirteen  cards 
of  a  suit  is  much  more  remote,  the 
following  certificate  becomes  a  most 
interesting  document: 

BROOKLYN,  June  25,  1894. 

This  is  to  certify  that  in  a  game  of  whist 
played  between  the  four  gentlemen  below 
named,  at  the  Montauk  Club.of  Brooklyn, 


PHENOMENAL  HANDS   312   PHENOMENAL  HANDS 


on  Monday  evening,  June  25,  1894,  Mr. 
Anderson  dealt  the  cards  from  a  well- 
shuffied  pack,  turned  the  trey  of  spades, 
dealt  Mr.  Young  thirteen  hearts,  Mr. 
Lyles  thirteen  clubs,  Mr.  Hodenpyl  thir- 
teen diamonds,  and  himself  twelve 
spades. 

[Signed]     THEODORE  D.  ANDERSON, 
JAMKS  E.  YOUNG, 
J.  H.  LYLES, 
A.  J.  G.  HODENPYL. 
Witnesses:  J.  M.  Rider,  W.  Stratton,  M. 
D.,  W.  P.  Callaghan,  George  A.  La  Vie. 

It  is  asserted  that  a  hand  of  this 
kind  was  also  dealt  at  the  United 
Service  Club,  at  Calcutta,  India,  in 
January  (some  accounts  have  it 
February),  1888.  Those  at  the  table 
were  Mr.  Justice  Norris  and  three 
physicians,  and  the  occurrence  was 
duly  vouched  for  by  all  present 

W.  P.  Courtney,  in  his  "  English 
Whist  and  Whist-Players,"  tells 
of  a  Mrs.  Sperme,  an  English  lady, 
residing  at  Naples,  who  dealt  her- 
self thirteen  trumps,  and  was  terror- 
stricken  lest  she  should  be  accused 
of  cheating.  Another  instance  of 
thirteen  trumps  being  dealt  was 
recorded  in  Bell's  Life,  London, 
during  February,  1863.  Still  an- 
other in  the  Westminster  Papers 
for  December,  1873. 

Phenomenal  hands  at  whist  are 
not  confined  to  the  above  kind, 
however.  Some  are  extraordinary 
for  their  poorness,  and  in  order  to 
see  just  how  far  luck  runs  that  way, 
Whist,  in  November,  1892,  offered 
a  prize  of  twenty-five  dollars  to  the 
person  having,  during  actual  play, 
been  dealt  the  lowest  possible  hand, 
or  Yarborough.  By  this  was  un- 
derstood the  lowest  four  cards  of 
one  suit,  and  the  lowest  three  cards 
of  each  of  the  other  suits.  The 
offer  of  the  prize  held  good  for  a 
year,  but  no  one  was  able  to  lay 
claim  to  it. 

J.  J.  Shea,  of  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa, 
in  Whist  for  November,  1897,  gives 
the  following  as  an  illustration  of 
the  doctrine  of  chance:  "Twelve 


deals  were  had,  the  cards  regularly 
shuffled,  cut  and  dealt;  the  turned 
trump  in  eight  hands  was  the  deuce 
of  hearts,  and  in  the  ninth  the  three 
of  the  same  suit.  The  gentlemen 
present  were  Messrs.  Binkley  and 
Wilbur,  of  the  Omaha  Club,  and 
Waterman  and  the  writer,  of  the 
Council  Bluffs  Club."  He  further 
declares  that,  at  the  Omaha  Club, 
on  Wednesday  evening,  Septem- 
ber 29,  1897,  a  hand  was  dealt  in 
which  each  player  held  a  complete 
sequence  from  ace  to  deuce,  in  the 
four  suits.  North  dealt  and  turned 
the  three  of  diamonds.  The  distri- 
bution, which  is  so  very  remarkable 
that  it  almost  seems  pre-arranged, 
was  as  follows: 


WEST. 

*  3,  7,  J- 
<?  4,  8,  Q. 

*  A,  K,  9,  5. 
0  2,  6,  10. 

EAST. 

*  A,  K,  g,  5. 

<y  2,  e,  10. 

*  3,  7,  J- 
0   4,  8,  Q. 


NORTH. 

*  4,  8,  Q. 

S>  A,  K,  9,  5. 

*  2,  6,  10. 
0   3,  7,  J- 

SOUTH. 

4  2,  6,  10. 
<?  3.7.J- 

*  4,  8.  Q. 

0   A,  K,  9,5. 


At  the  Union  Club  of  Boulogne, 
France,  some  years  ago,  the  dealer 
dealt  the  twenty-six  red  cards  to 
himself  and  partner,  and  all  the 
black  cards  to  their  opponents. 

N.  B.  Trist  stated,  in  1895,  that 
Mrs.  John  B.  Donally,  of  New 
Orleans,  had  performed  the  rare 
feat  of  taking  all  thirteen  tricks 
of  a  deal  with  her  own  hand,  in  a 
game  played  in  that  city.  This  is 
most  remarkable,  as  it  is  seldom 
that  a  slam  is  made  without  some 
help  from  partner. 

W.  P.  Courtney  relates  that,  upon 
one  occasion,  his  partner,  at  the 
Reform  Club,  London,  held  but  one 
trump  each  time  in  three  hands 
in  succession,  and  each  time  the 


PHILADELPHIA  CUP          313      "  PICKWICK ' '  AT  WHIST 


trump  was  a  nine.  (See,  also, 
"  Duke  of  Cumberland's  Famous 
Hand,"  "Vienna Coup,"  and  "Yar- 
borough.") 

Among  the  numerous  letters  which  I 
receive  about  whist,  instances  of  unusual 
distribution  of  cards  are  not  infrequent; 
as,  for  example,  that  A  dealt  himself  thir- 
teen trumps;  or  had  three  consecutive 
hands  without  a  trump;  or  that  B  and  C 
had  all  the  trumps  between  them.  These 
letters  are  generally  accompanied  by  a 
permission  to  publish  the  facts  (which 
are  well  authenticated),  or  by  the  ques- 
tion whether  such  a  case  ever  happened 
before,  and  sometimes  by  a  request  to 
calculate  the  odds  against  such  an  occur- 
rence. The  obvious  reply  is  that  one 
named  hand  or  combination  is  no  more 
improbable  than  another,  and  that  curi- 
ous hands,  which  illustrate  no  principle 
of  play,  are  not  worth  the  trouble  of  cal- 
culating.—  •'Cavendish"  [L.  A.\,  "Card- 
Table  Talk." 

Philadelphia  Cup. — A  massive 
silver  loving-cup  presented  to  the 
Woman's  Whist  League  by  Mrs. 
John  Price  Wetherill,  of  Philadel- 
phia. It  is  the  championship  pair 
trophy  of  the  League,  to  be  com- 
peted for  at  each  annual  congress, 
and  under  the  rules  it  becomes  the 
permanent  property  of  any  pair  of 
League  players  who  win  it  three 
times.  It  was  offered  for  competi- 
tion at  the  first  congress,  in  Phila- 
delphia, April,  1897,  and  was  at 
that  time  won  by  Mrs.  Bradt  and 
Mrs.  Richardson,  of  the  Cavendish 
Club,  of  Boston. 

Philosophical  Game. — A  term 
first  applied  to  whist  by  William 
Pole,  in  his  "Philosophy  of  Whist;" 
the  modern  scientific  game  (q.  v.). 

"Piano  Hand."— A  hand  at 
whist  which  is  easily  played  and 
likely,  in  a  duplicate  match,  to  pro- 
duce the  same  score  at  each  table; 
a  hand  which  presents  no  opportu- 
nities for  exceptional  or  brilliant 
play,  but  runs  its  course  smoothly 
to  the  end. 


At  this  style  of  game  [supporting<arrt 
leads]  "  piano  hands" — another  name  for 
excessive  dullness  and  waste  of  time— are 
much  less  numerous  than  under  the  long- 
suit  routine.— E.  C.  Howell  \S.  //.],"  Whist 
Openings." 

"  Pickwick  "  at  Whist — It  was 

"sick  whist"  (to  quote  Charles 
Lamb's  phrase)  which  the  immortal 
Mr.  Pickwick  played  at  Dingley 
Dell,  with  old  Mrs.  Wardle  for  his 
partner  (see,  "Old-Fashioned  Whist- 
Party");  but  it  was  a  very  different 
kind  of  whist  that  he  experienced 
at  the  hands  of  Lady  Snuphanuph, 
Mrs.  Colonel  Wugsby,  and  Miss 
£olo,  "three  thorough-paced  female 
card-players,"  who  engaged  him  in 
a  rubber  in  the  assembly  rooms  at 
Bath.  They  were  so  desperately 
sharp  that  they  quite  frightened 
him.  If  he  played  a  wrong  card, 
Miss  Bolo  looked  a  small  armory 
of  daggers.  If  he  stopped  to  con- 
sider which  was  the  right  one, 
Lady  Snuphanuph  would  throw 
herself  back  in  her  chair  and  smile, 
with  a  mingled  glance  of  impa- 
tience and  pity,  to  Mrs.  Colonel 
Wugsby,  at  which  Mrs.  Colonel 
Wugsby  would  shrug  up  her  shoul- 
ders and  cough,  as  much  as  to  say 
she  wondered  whether  he  would 
ever  begin.  Then  at  the  end  of 
every  hand  Miss  Bolo  would  in- 
quire, with  a  dismal  countenance 
and  a  reproachful  sigh,  why  Mr. 
Pickwick  had  not  returned  that 
diamond,  or  led  the  club,  or 
roughed  the  spade,  or  finessed  the 
heart,  or  led  through  the  honor,  or 
brought  out  the  ace,  or  played  up 
to  the  king. 

In  reply  to  all  these  grave 
questions  the  harassed  Pickwick 
could  find  no  adequate  explana- 
tion. The  incidents  of  the  game 
had  vanished  from  his  mind,  and 
he  was  all  at  sea.  Some  of  the 
company  came  over  and  looked 
over  his  hands,  and  their  observa- 
tions only  made  matters  worse. 


"  PIPING  AT  WHIST  " 


PLACING  CARDS 


The  cards  went  against  him.  He 
played  badly,  "  and  when  they  left 
off,  at  ten  minutes  past  eleven, 
Miss  Bolo  rose  from  the  table  con- 
sid  erably  agitated,  and  went  straight 
hot<je  in  a  flood  of  tears  and  a 
sedsn-chair. "  Mr.  F*ickwick  re- 
tired to  his  hotel,  and  "soothed 
his  feelings  with  something  hot." 

"Piping  at  Whist."— A  dis- 
honest practice  at  whist  which  was 
in  vogue  in  the  early  history  of  the 
game,  when  it  was  a  tavern  game. 
Seymour  describes  it  as  follows,  in 
1734:  "  By  piping  I  mean  when 
one  of  the  company  that  does  not 
play  (which  frequently  happens) 
sits  down  in  a  convenient  place  to 
smoke  a  pipe,  and  so  look  on,  pre- 
tending to  amuse  himself  that  way. 
Now  the  disposing  of  his  fingers  on 
the  pipe,  while  smoking,  discovers 
the  principal  cards  that  are  in  the 
person's  hands  he  overlooks." 

There  is  no  sounder  principle  going 
than  that  it  is  generally  desirable  to  ac- 
quaint your  partner  with  the  state  of  your 
band,  but  it  neither  follows  that  you 
should  place  it  face  upwards  on  the  table, 
nor  avail  yourself  of  those  extensions 
known  to  Hoyle  as  "  piping  at  whist." — 
"Pembridge"  [Z.+O.].  "Decline  and  Fall 
of  Whist." 

Pitt  Coup. — A  coup  by  means  of 
which  a  player  places  himself  in  a 
position  to  lead  through  the  left- 
hand  adversary  in  a  suit  in  which 
his  partner  holds  a  major  tenace 
over  a  minor  tenace  in  the  hand  of 
the  left-hand  adversary.  It  has 
been  named  the  Pitt  coup  under  a 
curious  misapprehension.  The  situ- 
ation was  first  used  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  play,  by  Mathews,  in  his 
"Advice  to  the  Young  Whist 
Player."  An  anonymous  French 
writer  borrowed  it  in  1855,  and 
designated  the  players  as  Pitt  and 
Burke,  partners,  against  Fox  and 
Sheridan,  instead  of  the  A-C,  B-D 
used  by  Mathews.  Abraham  Hay- 
ward,  in  his  article  on  "  Whist  and 


Whist-Players,"  quoted  from  the 
Frenchman,  retaining  the  latter's 
nomenclature,  and  from  Hayward 
the  coup  found  its  way  again  into 
the  Westminster  Papers,  Foster's 
"Whist  Strategy,"  etc.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  Pitt  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  play.  The 
position  of  the  hands,  after  the 
ninth  trick,  was  this  (hearts  trump) : 

WEST. 


8,  7. 

7,  4- 


EAST. 

K.Q. 

5,3- 


O  


NORTH. 
A   _^_ 
V    8,6. 

*  K.2. 
0    

SOUTH. 

*  

V     A,  2. 

*  6,7. 
0   


West,  at  trick  ten,  led  the  eight 
of  spades;  north  (Burke)  discarded 
a  club,  and  South  (Pitt)  trumped 
with  the  ace  and  then  led  the  two, 
thereby  giving  the  lead  to  his  part- 
ner, who  took  the  rest. 

Placing  Cards. — To  place  the 
cards  is  for  each  player  to  draw 
and  place  before  him  the  card 
played  to  a  trick,  in  order  to  show 
some  careless  or  unobservant 
player  how  they  were  played,  and 
what  will  be  necessary  for  him  to 
do  in  order  to  play  correctly.  (See, 
"  Draw  of  Cards.") 

To  place  the  cards  also  means  to 
name  or  locate  cards  held  in  the 
hands  after  certain  rounds,  basing 
the  effort  upon  the  knowledge  ob- 
tained by  the  fall  of  the  cards. 
This  is  a  regular  feature  of  "  Study 
Whist"  (q.  ».).  (See,  also,  "Per- 
ception Problems.") 

If  you  have  omitted  to  notice  how  the 
cards  fell  to  a  trick'  ask  that  they  be 
placed.— James  Clay  [L.  O+]. 

During  the  correspondence  tourney,  a 
prize  was  offered  to  the  player  who  could 
correctly  place  the  greatest  number  of 


PLACING  THE  LEAD 


315 


PLAIN-SUIT  SIGNAL 


the  cards  remaining  in  the  three  other 
hands,  after  the  ninth  trick.  Each  com- 
petitor had  two  or  three  weeks  in  which 
to  study  the  situation.  Seven  out  of  the 
sixteen  tried  it.  As  they  each  held 
twenty-eight  hands,  they  submitted 
analyses  of  196  endings.  In  sixteen  of 
these  every  card  was  correctly  placed.  In 
three,  all  but  one.  In  twenty-two,  all  but 
two.  In  twelve,  all  but  three,  In  twen- 
ty-four, all  but  four.  In  twenty-one,  all 
but  five;  and  in  the  remainder,  half  or 
less  were  rightly  located;  in  some  cases 
not  a  single  card  being  named  in  its  ac- 
tual position.  The  player  who  won  the 
prize,  Mr.  C.  M.  Clay,  the  celebrated  com- 
poser of  whist  perception  problems, 
placed  73  per  cent,  correctly;  named  the 
right  suit,  but  was  unable  to  give  the  ex- 
act size  of  thirty;  gave  right  suit,  but 
wrong  size,  of  forty;  and  was  wrong, 
both  as  to  size  and  suit,  in  only  seventeen. 
— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.\,  "Whist  Tactics." 

Placing  the  Lead.— See, "  Throw- 
ing the  Lead." 

Plain  Suit. — Any  suit  which  is 
not  trump.  The  best  or  long  plain 
suit  is  the  suit  which  players  of  the 
long-suit  game  try  to  establish  and 
bring  in,  and  which  they,  as  a  rule, 
open  first,  or  lead  from  originally. 
The  leads  from  plain  suits  differ 
from  those  in  trumps  in  some  im- 
portant particulars,  for  the  reason 
that  high  cards  in  trumps,  if  held 
back,  cannot  be  taken  away, 
whereas  in  plain  suits  they  may  be 
trumped. 

It  is  generally  best  to  lead  plain  suits  as 
trumps,  when  adversaries'  trumps  are 
exhausted,  or  if  all  the  trumps  are  out, 
holding  a  re-entry  card.— Kate  Wheelock 
[L.  A.],  "  Whist  Rules." 

Plain-Suit  Echo. — An  echo  by 
means  of  which  strength  is  indi- 
cated in  a  plain  suit.  It  is  made 
by  playing  third  best  on  partner's 
original  lead;  second  best  on  sec- 
ond round;  best  on  third  round, 
and  retaining  the  lowest  until  last. 
Some  players  restrict  the  use  of  this 
echo  to  four  cards  exactly,  but  gen- 
erally it  means  four  or  more  in  suit. 
Some  also  object  to  calling  it  an 


echo,  claiming  that  "  unblocking" 
is  the  better  term.  This  seemed  to 
have  weight  with  "Cavendish," 
who,  in  first  announcing  it,  in 
1885,  named  his  book  "  Whist  De- 
velopments, American  Leads,  and 
the  Plain-Suit  Echo,"  but  changed 
the  title  in  later  editions  to  "  Un- 
blocking Game."  (See,  "Unblock- 
ing.") "No  one,"  he  remarks  in 
a  recent  letter,  "  ever  said,  '  I  plain- 
suit  echoed;'  always,  'I  un- 
blocked.'" 

The  "four  signal"  (q.  v.),  by 
which  the  possession  of  four  trumps 
is  shown,  without  asking  that  they 
be  led,  is  made  in  a  somewhat  sim- 
ilar manner  to  the  above.  The  two 
conventions  are  confusing,  except 
in  case  trumps  are  exhausted  and 
the  player  cannot  possibly  be  refer- 
ring to  trumps. 

The  "plain-suit  echo"  and  the  "four 
signal"  cannot  co-exist;  they  conflict,  and 
the  play  of  one  neutralizes  the  other. — C. 
S.  Boutcher  [L.  A.],  "  Whist  Sketches." 

The  value  of  this  echois  much  disputed, 
and  the  adversaries  can  usually  render  it 
ineffective  by  holding  up  small  cards,  a 
practice  very  much  in  vogue  with  ad- 
vanced players.—./?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
'•'Complete  Hoyle." 

Plain-Suit  Signal. — A  conven- 
tional play  by  which  a  player  shows 
strength  in,  and  asks  his  partner  to 
lead,  a  plain  suit,  the  same  as  he 
would  request  the  lead  of  trumps. 
It  is  only  made  when  partner  can- 
not possibly  mistake  it  for  a  trump 
signal  —  as,  for  instance,  when 
trumps  are  out,  or  are  being  led  by 
the  opponents,  or  have  been  sig- 
naled for  by  yourself,  or  refused, 
etc.  The  plain-suit  signal  is  made 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  trump 
signal,  by  playing  upon  a  lead  an 
unnecessarily  high  card  followed 
by  a  lower  one.  A  variety  of  usage 
has  crept  in  in  regard  to  this  signal. 
Some  players  reverse  the  meaning, 
declare  weakness,  and  request  part- 


PLAIN  SUITS,  CHOICE  OF     316 


PLAYED  CARDS 


ner  to  change  the  suit.  Some  give 
it  one  meaning  when  made  on 
partner's  lead,  and  another  when 
made  on  the  lead  of  the  adversaries. 

The  writer  believes  it  wisest  to  make 
the  play  [of  the  plain-suit  signal]  always 
show  strength. — Milton  C.  Work  \L.  A. 
H.\,  "Whist of  To-day." 

Plain  Suits,  Choice  of. — When 
the  hand  contains  more  than  one 
plain  suit,  the  question,  which 
should  be  originally  opened?  is 
sometimes  very  embarrassing,  and 
always  very  important.  Milton  C. 
Work  gives  the  following  table  of 
four-card  plain-suit  leads  in  the 
order  of  choice: 

Ace,  king,  queen,  jack. 

Ace,  king,  queen,  and  one  other. 

King,  queen,  jack,  and  one  other. 

Queen,  jack,  ten,  and  one  other. 

Ace,  king,  and  two  others. 

Ace,  queen,  jack,  ten. 

King,  queen,  ten,  and  one  other. 

Ace,  queen,  jack,  and  one  other. 

Queen,  jack,  and  two  others. 

Ace,  jack,  and  two  others. 

Ace  and  three  others. 

King,  jack,  ten,  and  one  other. 

Ace,  queen,  and  two  others. 

King,  jack,  and  two  others. 

Ace,  queen,  ten,  and  one  other. 

King,  ten,  and  two  others. 

Queen,  ten,  and  two  others. 

King,  queen,  and  two  others. 

King  and  three  others. 

Queen  and  three  others. 

Jack  and  three  others. 

Ten  and  three  others. 

Nine  and  three  others,  etc. 

Play. — To  play  at  whist  is  to 
take  one  card  after  another  from 
the  hand  and  place  it  upon  the 
table,  as  required  in  leading,  fol- 
lowing, trumping,  or  discarding. 
Good  or  bad  play  depends  upon  the 
ability  of  the  player  in  playing  his 
cards  to  the  best  advantage.  All 
mannerisms  should  be  avoided  in 


play.  The  cards  should  not  be 
played  too  fast,  nor  too  slow,  but  at 
the  same  deliberate,  careful  pace 
throughout — a  trait  that  was  much 
admired  iu  James  Clay  and  other 
great  players. 

The  man  who  plays  with  equally  quiet 
consideration  the  low  card  or  the  high 
one,  in  its  proper  turn,  secures  the  good 
opinion  of  the  whole  table.— A,J.  Mcln- 
tosh  [L.  A.],  "Modern  Whist." 

Play  slowly  (but  do  not  hesitate),  that 
you  may  be  able  to  watch  closely;  do  not 
allow  a  trick  to  be  turned  without  know- 
ing the  card  each  person  played. — Kate 
Wheelock  [L.  A.],  "Whist  Rules." 

No  rule  of  play  can  be  devised  that  may 
not,  under  certain  conditions,  occasion 
loss;  hence  our  whist  lawgivers  are  con- 
strained to  admit  that  "  bad  play"  will 
frequently  win  where  "  good  play"  will 
lose.  If  bad  play  generally  won  it  would, 
by  virtue  of  its  success,  be  adopted  as 
good  play;  the  test,  therefore,  of  good 
play  is  whether  it  will  generally  win. — 
Eugene  S:  Elliott  \L.  A.],  Whist,  May, 
1893- 

Play,  Lines  of. — The  plan  or 
tactics  followed  out  in  the  play  of 
a  hand,  depending  upon  its  peculi- 
arity, strength,  or  weakness,  and 
influenced  also  to  a  certain  extent 
by  the  condition  of  partner's  hand, 
or  those  of  the  adversaries. 

Whist-playing  may  be  generally  divided 
into  three  sorts:  Beginner's  whist,  good 
whist,  and  refined  whist.  In  the  first,  the 
cards  are  played  according  to  suit,  and  a 
few  book  rules  are  blindly  applied;  in  the 
second,  there  is  rational  play  and  definite 
aim;  in  the  third,  the  play  is  highly  skill- 
ful, being  based  on  deep  study  ancl  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  intricacies. — "Aqua- 
rius" [L.  0.],"  The  Hands  at  Whist." 

Played  Cards. — Cards  that  have 
been  played,  and  are  no  longer 
held  in  the  hand.  In  the  English 
game,  eight  played  cards  may  be 
seen  at  any  one  time  during  the 
progress  of  the  play — four  on  the 
table  not  yet  turned  and  quitted, 
and  the  last  trick  which  has  been 
turned.  In  the  American  game, 
only  the  four  cards  on  the  table 
may  be  seen,  before  they  have  been 


PLAYERS,  KINDS  OF          317       PLAYING  FOR  THE  ODD 


turned  and  quitted.  A  trick  once 
turned  and  quitted  cannot  be  ex- 
amined until  the  hand  has  been 
played  out. 

Players,     Kinds    of. — The    two 

principal  kinds  of  whist-players  are 
the  good  players  and  the  bad  play- 
ers. General  A.  W.  Drayson,  in 
an  appendix  to  the  fourth  edition 
of  his  "Art  of  Practical  Whist," 
has  rung  the  changes  on  the  inter- 
vening types  in  a  most  amusing 
manner,  and  makes  out  twenty-six 
distinct  classes.  ' '  A  very  long  ex- 
perience of  whist  and  whist-players 
in  various  parts  of  the  world," 
says  he,  ' '  has  caused  me  to  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  men  with  pecu- 
liar types  of  mind  exist  in  every 
country,  and  these  men  are  mere 
repetitions  of  each  other.  In  the 
burning  plains  of  India,  or  amidst 
the  snows  of  Canada,  we  find  indi- 
viduals, who  have  never  met  and 
have  sever  heard  of  each  other, 
yet  when  they  join  in  a  rubber 
of  whist  they  will  commit  ex- 
actly the  same  mistakes,  will  make 
word  for  word  the  same  excuses, 
and  at  delicate  points  in  the  game 
will  err  in  the  same  manner.  The 
repetition  of  similar  proceedings 
has  induced  me  to  group  whist- 
players  under  various  heads,  and, 
after  careful  consideration,  I  can- 
not divide  them  into  fewer  than 
twenty-six  classes.  Each  class  has 
its  specialty,  some  individuals  be- 
longing to  two  or  three  of  these." 
General  Drayson 's  classification  is 
as  follows: 

1.  The  old-fashioned  player. 

2 .  The  young  player. 

3.  The  player  who  never  read  a 
book  on  whist. 

4.  The  book  player. 

5.  The  player  who  only  plays  for 
amusement. 

6.  The  crafty  player. 

7.  The  great  card-holder. 


8.  The  unlucky  player. 

9.  The  whist  authority. 

10.  The  excitable  player. 

11.  The  too  deliberate  p]ayer. 

12.  The  man  who  won't  learn. 

13.  The  man  with  a  bad  memory. 

14.  The  mean  player. 

15.  The  man  who  takes  his  pound 
of  flesh. 

16.  The  unobservant  player. 

17.  The  litigious  player. 

1 8.  The  good  bad  player. 

19.  The  bad  good  player. 

20.  The  man  with  the  preoccu- 
pied mind. 

21.  The  popular  player. 

22.  The  unpopular  player. 

23.  The  undependable  player. 

24.  The  superstitious  player. 

25.  The  selfish  player. 

26.  The  inspired  player. 

Playing  at    Playing   Whist.— A 

kind  of  play  indulged  in  by  those 
who  do  not  understand  the  game 
of  whist,  but  imagine  they  do; 
bumblepuppy  (q.  v.). 

"Cavendish,"  in  his  "Card  Essays," 
gives  us  the  story  of  "  The  Duffer  Max- 
ims," and  some  anecdotical  matter  of  an 
amusing  nature  about  the  talkers.  By 
way  of  appendix  to  sober  instruction,  we 
have  thought  to  introduce  the  conversa- 
tion -verbatim  duringa  single  hand  of  four 
persons  seated  for  the  purpose  of  "  play- 
ing whist,"  as  each  of  them  called  the 
performance — literally,  however,  a  rol- 
licking exhibition  that  should  be  named 
playing  at  playing  whist. — G.  W.  Pettes 
\L.  A.  P.],  "American  Whist  Illustrated:' 


Playing  Cards. — Cards  used  in 
playing  whist  and  other  games. 
(See,  "Card.") 

Playing  for  the   Odd   Trick. — 

Playing  for  the  trick  or  point 
that  may  be  necessary  to  win  or 
save  the  game ;  playing  a  cautious 
and  mainly  defensive  game,  in 
which  you  are  satisfied  to  win  b}'  a 
small  margin,  instead  of  playing  a 
great  game  to  make  a  big  score. 


PLAYING  OUT  OF  TURN       318        PLAYING  TWO  CARDS 


The  other  method  ["  playing  for  the 
odd  trick"]  comprises  the  tactics  of 
weakness  (concealment,  artifice,  decep- 
tion). Hereunder  comes  the  taking  ad- 
vantage of  position,  the  most  common 
instances  of  which  grow  out  of  holding 
in  one  hand  the  best  and  third-best  cards 
unplayed  of  the  suit  led  (the  second  best 
being  in  another  hand),  and  kindred  sit- 
uations.— Emery  Boardman  \L  +  A.], 
"Winning  Whist." 

Playing  Out  of  Turn. — An  error 
at  whist,  which  consists  in  placing 
a  card  upon  the  table  before  it  is 
your  turn  to  do  so. 

If  the  third  hand  plays  before  the 
second,  the  fourth  hand  also  may  play 
before  the  second. 

If  the  third  hand  has  not  played,  and 
the  fourth  hand  plays  before  the  second, 
the  latter  may  be  called  upon  by  the  third 
hand  to  play  his  highest  or  lowest  card 
of  the  suit  led,  or,  if  he  has  none,  to 
trump  or  not  to  trump  the  trick. — Laws  of 
Whist  (American  Code),  Sections2$  ond  26. 
(See,  also,  "Error,  Cards  Played  in.") 

•'  Playing  Pictures." — Playing 
the  high  cards  iu  a  hand  as  soon  as 
possible,  for  the  sake  of  making 
tricks,  without  reference  to  the  sci- 
ence of  the  game — a  failing  which 
novices  frequently  betray.  It  also 
is  a  branch  of  bumblepuppy  (q.  v.). 

The  above  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  high-card  game, 
which  forms  part  of  the  Howell 
(short-suit)  system,  which  is  played 
with  method,  and  does  not  consist 
in  "playing  pictures"  from  all 
suits  at  random. 

I  remember  to  have  said:  "  Why,  then, 
it  seems  my  partner  and  I  haven't  been 
playing  whist  at  all,"  to  which  I  received 
reply,  "  No,  sir;  you  have  been  playine 
pictures."— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.], 
''American  Whist  Illustrated." 

Playing  the  Game. — Taking  the 
offensive  and  making  as  many  tricks 
as  possible  out  of  a  strong  hand, 
instead  of  playing  cautiously,  as  for 
the  odd  trick. 

To  try  to  obtain  a  great  score  is  plaving 
the  game.— Westminster  Papers  [Z,+d.]. 


Playing  to  the  Score. — Taking 
into  consideration  at  every  stage 
the  state  of  the  score,  and  shaping 
your  game  accordingly;  as,  for  in- 
stance, in  playing  for  the  odd  trick. 
This  is  especially  necessary  in  the 
English  five-point  game,  but  in 
American  (seven-point)  whist  with- 
out honors  the  state  of  the  score, 
except  toward  the  close  of  the 
game,  is  not  so  important,  and 
players  generally  try  to  make  as 
many  tricks  as  possible  out  of 
their  hands,  especially  at  duplicate 
whist,  in  which  points,  and  not 
games,  are  played  for. 

The  present  writer  lays  down  that  the 
relation  of  the  scores  is  the  guide  for  the 
early  lead  of  trumps,  and  that  playing  to 
the  score  is  of  fundamental  importance, 
and  receives  the  first  consideration  [the 
game  treated  of  being  English  or  five- 
point  whist,  with  honors] .  —  Clement 
Davies  [L.  A  f],  "Modern  Whist,"  1886. 

In  the  American  game  this  is  a  lost  art. 
It  is  a  rare  thing  to  see  any  one  pay  the 
slightest  attention  to  the  score,  or  make 
any  consequent  alteration  in  his  play_, 
unless  he  has  had  considerable  experi- 
ence at  the  English  game.  The  nearest 
approach  to  it  is  leading  trumps  when  the 
score  is  four  to  nothing  against  you. — R. 
F.  Foster  [S.  O.\,  "  Whist  Strategy."  1804. 

This  method  [playing  for  points]  has  its 
merits,  no  doubt;  being  the  only  one 
adapted  to  duplicate  play.  But  it  also  has 
its  defects,  and  for  the  true  lover  of  the 
game,  its  (comparatively  speaking)  un- 
varied and  colorless  style  of  play  cannot 
compare  with  the  ever-changing  demands 
made  upon  his  skill  and  judgment  when 
playing  to  the  score. —  William  S.  Fenol- 
losa  [L.A.],  Whist,  June.  1892. 

When  the  play  is  short  whist,  it  follows 
that  constant  regard  be  had  to  the  score, 
which  can  so  easily  be  affected  for  the 
benefit  of  the  party  who  is  at  one  or  three. 
*  *  *  The  same  cards  held  by  a  short- 
whist  player,  if  held  bv  an  American 
player,  would  be  very  differently  played, 
yet  the  principle  of  the  law  of  lead  is  not 
in  any  wise  changed. — G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A. 
P.],  "American  Whist  Ilhistrated." 

Playing  Two  Cards  to  One 
Trick. — If  a  player  plays  two  cards 
to  the  same  trick,  and  the  error  is 
discovered  before  the  hand  is 
played  out,  the  English  code  (sec- 
tion 70)  provides  that  the  card  may 


POE  ON  WHIST 


319 


POE  ON  WHIST 


be  restored.  If  not  discovered  un- 
til the  hand  is  played  out,  the 
player  in  error  is  liable  to  all  re- 
vokes made  in  consequence.  By 
the  American  code  (section  19), 
the  adversaries,  on  discovering  the 
error,  may  have  a  new  deal,  or  play 
the  hand  out  without  taking  into 
account  the  missing  card. 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  on  Whist.— 

In  his  fascinating  tale  of  the  ' '  Mur- 
ders in  the  Rue  Morgue,"  Edgar 
Allan  Poe  pronounces  a  remarkable 
eulogy  upon  whist.  It  is  remark- 
able because  it  shows  a  keen  insight 
into  the  finer  qualities  which  go  to 
make  up  a  great  player,  and  at  the 
same  time  betrays  the  fact  that  the 
author  had  either  no  practical  ac- 
quaintance with  the  game,or  played 
with  persons  who  would  hardly  be 
called  whist-players  to-day.  If 
they  played  whist  legitimately,  no 
observer  would  be  able  to  draw  any 
of  the  wonderful  inferences  which 
he  mentions  from  their  looks  or 
other  demonstrations  at  the  table. 
They  would  needs  be  very  clever 
pantomimists  to  enable  any  one  to 
guess  from  their  actions  the  con- 
tents of  their  hands,  after  one  or 
two  rounds.  Notwithstanding  these 
defects,  the  passage  is  worth  read- 
ing, and  we  give  it  herewith: 

"  Whist  has  long  been  noted  for 
its  influence  upon  what  is  termed 
the  calculating  power,  and  men  of 
the  highest  order  of  intellect  have 
been  known  to  take  an  apparently 
unaccountable  delight  in  it,  while 
eschewing  chess  as  frivolous.  Be- 
yond doubt  there  is  nothing  of  a 
similar  nature  so  greatly  tasking 
the  faculty  of  analysis.  The  best 
chess-player  in  Christendom  -may 
be  a  little  more  than  the  best 
player  of  chess;  but  proficiency  in 
whist  implies  capacity  for  success 
in  all  those  more  important  under- 
takings where  mind  struggles  with 


mind.  When  I  say  proficiency,  I 
mean  that  perfection  in  the  game 
which  includes  a  comprehension  of 
all  the  sources  whence  legitimate 
advantage  may  be  derived.  These 
are  not  only  manifold,  but  multi- 
form, and  lie  frequently  among  re- 
cesses of  thought  altogether  inac- 
cessible to  the  ordinary  under- 
standing. To  observe  attentively 
is  to  remember  distinctly;  and,  so 
far,  the  concentrative  chess-player 
will  do  very  well  at  whist;  while 
the  rules  of  Hoyle  (themselves 
based  upon  the  mere  mechanism 
of  the  game)  are  sufficiently  and 
generally  comprehensible.  Thus, 
to  have  a  retentive  memory,  and  to 
proceed  by  'the  book,'  are  points 
commonly  regarded  as  the  sum 
total  of  good  playing.  But  it  is  in 
matters  beyond  the  limits  of  mere 
rule  that  the  skill  of  the  analyst  is 
evinced.  He  makes  in  silence  a 
host  of  observations  and  inferences. 
So,  perhaps,  do  his  companions; 
and  the  difference  in  the  extent  of 
the  information  obtained  lies  not 
so  much  in  the  validity  of  the  in- 
ference as  in  the  quality  of  the  ob- 
servation. The  necessary  knowl- 
edge is  that  of  what  to  observe. 
Our  player  confines  himself  not  at 
all;  nor,  because  the  game  is  the 
object,  does  he  reject  deductions 
from  things  external  to  the  game. 
He  examines  the  countenance  of 
his  partner,  comparing  it  carefully 
with  that  of  each  of  his  opponents. 
He  considers  the  mode  of  assort- 
ing the  cards  in  each  hand;  often 
counting  trump  by  trump  and 
honor  by  honor,  through  the 
glances  bestowed  by  their  holders 
upon  each.  He  notes  every  varia- 
tion of  face  as  the  play  progresses, 
gathering  a  fund  of  thought  from 
the  differences  in  the  expression  of 
certainty,  of  surprise,  of  triumph, 
or  chagrin.  From  the  manner  of 
gathering  up  a  trick  he  judges 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


320 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


whether  the  person  taking  it  can 
make  another  in  the  suit.  He 
recognizes  what  is  played  through 
feint,  by  the  air  with  which  it  is 
thrown  upon  the  table.  A  casual 
or  inadvertent  word;  the  accidental 
dropping  or  turning  of  a  card,  with 
the  accompanying  anxiety  or  care- 
lessness in  regard  to  its  conceal- 
ment; the  counting  of  the  tricks, 
with  the  order  of  their  arrange- 
ment; embarrassment,  hesitation, 
eagerness  or  trepidation,  all  afford, 
to  his  apparently  intuitive  percep- 
tion, indications  of  the  true  state 
of  affairs.  The  first  two  or  three 
rounds  having  been  played,  he  is 
in  full  possession  of  the  contents  of 
each  hand,  and  thenceforward  puts 
down  his  cards  with  as  absolute 
a  precision  of  purpose  as  if  the  rest 
of  the  party  had  turned  outward 
the  faces  of  their  own.  The  ana- 
lytic power  should  not  be  con- 
founded with  simple  ingenuity;  for 
while  the  analyst  is  necessarily  in- 
genious, the  ingenious  man  is  often 
remarkably  incapable  of  analysis. 
The  constructive  or  combining 
power  by  which  the  ingenuity  is 
usually  manifested,  and  to  which 
the  phrenologists  (I  believe  errone- 
ously) have  assigned  a  separate 
organ,  supposing  it  a  primitive 
faculty,  has  been  so  frequently 
seen  in  those  whose  intellect  bor- 
dered otherwise  upon  idiocy,  as  to 
have  attracted  general  observation 
among  writers  on  morals.  Be- 
tween ingenuity  and  the  analytic 
ability,  there  exists  a  difference  far 
greater,  indeed,  than  that  between 
the  fancy  and  the  imagination,  but 
of  a  character  very  strictly  analo- 
gous. It  will  be  found,  in  fact, 
that  the  ingenious  are  always  fan- 
ciful, and  the  truly  imaginative 
never  otherwise  than  analytic." 

Poems  on  Whist. — Many  clever, 
and  some  really  good,  poems  have 


been  written  on  the  noble  game  of 
games  since  the  early  and  ambi- 
tious effort  of  Alexander  Thomson 
was  first  given  to  the  world  in  1792. 
It  was  an  epic,  in  twelve  cantos, 
and  opened  with  the  following 
"  Invocation  to  Hoyle:" 

Whist,  then,  delightful  whist,  my  theme 

shall  be. 

And  first  I'll  try  to  trace  its  pedigree, 
And  show  what  sage  and  comprehensive 

mind 

Gave  to  the  world  a  pleasure  so  refined ; 
Then  shall  the  verse  its  various  charms 

display, 
Which  bear  from  ev'ry  game  the  palm 

away; 
And,  last  of  all,  those  rules  and  maxims 

tell 
Which  give  the  envied  pow'r  to  play  it 

well. 
But  first  (for  such  the  mode)  some  tuneful 

shade 
Must  be  iiivok'd  the  vent'rous  muse  to 

aid. 


What  pow'r  so  well  can  aid  her  daring 
toil 

As  the  bright  spirit  of  immortal  Hoyle  ? 

By  whose  enlighten'd  efforts  whist  be- 
came 

A  sober,  serious,  scientific  game. 


Come,  then,  my  friend,  my  teacher,  and 

my  guide, 
Where'er  thy  shadowy  ghost  may  now 

reside; 

Perhaps  (for  nature  ev'ry  change  defies, 
Nor  even  with  death  our  ruling  passion 

dies) 

With  fond  regret  it  hovers  still,  unseen, 
Around  the  tempting  boards  arrayed  in 

green; 

Still  with   delight  its  fav'rite  game  re- 
gards, 
And,  tho'  it  plays  no  more,  o'erlooks  the 

cards. 

Come,  then,  thou  glory  of  Britannia's  isle, 
On  this  attempt  propitious  deign  to  smile; 
Z,et  all  thv  skill  th'  unerring  page  inspire, 
And  all  thy  zeal  my  raptured  bosom  fire. 

Besides  Thomson's  lengthy  and 
somewhat  laborious  lines,  there 
have  come  down  to  us  many  other 
happy  allusions  to  the  game  from 
the  poets  who  wrote  shortly  after 
its  birth,  and  had  Hoyle  lived  in 
Shakespeare's  time  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  works  of  that  im- 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


321 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


mortal  bard  would  have  contained 
some  real  instead  of  imaginary  ref- 
erences to  it.  (See  "Shakespeare 
and  Whist.")  Crabbe  thus  de- 
scribes a  meeting  of  ardent  whist- 
players: 

Pleased,  the  fresh  packs  on  cloth  of  green 

they  see, 

And,  seizing,  handle  with  preluding  glee. 
They  draw,  they  sit,  they  shuffle,  cut,  and 

deal, 
Like  friends  assembled,  but  like  foes  to 

feel. 

Praed  gives,  in  almost  as  few 
lines,  a  pleasant  picture  of  a  whist- 
player  of  the  old  school: 

Sound  was  his  claret  and  his  head; 

Warm  was  his  double-ale  and  feelings; 
His  partners  at  the  whist  club  said 

That  he  was  faultless  in  his  dealings; 
He  cut  the  fiercest  quarrels  short 

With,  "  Patience,  gentlemen,  and  shuf- 
fle." 

Byron's  line,  in  "  Don  Juan," 

Troy  owes  to  Homer  what  whist  owes  to 
Hoyle, 

is  but  a  line,  but  an  immortal  one, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  some 
admirers  of  Hoyle  do  not  agree 
with  the  poet,  and  claim  that  whist 
owes  much  more  to  Hoyle.  There 
are  others  again  who  think  Byron 
gave  Hoyle  too  much  credit.  That 
was  the  opinion  of  the  late  G.  W. 
Pettes,  for  instance.  But  to  come 
down  to  our  own  day.  We  find  a 
good  thing  on  whist  among  the 
writings  of  the  late  George  T.  Lani- 

§an,  the  humorist,  whose  fun  bub- 
led  over  in  "Fables  from  the 
World, "  and  in  many  fugitive  pieces 
in  verse  which  it  seems  a  pity  no 
one  has  ever  collected  in  book 
form.  His  poem  on  whist  is  enti- 
tled "My  Partner,"  and  runs  as 
follows: 

Who,  when  I've  strength  in  clubs  dis- 
played, 

Makes  on  the  trumps  a  sweeping  raid, 
Vad  leads  me  up  a  little  spade? — 
My  Partner. 

21 


When  five  trumps  in  his  hand  there  be, 
Who  climbs  a  doubtful  card  p.  d. 
Q.,  but  aye  forces  me  with  three  ? — 
My  Partner. 

Who,  when  he  has  no  trumps  to  play, 
Smiles  in  a  calm  exultant  way, 
And  drops  a  four,  and  then  a  trey? — 
My  Partner. 

When  foemen  hold  trumps  two  and  three, 
Who  swings  four  honors  at  poor  me. 
And  then  asks  what  the  trumps  may  be  ? — 
My  Partner. 

Who  at  the  tide  of  our  affairs 
Commanding  two  suits  helpless  glares, 
Now    holds     out     mine,    and     discards 
theirs  ? — 

My  Partner. 

Who,  when  I've  toiled  the  game  to  win, 
And  am  succeeding,  with  a  grin 
Trumps  my  long  suit  and  brings  his  in  ? — 
My  Partner. 

When  I  hold  seven  trumps  or  eight 
And  ace-king  in  each  suit,  elate, 
Makes  a  misdeal  as  sure  as  fate  ? — 
My  Partner. 

Who,  when  we've  just  squeezed  out  the 

odd, 

Instead  of  four  by  cards,  unawed, 
Cries,  "  Pard,  we  scooped  'em  then!"  The 

fraud! 

My  Partner. 

The  best  thing  on  whist  in  a 
serious  vein  that  we  have  met  with 
in  late  years  is  the  very  brief  but 
memory-haunting  poem  by  Eugene 
Ware,  e'ntitled  "A  Game  of  Whist." 
We  give  it  a  welcome  here: 

Life  is  a  game  of  whist.    From  unseen 

sources 
The  cards  are  shuffled  and  the  hands 

are  dealt; 

Blind  are  our  efforts  to  control  the  forces 
That,    though    unseen,    are     no     less 
strongly  felt. 

I  do  not  like  the  way  the  cards  are  shuf- 
fled; 
But  still  I  like  the  game  and  want  to 

play. 
Thus  through  the  long,  long  night  will  I, 

unruffled, 
Play  what  I  get  until  the  break  of  day. 

It  is  plainly  imitated  in  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  entitled  "  Life's 
Whist,"  by  Edith  Keel ey  Stockley, 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


322 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


which  we  also  take  pleasure  in  re- 
producing, if  only  for  the  sake  of 
the  compliment  to  Mr.  Ware: 

I  hold  a  scattered  hand  in  black  and  red, 

An  humble  lot — save  for  a  lonely  king 

Who,   luckless  wight,    will  straightway 

lose  his  head. 
Nor  ace  nor  trump  is  here  to  'venge  the 

deed; 
Yet,  soft — my  partner  may  enforcement 

bring! 

I'll  make  no  sign,  but  boldly  take  the 
lead— 

For  this  is  whist. 

You  hold  a  hand  you  do  not  like,  per- 
chance. 
In  this  great  game   called    Life — nor 

trump,  nor  ace, 
Nor  merry  knight  to  break  a  gleaming 

lance. 

Yet  courage    still — behind    your  part- 
ner's mask 
May  gleam  the  merry  smiles  of  Fortune's 

face. 

Success  at  last  may  take  "  Faint  Heart" 
to  task 

In  this — Life's  whist. 

Among  the  many  bright  con- 
tributors who  have  enlivened  the 
pages  of  Whist,  and  helped  to 
make  it  so  popular  with  lovers  of 
the  game  all  over  the  world,  are 
some  who  also  possess  the  gift  of 
poesy,  and  they  have  liberally 
sung  the  praises  of  the  great  game. 
Chief  among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned Margaretta  Wetherill  Wal- 
lace. Her  efforts  generally  com- 
bine playfulness  and  seriousness 
in  a  happy  manner.  As  an  ex- 
ample we  may  quote  her  "  Cross- 
Purposes:" 

Oh,  my  partner  has  turned  short-suiter, 
Leading  cards  I  do  not  understand; 

With  his  "gambit"  and  "top  of  noth- 
ing," 
That  cut  right  into  my  hand. 

With  his  singleton,  doubleton,  sneakers, 
And  supporting  cards  to  boot; 

While  he  falls  on  his  knees  and  worships 
The  Hand  that  has  one  Short  Suit. 

Now  his  "gambit"  is  only  a  gamble, 
Top  of  nothing  brings  nothing  to  me; 

While  I  fumble  my  cards  I  long  and  sigh 
For  the  partner  he  used  to  be. 


He  says  ace  and  king  mean  "  running," 
But  I  yearn  for  the  dear  fourth  best; 

When  after  a  round  or  two  were  played 
I  could  surely  place  the  rest. 

Well!  well!  this  midsummer  madness, 
Like  the  silver  craze  will  die; 

Then  we'll  play  our  hands  together  once 

more, 
My  dear  old  partner  and  I. 

A  very  clever  parody  which  ap- 
peared in  Whist  for  July,  1897, 
signed  "  E.  B.C.,"  also  deserves 
insertion  here.  It  is  called  "The 
Song  of  the  Fad:" 

With  firm  untiring  wrist, 

With  cheeks  a  luminous  red, 
A  woman  sat  at  a  game  of  whist, 
Playing  as  if  for  bread. 
Work,  work,  work, 
In  the  rooms  of  the  warring  "  Trist;" 
And  still  with  the  strength  of  the  con- 
quering Turk 
She  played  at  her  game  of  whist. 

Play,  play,  play. 
Through  all  of  the  afternoon, 

And  play,  play,  play, 
While  over  her  beams  the  moon. 

Diamond,  and  heart,  and  spade, 
Tenace— and  eke  fourchette, 

Working  with  soul  all  undismayed 
To  capture  "  the  button"  yet. 

With  fingers  weary  and  worn, 

With  hands  that  have  toiled  for  bread, 
A  man  sits  sewing  the  buttons  on, 
(Or  putting  the  bov  to  bed). 

Stitch,  stitch,  stitch  ! 
Pricking  with  untold  shocks 
His    fingers    brown,   as    with    patient 

frown 
He  toils  at  his  wornout  socks. 

Oh  !  men  with  sisters  dear  ! 

Oh  !  men  with  mothers  and  wives  ! 
Expect  no  help  from  your  helpmate  fair 
While  the  science  of  whist  survives. 

Play,  play,  play, 
Duplicate,  compass,  all: 
And  the  "echo"  flies,  as  she  swift  re- 
plies 
To  her  partner's  lusty  "call." 

With  firm  untiring  wrist. 
With  eyes  alert  Tor  the  strife, 

A  woman  sat  at  a  game  of  whist 
Playing — as  if  for  life. 
Work,  work,  work  ! 

(Oh  !  shade  of  the  late  Tom  Hood 
Forgive  me,  do,  for  my  theft  from  you, 

And  pray  it  may  do  some  good  \) 


POEMS  ON  WHIST 


323 


POINTS 


One  more  notable  example  in  a 
broadly  humorous  vein  we  must 
make  room  for,  albeit  it  is  some- 
what lengthy,  but  as  good  as  it  is 
long.  It  is  "  A  Rubber  of  Whist," 
by  Manley  H.  Pike,  and  appeared 
in  a  recent  issue  of  Puck: 

No  pen  can  describe  how  a  man  has  to 

suffer 
When,  being  at  whist  what  experts  call 

"  a  duffer" — 
That  is,  one  possessing  small  skill  in  the 

art — he 

Is  seized  by  three  players  to  make  up 
their  party. 
It's  vain 
To  explain 

And  resist,  might  and  main. 
They  urge  him  and  coax  him  again  and 

again; 

For  sharper  solicitors  nowhere  exist 
Than  those  who  recruit  for  a  rubber  of 
whist. 

They  vow  they  are  fully  convinced  he'll 

do  wonders. 
And  promise  he  shall  not  be  blamed  for 

his  blunders. 

Ignoring  reluctance,  pooh-poohing  re- 
fusal, 

They  flatter,  encourage,  soft-soap,  and 
bamboozle. 

"  You'll  win, 
Sure  as  sin, 

From  the  time  you  begin. 
And  cut  us  all  out  if  you'll  only  cnt  in  !" 
At  last  he  surrenders — since  no  turn  or 

twist 
Avails  to  get  rid  of  that  rubber  of  whist. 

All  testify  toward  him   the  kindest  of 

feeling, 

Until  he  arouses  their  wrath  by  misdeal- 
ing; 
He  finds  that  they  think  it  no  matter  for 

joking, 

And  learns  what  a  horrible  crime  is  re- 
voking. 

It's  queer 
How  austere 
And  sublimely  severe, 
Yet  how  very  savage  their  faces  appear. 
The  language  they  utter— half  spoken, 

half  hissed— 

Seems  rather  bad  form  for  a  rubber  of 
whist. 

He  lives  out  the  game — but  he  hasn't  got 
through  it — 

His  partner  proceeds  to  completely  re- 
view it, 

Bombarding  his  ears,  in  a  jargon  out- 
landish, 

With  precepts  of  Pole  and  with  canons 
of  Cavendish. 


"The  way 
You  should  play 
Was  as  clear  as  the  day, 
But  you  didn't    play  so,   I'm  sorry  to 

say, 
If  you'd  read  a  line  of  the  teachings  of 

Trist, 

We'd  surely  have  captured  that  rubber  of 
whist !" 

Convinced  that  he's  thought  a  great  fool, 

or,  at  any  rate, 

An   imbecile,  crank,  or  some  sort  of  de- 
generate, 
Our  friend  most  resolvedly  swears  it's  the 

last  time 

He'll  ever  engage  in  that  heart-breaking 
pastime; 

For,  oh  ! 
High  or  low, 

You'll  find  nothing  that's  so 
Provoking  as  playing  a  game  you  don't 

know. 

I'd  sooner  encounter  a  pugilist's  fist 
Thao  meet  the  hard  rubs  of  a  rubber  of 
whist  I 

Points. — The  number  of  tricks 
over  six  in  each  hand,  scored  or 
counted  for  the  side  making  them. 
In  the  old  English  game  of  Hoyle, 
the  side  first  scoring  ten  by  tricks 
and  honors  won  the  game.  In  the 
modern  English  game,  the  side  first 
gaining  five  points  wins,  and  extra 
points  are  also  scored  for  high 
scores  made  in  games,  as  well  as  for 
the  winning  of  the  rubber.  (See, 
' '  Rubber  Points. " )  In  the  Ameri- 
can game,  points  are  made  by  cards 
alone,  honors  not  counting,  and  the 
side  that  first  scores  seven  wins. 
In  duplicate  whist  the  total  num- 
ber of  points  made  by  either  side  in 
a  match  or  sitting  is  recorded,  and 
some  players  score  in  this  manner, 
also,  at  straight  whist  in  this  coun- 
try. 

Points,  ten  of  them  make  a  game;  as 
many  as  are  gained  by  tricks  or  honors, 
so  many  points  are  set  up  to  the  score. — 
Edmond  Hoyle  [O.]. 

The  term  applies  to  both  game  and 
rubber;  a  game  at  short  whist,  consisting 
of  five  points;  a  rubber,  of  any  number  of 
points  from  one  up  to  eight,  inclusive. — 
Sir  William  Cusack-Smith  [L.  O.}. 

Playing  for  points  and  playing  for 
games  are  two  entirely  distinct  ideas  at 


POLE,  WILLIAM 


324 


POLE,  WILLIAM 


whist,  to  carry  out  which  very  different 
methods  of  play  are  necessary. —  William 
S.  Fenollosa\L.  A.},  Whist  July,  1892. 

Pole,  William,  Mus.  Doc.,  F. 
R.  S.  —  This  distinguished  and 
scholarly  advocate  of  the  modern 
scientific  game  might  properly  be 
called  the  philosopher  of  whist. 
The  books  of  "Cavendish"  and 
Clay  embodied  the  chief  improve- 
ments which  had  been  made  since 
the  days  of  Hoyle,  but  there  was 
something  wanting  still.  This  was 
supplied  by  Dr.  Pole  in  his  "Theory 
of  the  Modern  Scientific  Game," 
which  appeared  in  December,  1864. 
In  this  essay  the  author  went  deeper 
than  all  those  who  had  preceded 
him.  He  emphasized  the  following 
great  underlying  principle  of  the 
game:  The  more  perfect  cultiva- 
tion than  formerly  of  the  relations 
between  partners,  so  as  to  effect,  as 
far  as  possible,  a  combination  of  the 
hands.  He  held,  also,  that  the 
only  system  which  adapted  itself 
favorably  to  the  combination  of  the 
hands  was  the  long-suit  system — 
that  of  making  tricks  by  establish- 
ing and  bringing  in  a  long  suit. 
True,  this  was  one  of  the  well- 
known  devices  of  the  Hoyle  game, 
but  up  to  this  time  it  had  formed  only 
a  subordinate  part  in  the  play  of  the 
hands,  whereas  now  it  was  given 
the  most  prominent  position.  The 
idea  of  the  partnership  game  had 
also  been  previously  foreshadowed 
in  England  and  abroad.  General 
de  Vautre",  in  his  book,  "  Ge"nie  du 
Whist,"  published  in  Paris  in  1843, 
had  announced  that  "the  author 
teaches  the  mode  of  playing  with 
twenty-six  cards  (as  he  expresses 
it),  and  not  with  thirteen,  like  all 
the  rest  of  the  world."  Dr.  Pole 
went  farther  than  all  this:  he  an- 
alyzed, described,  and  defined  the 
whole  system  of  which  these  and 
similar  points  were  only  a  part,  and 
evolved  out  of  the  scattered  ele- 


ments of  whist  a  rational  science 
and  a  cohesive  whole. 

Dr.  Pole  is  a  civil  engineer,  re- 
siding in  London.  He  was  born  in 
Birmingham  on  April  22,  1814.  In 
1844  he  was  appointed  by  the  East 
India  Company  professor  of  civil 
engineering  in  Elphinstone  Col- 
lege, Bombay.  In  1847  he  returned 
to  London,  devoting  his  chief  at- 
tention to  the  mechanical  branch 
of  engineering.  From  1871  to  1883 
he  was  consulting  engineer  for  the 
imperial  railways  of  Japan,  and  on 
his  retirement  the  Mikado  honored 
him  with  the  decoration  of  the 
third  degree  ( Knight  Commander) 
of  the  Imperial  Order  of  the  Rising 
Sun.  He  served  on  the  council  of 
the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers 
from  1871  to  1885,  after  which  he 
acted  as  honorary  secretary  till 
1895.  Between  1859  and  1867  he 
was  also  professor  of  civil  engineer- 
ing at  University  College,  London, 
and  lecturer  at  the  Royal  Engineer 
Establishment,  Chatham.  He  has 
done  much  scientific  work  for  the 
English  government.  From  1861 
to  1864  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  committee  on  iron  armor, 
and  for  some  time  as  a  member  of 
the  committee  on  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  Whitworth  and  Arm- 
strong systems  of  artillery.  In  1870 
he  was  employed  by  the  Home 
Office  to  investigate  the  question  of 
the  introduction  into  the  metrop- 
olis of  the  constant-service  system 
of  water  supply,  and  he  took  an 
important  part  in  the  subsequent 
proceedings  for  carrying  it  into 
effect.  In  1871  he  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  War  Office  to  report 
on  the  Martini-Henry  breech-load- 
ing rifles.  In  1870  he  was  appointed 
by  the  Board  of  Trade  as  one  of  the 
metropolitan  gas  referees,  which 
position  he  still  holds.  He  has 
acted  as  secretary  (in  two  instances 
under  special  appointment  by  the 


POLE,  WILLIAM 


325 


POLE,  WILLIAM 


Queen)  to  four  government  com- 
missions of  inquiry,  namely,  from 
1865  to  1867,  to  the  royal  commis- 
sion on  railways;  from  1867  to  1869, 
to  that  on  water  supply;  from  1882 
to  1884,  to  that  for  inquiring  into 
the  pollution  of  the  Thames;  and 
in  1885,  to  a  committee  on  the  sci- 
ence museums  at  South  Kensing- 
ton. In  June,  1861,  he  was  elected 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
London;  he  has  served  six  years  on 
the  council,  and  was  vice-president 
in  1876  and  1889.  He  was  elected 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Edinburgh  in  1877,  and  a  member 
of  the  Athenaeum  Club,  without 
ballot  (as  a  scientific  distinction), 
in  1864. 

Dr.  Pole  has  done  much  literary 
work.  In  whist  his  first  essay  (on 
the  "  Theory  of  the  Modern  Scien- 
tific Game"),  as  already  noticed, 
was  published  in  1864.  It  appeared 
anonymously,  but  in  1870  a  new 
edition  was  published,  containing 
the  author's  name.  In  1872  an 
American  edition  was  brought  out, 
and  up  to  this  writing  (1897)  there 
have  been  above  twenty  English 
editions.  His  next  book  on  the 
game,  "The  Philosophy  of  Whist," 
appeared  in  London  and  New  York, 
in  1883,  and  is  now  ( 1897)  in  its 
sixth  edition,  and  has  greatly 
added  to  the  author's  already  high 
reputation,  as  it  continues  to  eluci- 
date, in  the  most  convincing  and 
attractive  manner,  the  great  theory 
propounded  in  his  first  volume.  He 
shows  that  the  game  which  he 
advocates  is  "a  compact  and 
consistent  logical  system,  of  a 
highly  intellectual  and  philosophi- 
cal character."  The  second  part 
of  the  book  is  devoted  to  the  phil- 
osophy of  whist  probabilities,  a 
world  of  speculation  which  opens 
up  a  delightful  vista  to  the  scien- 
tific gaze.  But  undoubtedly  the 
author's  crowning  work  appeared 


simultaneously  in  New  York  and 
London,  in  1895.  It  is  entitled 
"The  Evolution  of  Whist,"  being 
a  still  further  exposition  of  his 
theories  and  views,  and  a  masterful 
review  of  whist  from  its  earliest 
stages  down  to  the  present  day.  He 
has  carefully  studied  the  principles 
and  motives  which  have  determined 
the  progressive  changes  of  the 
game,  and  proceeds  on  the  theory 
that  the  course  of  whist  evolution 
may  be  likened  in  many  respects 
to  the  corresponding  process  in 
biology.  In  following  out  this 
analogy,  he  divides  the  history  of 
whist  into  several  progressive  eras, 
each  one  of  which  has  been  distin- 
guished by  a  particular  general 
structure  or  form  of  game,  and  he 
lays  stress  upon  the  fact  that  each 
of  these  forms  has  remained  in  ex- 
istence, and  will  probably  continue 
to  survive.  Treated  in  this  man- 
ner, whist  becomes  a  most  fascinat- 
ing study  and  a  noble  science. 

While  we  are  right  in  classing 
Dr.  Pole  as  friendly  to  the  system 
of  American  leads,  it  is  a  notable 
fact  that  at  one  time  he  seems  to 
have  doubted  the  legitimacy  of  the 
modern  signaling  principle,  and 
he  wrote,  in  the  Fortnightly  Re- 
view of  April,  1879,  an  argumenta- 
tive monograph  on  the  subject. 
But,  doubtless  in  deference  to  the 
largely  increased  popularity  of  the 
system  and  the  eminence  of  its  sup- 
porters, he  did  not  put  forth  this 
view  in  his  books  on  the  game. 
And  here  we  may  appropriately 
make  mention  of  his  own  personal 
play.  The  greatest  writer  on  the 
theory  of  the  game  was  also  a  mas- 
ter of  its  practice  in  his  younger 
days,  although  in  his  advanced  age 
he  no  longer  feels  himself  equal 
to  his  former  performances.  Miss 
Wheelock  recently  described  to  us 
a  touching  incident  which  oc- 
curred dunng  her  visit  to  him,  in 


POLE,  WILLIAM 


326 


POLE,  WILLIAM 


London,  in  1897.  She  repeatedly 
urged  him  to  play  a  rubber,  but  in 
vain.  At  last,  taking  her  hands  in 
his,  he  remarked:  "  My  dear  child, 
I  am  now  like  a  guide-post  on  the 
highway;  I  can  point  the  way,  but 
I  cannot  follow  it  myself."  He  no 
doubt  feared  that  one  of  Miss 
Wheelock's  ability  and  reputation 
might  feel  disappointed  in  his  play, 
and  so  he  steadfastly  declined,  but 
turning  to  a  piano  he  played  some 
beautiful  music  for  her  instead. 
That  Dr.  Pole  has  been  for  many 
years  an  excellent  whist-player, 
however,  must  be  apparent  to  all, 
when  it  is  stated,  that  in  20,000 
rubbers  played,  from  1869  to  1893, 
he  won  526  more  rubbers  than  he 
lost,  and  that  the  points  which  he 
•won  exceeded  by  3104  those  which 
he  lost.  He  modestly  attributed 
this  showing  "  not  to  any  superior 
skill  in  play,  but  entirely  to  a 
steady  adherence  to  system." 

In  1889  Dr.  Pole  wrote  the  article 
on  whist  for  a  new  edition  of  Bonn's 
"Hand-book  of  Games,"  and  it  was 
printed  separately.  He  has  also 
published  articles  on  several  card 
games  in  Routledge's  "  Cyclopedia 
of  Card  and  Table  Games,"  1891. 
Among  these  is  "  Pope's  Game  of 
Ombre. ' '  Ombre  was  a  fashionable 
game  which  preceded  whist.  It 
was  obscurely  described  by  Pope  in 
his  "Rape  of  the  Lock,"  but  Dr. 
Pole  unraveled  it  and  wrote  a  full 
description. 

Besides  his  writings  on  whist, 
Dr.  Pole  has  also  published  a  num- 
ber of  works  on  other  subjects. 
His  quarto  treatise  on  the  steam  en- 
gine appeared  in  1844,  and  his 
translation  of  a  German  work  on 
the  same  subject  in  1848.  In  1864 
and  1870  he  published  scientific 
chapters  in  the  lives  of  Robert 
Stephenson  and  I.  K.  Brunei;  in 
1872  a  treatise  on  iron;  in  1877  the 
life  of  Sir  William  Fairbarn,  Bart. ; 


and  in  1888  the  life  of  Sir  William 
Siemens.  He  has  also  written  many 
papers  for  scientific  and  other 
journals,  being  a  contributor  to 
several  periodicals  of  the  highest 
rank  in  literature. 

Dr.  Pole  has  also  devoted  much 
attention  to  the  study  of  music. 
He  took,  in  1860,  the  Oxford  degree 
of  bachelor,  and  in  1867  that  of 
doctor  of  music,  and  remains  a 
member  of  St.  John's  College  in 
that  university.  He  was  the  chief 
adviser  of  the  University  of  London 
in  the  establishment  of  musical  de- 
grees in  1877,  and  afterward  held, 
for  twelve  years,  the  office  of  musi- 
cal examiner  in  that  institution. 
He  has  been  a  public  organ  player, 
and  was  elected  an  honorary  fellow 
of  the  Royal  College  of  Organists. 
He  is  the  author  of  a  "  Treatise  on 
the  Musical  Instruments  in  the 
Exhibition  of  1851;"  of  the  "  Story 
of  Mozart's  Requiem,"  1879;  and 
"The  Philosophy  of  Music,"  1879. 
He  is  also  the  composer  of  a  well- 
known  eight-part  motet  on  the 
"Hundredth  Psalm."  (See,  also, 
"  Rhyming  Rules.") 

Dr.  Pole  laid  down  the  fundamental 
principles  of  modern  whist,  and  his  work 
will  ever  remain  the  cornerstone  of  the 
game. —  Whist  [L.  A.\,  February,  181)4. 

Dr.  Pole's  book,  "The  Evolution  of 
Whist,"  shows  an  immense  amount  of 
research  and  calm,  judicial  sifting  of 
facts.  He  is  better  fitted  than  any  one 
else  in  the  world  to  write  the  history  of 
whist.— Rochester  (N.  Y.)  Post- Express. 
f8o6. 

This  admirable  essay  ["  Theory  of  the 
Modern  Scientific  Game"],  if  it  stood 
alone  as  his  only  contribution  to  the  sci- 
ence, would  entitle  its  author  to  the 
warmest  thanks  of  every  lover  of  the 
game;  but  Dr.  Pole  may  justly  plume 
Himself  on  the  composition  of  another 
volume  of  equal  value.  This  is  "The 
Philosophy  of  Whist."—  IV.  P.  Courtney 
[L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

Dr.  Pole  is  so  well  known  as  an  author- 
ity on  the  theoretical  side  of  whist-play, 
that  it  is  hardlv  necessary  for  us  to  enter 
into  any  detail  respecting  his  contribu- 
tions to  its  literature.  *  *  *  These 


PONE 


327 


POSITION 


books  [the  "Theory  of  the  Modern  Sci- 
entific Game,"  and  "The  Philosophy  of 
Whist"]  exhibit  the  game  both  theoreti- 
cally and  practically  in  the  perfect  state 
at  which  it  has  arrived  during  the  two 
centuries  that  have  elapsed  since  whist 
assumed  a  definite  shape  and  took  its 
present  name. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.]. 

Pone. — The  dealer's  right-hand 
adversary,  who  cuts  the  cards  after 
they  have  been  shuffled. 

The  cards  having  been  properly  shuf- 
fled, the  dealer  presents  them  to  the  pone 
to  be  cut.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

•'  Portland."  —  A  pseudonym 
adopted  by  the  editor  of  "The 
Whist-Table:  a  Treasury  of  Notes 
on  the  Royal  Game,  by  '  Caven- 
dish,' C.  Mossop,  A.  C.  Ewald, 
Charles  Hervey,  and  Other  Distin- 
guished Players,"  a  volume  of  472 
pages,  published  in  1894.  He  is 
James  Hogg,  of  London,  a  well- 
known  English  writer  and  pub- 
lisher. He  was  born  in  Edinburgh, 
August  n,  1829,  where  in  his  youth 
he  was  associated  with  his  father  in 
editing  the  Weekly  Instructor. 
Subsequently  he  became  sole  edi- 
tor, with  Thomas  De  Quincey  as  his 
chief  adviser  and  contributor.  Mr. 
Hogg  was  his  companion  and  inti- 
mate working  associate  for  nine 
years,  while  he  prepared  the  col- 
lected edition  of  his  works.  After 
De  Quincey's  death,  Mr.  Hogg 
published  some  reminiscences  in 
Harper's  (February,  1890);  uncol- 
lected  writings,  in  two  volumes; 
and  "De  Quincey  and  his  Friends. ' ' 
Mr.  Hogg  founded  London  Society 
in  1862,  and  edited  that  magazine 
until  1887.  He  has  written  and 
edited  many  books,  but  the  "  Whist- 
Table"  is  his  only  venture  in  whist. 

Portland  Club. — A  famous  Lon- 
don whist  club,  which  cooperated 
with  the  Arlington  (since  called 
the  Turf)  Club  and  John  Loraine 


Baldwin  in  revising  the  English 
laws  of  whist,  i863-'64.  The  Port- 
land was  first  located  in  Blooms- 
bury  Square;  then  it  successively 
occupied  quarters  in  Jermyn  street, 
Stratford  Place,  Oxford  street,  and 
St.  James'  Square,  where  it  is  now 
housed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
square,  at  the  corner  of  York 
street. 

The  Portland  was  the  club  most 
frequented  by  James  Clay,  and 
here  it  was  that  the  members  of  the 
"  Little  Whist  School"  (q.  v.)  had 
access  to  him.  The  membership 
of  the  club,  during  its  many  years 
of  existence  as  the  whist  headquar- 
ters of  Europe,  embraced  some  of 
the  most  eminent  players  of  their 
day.  Lord  Bentinck,  the  inventor 
of  the  trump  signal,  played  there 
as  well  as  at  Graham's.  "Caven- 
dish" has  been  a  member  for  many 
years,  but  has  not  been  regular  in 
his  attendance  for  the  past  two 
years.  The  fact  is,  the  Portland, 
like  many  other  clubs,  has  been 
suffering  for  some  time  from  an  at- 
tack of  "bridge,"  and  until  the 
craze  has  run  its  course,  true  whist 
is  in  a  minority  there,  to  the  sor- 
row of  whist  lovers. 

At  the  Portland  may  at  this  time,  as  at 
any  time  since  its  opening,  be  observed 
the  most  skillful  of  the  London  card- 
players.  A  distinguished  peer  or  two  of 
great  whist  distinction  still  haunt  its 
rooms.  A  law  officer  of  the  crown,  past 
or  present,  may  now  and  then  be  seen 
playing  a  dashing  game  of  whist  within 
Us  walls.—  W.P.  Courtney  [L+O.],  "Eng- 
lish Whist,"  1894. 


Portland    Rules. — See, 
of  Whist,  English  Code." 


;Laws 


Position. — The  place  occupied 
by  a  player,  at  the  table,  such  as  A, 
B,  Y,  or  Z;  sometimes  also  indi- 
cated by  north,  south,  east,  or  west 
(especially  in  duplicate  whist).  A 
and  B  are  partners  against  Y  and 
Z,  and  north  and  south  against  east 


POST-MORTEM 


328      PRIVATE  CONVENTIONS 


and  west.  These  are  the  primary 
positions  at  the  opening  of  the 
game  or  sitting,  and  if  the  partners 
are  unchanged,  they  continue  until 
the  sitting  is  over.  The  relative 
positions  of  the  players,  after  the 
first  hand  is  finished,  vary  accord- 
ing to  the  deal  and  lead,  which 
passes  around  the  table  in  rotation. 
Players  become  first,  second,  third, 
or  fourth  hand  in  accordance  with 
the  order  in  which  they  play  to 
each  trick,  but  their  fundamental, 
or  partnership,  positions  are  not 
affected  thereby,  each  one  remain- 
ing A,  B,  Y,  or  Z,  although  play- 
ing first,  second,  third,  and  fourth 
hand  on  the  various  tricks. 

Post-Mortem. — A  colloquial 
phrase  in  whist,  meaning  a  discus- 
sion or  criticism  of  a  hand  or  game 
that  has  just  been  played.  In 
some  clubs  a  special  table  is  set 
aside  for  this  purpose,  so  that  the 
discussion  will  not  interfere  with 
the  regular  play. 

Post-mortems  [are]  discussions  as  to 
what  might  have  been  at  whist;  some- 
times called  "  If  you  hads." — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.]. 

Talking  over  the  hand  after  it  has  been 
plaved  is  not  uncommonly  called  a  bad 
habit,  and  an  annoyance.  I  am  firmly 
persuaded  it  is  one  of  the  readiest  ways 
of  learning  whist.— James  Clay  [L.  O+ ] . 

Practice. — In  order  to  become  a 
fine  player  you  must  not  only  be 
well-grounded  in  the  theory  of  the 
game,  but  in  its  practice.  Precepts, 
maxims,  a  knowledge  of  the  proper 
leads  and  conventional  signals,  are 
most  desirable,  but  in  order  to 
make  use  of  them  it  is  necessary  to 
put  them  constantly  into  execution. 
Constant  and  careful  practice,  if 
possible,  with  superior  players,  will 
round  out  the  education  of  a  player. 

Those  who  care  to  play  whist  well  must 
study  the  game,  and  practice  with  good 
players.  *  *  •  Playing  over  pnnted 
games,  or  hands  that  you  may  have  taken 


notes  of,  is  most  excellent  practice. — 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.},  ''Modern  Scien- 
tific Whist." 

••  Preference."— See,  "  Swedish 
Whist." 

Principles,  General. — Although 
the  rules  of  whist  are  many,  the 
underlying  principles  of  the  game 
are  few  and  simple.  The  first  gen- 
eral principle  is  to  play  to  make  as 
many  tricks  as  possible.  Upon  this 
all  schools  of  whist  are  agreed. 
The  next  general  principle  of  the 
modern  scientific  school  is  this: 
The  best  way  to  play  whist  and  win 
tricks  is  by  means  of  the  partner- 
ship game,  and  this  is  best  pro- 
moted by  leading  from,  establish- 
ing, and  bringing  in  your  long  suit. 
Another  modern  principle  is  that 
free  intercommunication  between 
partners,  by  means  of  conventional 
play,  is  best  calculated  to  enable 
them  to  play  their  hands  as  one. 

The  general  principles  of  the 
short-suit  school  differ  from  the 
above  mainly  in  this  respect:  They 
believe  that,  unless  your  long  suit 
is  especially  strong,  and  the  con- 
ditions for  bringing  it  in  most  fav- 
orable, it  is  much  better  to  let  some 
one  else  open  it  than  yourself. 

Private  Conventions. — Signals 
or  arrangements  of  play  privately 
agreed  upon,  and  understood  only 
by  those  employing  them.  The  mod- 
ern game,  with  its  conventional 
leads  and  signals,  caused  many  play- 
ers to  devise  new  arrangements  of 
the  cards  for  their  own  information, 
and  very  often  it  was  found  that 
teams  employed  a  language  of  the 
cards  which  no  one  else  under- 
stood. This  naturally  led  to  a  dis- 
cussion as  to  whether  the  use  of 
such  arrangements  was  permissible. 
The  controversy  began  early  in 
1894,  and  lasted  until  the  executive 
committee  of  the  American  Whist 


PRIVATE  CONVENTIONS      329     PRIVATE  CONVENTIONS 


League  declared  against  all  pri- 
vate conventions.  Its  decision  was 
affirmed  by  the  League  at  the  fifth 
congress,  in  June,  1895.  At  the 
seventh  congress,  Put-iu-Bay,  1897, 
further  action  was  taken  emphasiz- 
ing the  position  of  the  League,  and 
making  the  employment  of  private 
conventions  a  cause  for  protest  in 
matches.  The  full  text  of  the  rule 
of  play,  as  amended,  is  as  follows: 
"  The  right  of  contestants  to  use 
any  well-known  and  established 
method  of  play,  and  any  original 
method,  not  given  a  secret,  pre- 
arranged meaning,  is  acknowl- 
edged; but  the  American  Whist 
League  emphatically  disapproves 
of  private  conventions,  and  defines 
a  private  convention  to  be  any  un- 
usual method  of  play  based  upon  a 
prior  secret  agreement.  It  is  the 
right  of  a  contestant  to  demand  of 
his  opponents  an  explanation  of 
their  system  of  play  at  any  time, 
except  during  the  play  of  the 
hand,  and  their  duty  to  give  such 
information  promptly  and  fully. 
Any  infraction  of  this  or  any  other 
rule  of  whist  etiquette  adopted  by 
the  American  Whist  League  shall 
be  cause  for  protest,  to  be  followed 
by  such  penalty  as  the  tournament 
committee  or  umpire  may  impose." 

A  private  convention  is  a  method  of 
play  which  loses  its  usefulness  the  mo- 
ment its  nature  is  disclosed  to  the  adver- 
saries.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.] . 

I  cannot  help  feeling  that  [the  question 
of  private  conventions]  is  indeed  a  ques- 
tion, not  of  usage,  not  of  etiquette,  but  of 
morals.— P.  J.  Tormey  [L.  A.]. 

I  can  see  no  difference  between  signals 
made  with  cards  and  those  given  bv  fin- 
gers or  feet,  if  prompted  by  the  desire  to 
gain  unfair  advantages. — B.  L.  Richards 
\L.  A.],  Treasurer  American  Whist 
League. 

_Men  of  honor,  when  they  play  cards 
with  one  another,  more  especially  in  an 
intellectual  game  like  whist,  would  scorn 
to  use  a  lot  of  private  signals  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gaining  an  advantage. —  Theodore 
Schwarz  [L.  A.]. 


What  is  a  private  signal  ?  Taken  in  its 
widest  meaning,  a  private  signal  may  be 
defined  as  some  act  on  the  part  of  a  player, 
other  than  the  play  of  certain  cards,  by 
which  he  informs  his  partner  what  he 
wishes  him  to  do.  Such  a  proceeding  un- 
doubtedly is  cheating. — A.  ]V.  Drayson 
[L+A+],  Whist,  June,  1897. 

The  use  of  such  conventions,  the  mean- 
ing of  which  is  variable  and  absolutely 
secret,  depending,  for  example,  on  an  ar- 
bitrary arrangement  of  suits,  I  believe 
would  destroy  the  game  of  whist,  or 
greatly  lower  its  rank.  *  *  *  These 
methods  seem  to  me  beneath  the  dignity 
of  the  game,  and  hardly  within  the  pale 
of  honesty. — Fisher  Ames[L.  A.],  Whist, 
August,  1895. 

Let  me  *  *  *  remark  the  three  chief 
characteristics  of  a  private  conventional- 
ity. First,  it  must  DC  an  innovation  or 
contravention  of  established  usage.  Sec- 
ond, it  must  be  based  upon  a  secret  agree- 
ment between  partners.  Third,  it  must 
be  a  secret  agreement  that  cannot  be  de- 
tected by  logical  inference  drawn  from 
the  fall  of  the  cards.— Eugene  S.  Elliott 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  May,  1894. 

Private  conventionalities  are  wrong, 
essentially  wrong,  from  both  the  moral 
and  legal  point  of  view.  They  have  been 
so  regarded  by  all  the  authorities  from 
Hoyle  to  Hamilton,  confirmed  by  the  ac- 
cumulated wisdom  of  whist  experts  for 
over  a  hundred  years.  "  We  must  speak 
by  the  card,"  and  the  sentence  thus 
spoken  must  be  intelligible  alike  to  all, 
subject  only  to  the  differences  in  mental 
capacity.— C.  E.  Coffin  [L.  A.I. 

Our  opinion  on  the  subject  of  new  sig- 
nals and  conventions  is  that  they  should 
be  encouraged,  provided  thev  are  based 
on  good  whist  logic  and  likely  to  add  to 
the  skill  of  the  game.  The_  true  test  as 
to  whether  a  new  convention  is  of  any 
practical  value  is — will  it  gain  tricks  on 
its  own  merits?  If  its  success  is  depend- 
ent on  keeping  the  adversaries  in  ignor- 
ance of  the  same,  it  will  prove  of  no  ulti- 
mate value  to  the  game. —  Whist  [L.  A.}, 
April,  1896. 

Every  individual  has  the  right  to  play 
his  cards  as  he  pleases.  But  I  believe  it 
to  be  absolutely  unfair  for  partners  to 
agree  upon  a  method  of  play  known  only 
to  themselves,  and  expressly  designed  to 
mislead  their  adversaries.  "  Whist  is  a 
language,  and  every  card  played  an  in- 
telligible sentence."  Private  conventions 
render  the  language  intelligible  to  but 
one  side,  falsify  the  ordinary  meaning, 
and  are  open  to  the  charge  of  dishonest 
collusion.— Robert  H.  Weems  [L.  A.}. 

I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  whist-player 
in  America  who  will  defend  such  stultify- 
ing and  degrading  practice.  Suppose, 


PRIVATE  CONVENTIONS     330 


PROBABILITIES 


for  example,  that  A-B  privately  agree 
that  they  will  reverse  the  recognized 
signification  of  the  convention  known  as 
the  trump  request.  What  is  the  object  of 
the  compact?  Fraud!  A  contemptible 
conspiracy,  made  with  the  single  object 
of  reaping  unfair  advantage.  The  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  a  damnable  cabal  has  no 
bearing.  It  is  no  argument  in  palliation 
of  the  despicable  chicanery  to  contend 
that  such  jockeyism  will  not  succeed. 
The  marrow  of  the  matter  is  that  the 
secret  code  is  arranged  for  the  single  pur- 
pose of  reaping  advantage  due  to  signals 
issued  in  such  a  way  that  partner — o_wing 
to  the  private  understanding — may  inter- 
pret, and  the  adversaries  be  entrapped 
thereby.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.j. 

There  are  those  who  show  four  trumps 
by  the  original  lead  of  any  card  below  the 
seven,  if  from  a  four-card  suit:  others 
who  simply  lead  the  king  or  the  deuce  to 
announce  four  trumps.  Many  have  pecu- 
liarities of  play — and  they  are  all,  all  hon- 
orable men  —  who  would  indignantly 
repudiate  the  charge  of  using  private 
conventions,  who  yet  do  not  feel  it  neces- 
sary or  requisite  to  shout  it  from  the 
housetops,  nor  to  inform  their  adversaries 
all  about  them, — idiosyncrasies  of  play 
which  are  not  published  in  any  whist 
book,  such  as  being  forced  by  partner  im- 
mediately afterward  to  leaa  a  trump  if 
having  an  honor,  but  not  otherwise:  or, 
taking  the  first  trick  in  trumps  led  by 
partner  originally,  to  lead  a  singleton  in- 
stead of  returning  a  trump,  as  an  invita- 
tion to  ruff.  Are  these  private  conventions, 
or  is  it  legitimate  •whist  strategy  ?  Isn't 
it  difficult  to  draw  the  line  at  just  the 
right  place  ?— Anon,  Whist,  April,  1896. 

As  may  easily  be  imagined,  informatpry 
plays  did  not  stop  at  number-showing 
leads.  The  naturally  inventi\'e  American 
mind  soon  contrived  other  means.  Each 
club  had  its  whist  crank,  who  lay  awake 
at  night  studying  up  new  systems  of  giv- 
ing information.  These  were  duly  ex- 
ploited in  the  card-room,  and  after  a  brief 
trial  were  described  in  a  letter  to  Whist, 
or  published  in  some  later  edition  of  a 
text-book.  As  time  went  on  these  con- 
ventionalities increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  wa_s  impossible  to  publish  them 
all,  and  still  more  impossible  for  any  per- 
son to  learn  the  half  of  them.  Many  were 
confined  to  certain  localities,  or  known 
only  in  the  immediate  circle  in  which 
they  originated.  So  great  and  crying  was 
the  evil  that  the  officials  of  the  Whist 
League  were  called  upon  to  legislate 
against  it,  and  at  the  congress  of  1895 
they  decreed  that  all  private  convention- 
alities were  illegal.  So  far  from  stopping 
thtrir  use,  this  edict  only  prompted  per- 
sons using  such  conventionalities  to  evade 
the  spirit  of  the  law  by  making  some  pre- 


tence at  publication.  Take  them  all  in 
all,  these  private  conventions  have  proved 
to  be  the  most  malignant  cancer  that  ever 
fastened  itself  upon  the  game  of  whist, 
and  many  think  if  the  knife  is  not  ap- 
plied to  the  evil  it  will  certainly  kill  the 
game.—/?.  F.  Foster  [5.  0.],  Monthly  Illus- 
trator. 

We  have  here  three  fairly  well-defined 
stages  of  the  application  of  the  "  mutual 
understanding"  to  the  communication  of 
information  between  partners.  The  first 
is  absolutely  simple,  nothing  being  done 
beyond  agreeing  to  give  attention  to  cer- 
tain rules  of  normal  play,  designed 
either  directly  to  promote  trick-making, 
or  to  insure  regularity  and  uniformity. 
The  second  stage  involves  what  is  called 
"signaling;"  it  implies  that  something 
special  and  abnormal  is  to  be  communi- 
cated to  the  partner;  but  this  is  of  a  na- 
ture arising  analogically  out  of  normal 
play,  and  is  communicated  by  corre- 
sponding modes,  publicly  known  and 
agreed  to.  The  third,  or  doubtful  stage, 
is  an  extension  of  the  second  to  devices 
of  an  entirely  arbitrary  character.  But 
there  is  now  this  most  important  fact  to 
be  observed,  that  throughout  all  these 
phases  of  the  evolution,  even  in  the  last 
named,  the  mutual  understanding  has 
been  general  with  all  the  players'.  We 
fail  entirely  to  find  any  case,  till  now, 
where  it  has  been  even  proposed  to  limit 
it  to  a  secret  understanding  between  two 
partnersonly.  *  *  *  Such  an  arrange- 
ment must  be  considered  as  an  entire 
contravention  or  infraction  of  Paley's 
fundamental  ethical  principle,  that 
neither  party  should  have  a  surreptitious 
advantage  over  the  other.—  William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Probabilities. — The  probabilities 
of  whist,  or  the  likelihood  of  any- 
thing connected  with  the  game — 
such  as  the  distribution  of  certain 
cards  in  certain  hands — happening 
a  given  number  of  times,  is  a  sub- 
ject which  has  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  many  writers  on  whist,  be- 
ginning with  Hoyle. 

Chance  is  the  operation  of  causes 
unknown  to  us;  by  calculating  and 
averaging  a  large  number  of 
chances,  we  arrive  at  certain  proba- 
bilities which  contain  more  or  less 
significance  or  information  that 
mny  be  of  use  in  the  conduct  of  the 
game.  For  instance,  it  has  been 
calculated  by  Pole  and  others  that 


PROBABILITIES 


331 


PROBLEMS 


with  three,  four,  or  five  cards  in  a 
suit,  the  chances  are  better  than 
even  that  the  suit  will  go  around 
twice.  With  three  cards  in  a  suit, 
the  chances  are  that  it  will  go 
around  three  times  twenty -eight 
times  or  thereabouts  in  a  hundred. 
With  four  cards  in  suit  the  chances 
of  it  going  around  three  times  are 
about  eleven  in  a  hundred.  Again, 
Mathews  says:  ' '  That  either  player 
has  not  one  named  card  not  in 
your  hand  is  two  to  one;  five  to 
four  in  favor  of  his  having  one  of 
two;  five  to  two  in  favor  of  his  hav- 
ing one  in  three;  four  to  one  in 
favor  of  his  having  one  in  four." 

Probabilities  may  be  arrived  at 
by  experience  as  well  as  calcula- 
tion. We  know,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  that  with  thirteen  cards  in 
each  hand  it  is  impossible  to  divide 
them  into  four  suits  without  having 
at  least  one  long  suit — i.  e.,  one  suit 
of  four  cards.  This  is  not  a  proba- 
bility, but  a  fact,  which  was  given 
due  consideration  by  the  origina- 
tors of  the  long-suit  game.  When 
we  consider,  however,  whether  a 
hand  may  contain  more  than  one 
long  suit,  we  are  at  once  in  the 
domain  of  probabilities,  and  we 
may  form  an  opinion  based  on 
mathematical  calculation,  or  upon 
deductions  made  from  previously 
ascertained  facts.  Pole,  for  in- 
stance, computed  that  the  dealer 
should  hold  an  average  of  3.82 
trumps,  and  each  of  the  other  three 
players  an  average  of  3.06.  In  a 
practical  experience  of  1000  deals 
the  dealer's  average  was  found  by 
him  to  be  3.814;  that  of  the  first 
hand,  3.110;  that  of  second  hand, 
3.119;  and  that  of  third  hand, 

2-957- 

"The  doctrine  of  probabilities," 
says  Emery  Boardman,  in  his  ad- 
mirable summary  of  Pole's  calcula- 
tions, ' '  teaches  that  the  dealer 
holds,  as  an  average,  twenty-five  per 


cent,  more  trumps  than  that  doc- 
trine concedes  to  any  of  the  other 
players.  It  likewise  teaches  that 
about  four  times  in  one  hundred 
three  of  the  four  hands  will  be  long 
in  three  of  the  four  suits;  that 
about  fifty-eight  times  in  one  hun- 
dred two  hands  will  be  thus  long, 
while  only  about  thirty-eight  times 
in  one  hundred  will  one  hand  be 
long  and  the  other  three  short  in 
any  given  suit.  From  this  it  fol- 
lows that  about  four  times  in  one 
hundred  any  named  hand  should 
contain  three  long  suits;  that  about 
fifty-eight  times  in  one  hundred 
any  specified  hand  should  contain 
two  long  suits;  and  about  thirty- 
eight  times  in  one  hundred  one 
long  and  three  short  suits.  It 
further  appears  that,  in  one  hun- 
dred deals,  each  suit  of  cards 
will  be  divided  into  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty-six  long  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty-nine 
short  suits,  and,  consequently,  that 
in  the  same  number  of  deals  each 
hand  will  contain  about  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  long  and  two 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  short 
suits,  each  hand  averaging  one  and 
two-thirds  long  suits.  With  this 
scanty  amount  of  information  each 
player  is  provided,  before  examin- 
ing his  hand,  at  each  deal;  and 
from  this,  and  the  information  de- 
rived from  the  trump  turned,  and 
an  examination  of  his  own  cards, 
must  the  eldest  hand  determine  the 
opening  lead  after  each  deal." 
(See,  also,  "  Chances  at  Whist") 

Problems. — A  whist  problem  is 
an  ingenious  arrangement  of  the 
cards  (either  founded  upon  actual 
play  or  invented  for  the  occasion), 
involving  some  method  of  play  or 
other  question  difficult  of  solution. 
For  instance,  the  cards  in  a  certain 
deal  are  all  indicated  in  a  diagram 
of  the  hands,  and  the  question  is 


PROBLEMS 


332       PROCTOR,  RICHARD  A. 


how  they  shall  be  played  so  that  a 
particular  hand  will  win.  It  may 
be  that  some  peculiar  forms  of 
strategy,  or  a  coup  or  coups,  are 
necessary  in  order  to  arrive  at  the 
desired  result,  and  these  the  solver 
must  correctly  infer  and  arrive  at 
in  order  to  achieve  victory.  Fre- 
quently a  problem  is  made  up  of 
only  part  of  the  cards  of  a  deal, 
and  five  or  six  tricks  complete  its 
play.  Or,  as  in  whist  perception 
problems  (q.  v.),  all  the  cards  of  one 
hand  are  shown,  together  with  the 
first  five  or  six  tricks  of  the  play, 
and  the  student  is  asked  to  place  the 
rest  of  the  cards  and  give  the  cor- 
rect order  of  their  play. 

The  late  Frederic  H.  Lewis  (q.  v.) 
was  the  first  to  bring  double-dummy 
problems  to  perfection,  and  W.  H. 
Whitfeld  (q.  v.}  is  the  greatest  liv- 
ing constructor  of  such  problems 
to-day.  In  perception  problems  an 
American,  Charles  M.  Clay  (q.  v.), 
stands  at  the  head.  (See,  also, 
"  Duke  of*  Cumberland's  Famous 
Hand,"  and  "  Vienna  Coup.") 

A  lover  of  whist  has  a  refuge  against 
dull  and  lonely  hours,  for  the  solving  of 
•whist  problems  is  a  most  fascinating  oc- 
cupation, exercising  all  one's  ability  as  a 
whist-player,  bringing  out  the  subtle 
points  of  the  play,  and  stimulating  inter- 
est in  the  game.— Harriet  Allen  Anderson 
[L.  A.],  "Home  Magazine,"  July,  1895  • 

All  the  trumps  are  out,  A  has  the  lead, 
and  wins  every  trick.  How  does  he  do  it  ? 
A's  hand:  Diamonds — ace.  queen,  knave, 
six,  five,  four,  three.  Y's  hand:  Dia- 
monds —  king,  eight;  clubs— ace,  king, 
queen,  ten,  nine.  B's  hand:  Diamonds- 
seven,  two;  clubs — eight,  seven,  six,  five, 
four.  Z's  hand:  Diamonds — ten,  nine; 
hearts-yace,  queen,  seven,  six,  five. — 
Westminster  Papers  \L +O.],  November  i, 
1878. 

Suppose  three  hands  of  cards,  contain- 
ing three  cards  in  each  hand.  Let  A 
name  the  trump,  and  let  B  choose  which 
hand  he  pleases.  A,  having  his  choice 
of  either  of  the  two  other  hands,  wins 
two  tricks.  Clubs  are  the  trumps.  First 
hand— ace,  king,  and  six  of  hearts;  second 
hand — queen  and  ten  of  hearts,  and  ten 
of  trumps;  third  hand — nine  of  hearts, 
and  two  and  three  of  trumps.  The  first 


hand  wins  of  the  second,  the  second  wins 
of  the  third,  and  the  third  wins  of  the 
first.— Hoyle  [O.],  "'Treatise  on  Whist." 

I  do  not  pface  very  much  value  on  the 
capacity  which  enables  a  man  to  work 
out  double-dummy  problems  without  fail, 
when  I  consider  the  application  of  this 
capacity  for  whist.  The  two  cases  are 
entirely  different,  and  bring  into  play 
entirely  different  mental  powers.  A 
problem  at  dummy  requires  quiet  calcu- 
lation; whist-playing  requires  a  quick 
calculation  of  probabilities  from  the  evi- 
dence before  you,  and  an  acute  percep- 
tion as  to  whether  this  evidence  is  genu- 
ine or  false. — A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Proctor,     Richard    Anthony. — 

Professor  Richard  A.  Proctor,  the 
distinguished  astronomer,  mathe- 
matician, and  whist  author,  was 
born  in  Chelsea,  England,  on 
March  23,  1837,  the  fourth  and 
youngest  son  of  William  Proctor,  a 
solicitor.  His  childhood  was 
marked  by  frail  health  and  studi- 
ous tastes.  In  1854  he  became  a 
clerk  in  the  London  and  Joint 
Stock  Bank,  but  the  following  year 
the  opportunity  of  a  university 
education  offered  itself,  and  he  en- 
tered the  London  University,  and  a 
year  later  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge. He  was  married  after  com- 
pleting his  second  university  year, 
and  graduated  as  twenty-third 
wrangler  in  1860.  He  then  read 
law  for  a  time,  but  abandoned  it 
for  science  in  1863,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  study  of  astronomy 
and  mathematics,  as  a  distraction 
for  his  overwhelming  grief  at  the 
loss  of  his  eldest  child.  His  first 
contribution  to  literature  was  his 
article  on  the  "  Colors  of  Double 
Stars,"  published  in  1865,  in  the 
Cornhilt  Magazine,  and  in  the 
same  year  he  published  his  cele- 
brated monograph  on  "  Saturn  and 
his  System."  The  reputation  it 
won  enabled  him  to  make  literature 
his  profession,  when  the  failure,  in 
1866,  of  a  New  Zealand  bank,  in 
which  he  was  a  considerable  share- 


PROCTOR,  RICHARD  A.        333        PROCTOR,  RICHARD  A. 


holder,  left  him  entirely  dependent 
upon  his  own  earnings.  For  five 
years,  he  tells  us,  he  did  not  take 
one  day's  holiday,  so  unceasing 
was  his  drudgery.  His  "  Hand- 
book of  the  Stars,"  published  in 
1866,  and  his  "  Constellation  Sea- 
sons," and  "Sun  Views  of  the 
Earth,"  which  followed,  helped  to 
still  further  extend  his  reputation. 
He  taught  mathematics  for  a  time 
in  a  private  military  school  at 
Woolwich.  In  1873  he  accepted  a 
proposal  for  a  lecturing  tour  in  the 
United  States,  resigning  an  honora- 
ry secretaryship  to  the  Royal  As- 
tronomical Society  in  order  to  be 
at  liberty  for  the  engagement.  His 
success  as  a  lecturer  was  pro- 
nounced from  the  start,  and  greatly 
enhanced  his  popularity.  He  made 
a  second  tour  of  the  United  States, 
and  on  the  death  of  his  wife,  in 
1879,  he  traveled  and  lectured  in 
Australia.  Returning  to  the  United 
States,  he  was  married,  in  1881,  to 
Mrs.  Robert  J.  Crawley,  a  widow 
with  two  children,  and  settled  at 
St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  her  home.  In  the 
same  year  he  founded  the  success- 
ful scientific  periodical,  Knowledge, 
in  London,  and  continued  also  to 
contribute  to  other  periodicals. 

In  1887  he  removed  his  house- 
hold and  his  astronomical  observa- 
tory to  Orange  Lake,  Florida,  and 
in  September  of  the  following  year 
he  was  taken  ill  while  on  his  way 
to  England  to  attend  to  some  busi- 
ness matters.  He  did  not  get  fur- 
ther than  New  York,  his  disease 
being  there  pronounced  yellow 
fever,  which  was  then  epidemic  in 
Florida.  He  died  in  the  Willard 
Parker  Hospital  on  September  12. 
His  malady  was,  however,  pro- 
nounced malarial  hsemorrhagic  fe- 
ver by  his  friends.  The  "Diction- 
ary of  National  Biography' '  says  of 
him: 

"  Among  his  many  gifts  that  of  a 


lucid  exposition  was  the  chief,  and 
his  main  work  was  popularizing 
science  as  a  writer  and  lecturer. 
Yet  he  was  no  mere  exponent.  The 
highest  value  attaches  to  his  re- 
searches into  the  rotation  period 
of  Mars,  and  to  his  demonstration 
of  the  existence  of  a  resisting  me- 
dium in  the  sun's  surroundings  by 
its  effect  on  the  trajectory  of  the 
prominences.  His  grasp  of  higher 
mathematics  was  proved  by  his 
treatise  on  the  Cycloid,  and  his 
ability  as  a  celestial  draughtsman 
by  his  charting  324,198  stars  from 
Argelander's  '  Survey  of  the  North- 
ern Heavens'  on  an  equal  surface 
projection.  Many  of  his  works 
were  illustrated  with  maps  drawn 
by  himself  with  admirable  clear- 
ness and  accuracy.  Versatile  as 
profound,  he  wrote  in  Knowledge 
on  miscellaneous  subjects  under 
several  pseudonyms,  and  was  pro- 
ficient in  chess,  whist,  and  on  the 
piano-forte." 

He  wrote  and  published  fifty- 
seven  books  in  all,  including  his 
celebrated  "Other  Worlds  Than 
Ours,"  "The  Borderland  of  Sci- 
ence," "  Our  Place  Among  Infini- 
ties," "Myths  and  Marvels  of  As- 
tronomy," "  Other  Suns  Than 
Ours,"  and  "  Half-Hours  With  the 
Stars." 

His  two  books  on  the  game, 
"Home  Whist,"  and  "How  to 
Play  Whist,"  won  for  him  a  high 
place  as  a  whist  authority.  Of  the 
latter  work  he  says,  in  the  preface: 
"The  following  chapters  on  the 
theory  and  practice  of  whist  origi- 
nally appeared  in  Knowledge,  and 
there  had  the  advantage  of  the 
criticisms  and  suggestions  of  some 
of  the  finest  exponents  of  the  game. 
These  criticisms  have,  in  many 
cases,  led  to  important  modifica- 
tions and  improvements.  The  treat- 
ise has  no  claim  to  novelty  as  re- 
gards whist  principles;  in  fact, 


PROCTOR,  RICHARD  A.        334 


PSEUDONYMS 


outside  of  the  modern  signaling 
system,  and  the  absolute  rejection 
of  the  singleton  lead,  there  is  very 
little  difference  between  the  whist 
of  to-day  and  the  whist  of  Hoyle 
and  Mathews."  He  was  an  advo- 
cate of  the  long-suit  game  and  the 
old  system  of  leads,  and  while  op- 
posed to  modern  conventions  and 
signals,  recognized  the  necessity  of 
learning  them,  in  order  to  play 
whist  successfully. 

Mr.  Proctor's  book  contains  forty 
games,  carefully  annotated.  Eight  of 
these  are  original,  actual  hands  supplied 
by  that  fine  player,  the  late  F.  H.  Lewis, 
accompanied  by  his  own  interesting  and 
valuable  notes.  The  manual  is  one  that 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  real  stu- 
dent of  the  noble  game. — "The  Whist 
Table." 

James  Innes  Minchin,  in  the  Academy 
for  1885  (volume  27,  page  128),  considers 
that  Mr.  Proctor's  method  of  treating  the 
leads,  while  not  so  easy,  perhaps,  for  the 
learner  as  the  authoj  considers  it,  is  one 
well  calculated  to  impress  the  meaning 
of  the  leads.  The  learner,  under  older 
methods,  is  apt  to  consider  the  proper 
leads  empirical,  "  whereas,  in  fact,  they 
are  founded  on  principles  evolved  from 
the  long  experience  of  whist-players, 
which  only  personal  experience  can  en- 
able the  tyro  to  grasp." 

He  [N.  B.  Trist]  also  played  a  whole 
afternoon  with  the  late  Richard  A.  Proc- 
tor, the  celebrated  astronomer,  a  writer 
on  whist  of  some  repute,  and  a  genial 
gentleman.  His  play  did  not  come  up  to 
Mr.  Trist's  expectations;  he  had  a  sin- 
gular way  of  sorting  his  cards  by  putting 
each  suit  separately  between  thefingersof 
his  left  hand.  This  habit  certainly  denoted 
an  unsuspicious  disposition,  for  any  one 
at  the  table  could  count  the  number  of 
cards  in  suits  as  sandwiched  between  his 
digits.— C.  S.  Boutcher  [L.  A.],  "Whist 
Sketches,"  1892. 

Richard  Anthony  Proctor  was  an  en- 
thusiastic whist-player,  whose  talents  at 
the  game  were  not  inconsiderable,  though 
they  might  have  been  enhanced  had  he 
joined  in  one  of  the  established  clubs  of 
London  in  playing  with  experts  worthy 
of  association  with  him.  *  *  *  [He] 
•n-as  for  some  time  a  supporter  of  the 
latest  developments,  and  of  the  ideas  of 
the  Americans,  but  he  gradually  altered 
his  position  until  he  rejected  them  alto- 
gether, with  fierce  expressions  of  scorn, 
as  "fads."—  W.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.], 
"English  Whist." 


Progressive  Duplicate  Whist. — 

See,  "Duplicate  Whist,  Progres- 
sive." 

Progressive  Fours. — Teams  of 
four  players  each,  which  play 
against  each  other  in  a  progressive 
duplicate  whist  match.  (See,  "Du- 
plicate Whist,  Schedules  for  Play- 
ing.") 

Progressive  Pairs. — In  a  pro- 
gressive duplicate  whist  match  the 
pairs  which  participate  and  play,  in 
accordance  with  a  schedule  ar- 
ranged in  a  manner  which  estab- 
lishes records  for  pairs.  (See, 
"Duplicate  Whist,  Schedules  for 
Playing.") 

Progressive  Whist.  —  See, 
"Drive  Whist." 

Protective  Discard. — The  dis- 
card from  a  long  suit,  in  order  to 
keep  intact  the  small  cards  which 
guard  higher  cards  in  weak  suits. 

''Prussian  Whist."— One  of  the 

nineteen  or  more  variations  or  off- 
shoots of  whist  which  have  been 
traced  up  to  date.  "  Prussian 
whist"  is  ordinary  whist,  with  this 
difference:  The  dealer  does  not 
turn  up  the  last  card  dealt  for 
trump,  but  the  eldest  hand,  or 
leader,  cuts  a  trump  from  the  still 
pack,  which  the  third  hand  shuffles 
and  presents  for  that  purpose.  This 
eliminates  from  the  game  the 
knowledge  of  any  trump  in  the 
hand  of  the  dealer,  and  the  influ- 
ence which  such  knowledge  has  on 
the  play. 

Pseudonyms  of  Whist  Authors. 

— Fictitious  names,  abbreviations, 
or  initials  under  which  writers  on 
whist  wrote  and  published  their 
articles  or  books.  Here  is  a  list  of 
the  more  familiar  pseudonyms  thus 


QUACKENBUSH,  EARLE  C.     335 


QUEEN 


employed,  together  with  the  names 
of  the  authors  who  assumed  them, 
from  the  time  of  Hoyle  down  to  the 
present  day: 

"Admiral." — James  Burney. 

"Aquarius." — L.  d'A.  Jackson. 

"Bob  Short."  — Anne  Laetitia 
Aikin. 

"Caelebs."— E.  A.  Carlyon. 

"Cam." — Waller  A.  Lewis. 

"Captain  Crawley. " — George  F. 
Pardon. 

"  Cavendish." — Henry  Jones. 

"Five  of  Clubs."— Richard  A. 
Proctor. 

"  G.  W.  P."— George  W.  Pettes. 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  B."— H.  C. 
Bunbury. 

"  Major  A."— Charles  B.  Coles. 

"Major  Tenace." — George  W. 
Bailey. 

"Mogul." — Matthias  Boyce. 

"Pembridge. " — John  P.  Hewby. 

4 '  Portland. ' ' — James  Hogg. 

"Trump,  Jr.,  A."— William  P. 
Fetridge. 

1 '  Trumps. ' '  —  William  Brisbane 
Dick. 

Quackenbush,  EarlelC. — A  well- 
known  teacher  of  whist  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  where  he  is  also  one 
of  the  leading  players  of  the  Capi- 
tal Bicycle  Club.  Mr.  Quacken- 
bush was  born  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  in 
1867,  and  has  played  whist  from  his 
youth  up.  He  began  to  study  the 
game  scientifically  about  the  year 
1892,  when  he  joined  the  above- 
mentioned  club.  He  does  not  teach 
whist  professionally,  being  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  business.  He  was 
persuaded  to  take  up  teaching,  as  a 
side  issue,  in  1894,  at  the  solicitation 
of  personal  friends. 

Quart. — Any  four  cards  in  se- 
quence. 

Quart  Major. — The  highest  four 
cards  in  sequence;  the  ace,  king, 
queen,  and  jack  of  any  suit. 


Queen. — The  third  highest  card 
in  the  pack;  one  of  the  honors, 
court  cards,  or  face  cards. 

According  to  the  old  leads, 
queen  is  led  only  from  queen,  jack, 
ten,  with  or  without  others,  except 
in  cases  of  forced  leads,  when  it  is 
also  led  from  queen,  jack,  and  one 
small  one;  from  queen  and  two 
others,  not  including  jack,  and 
from  queen  and  another,  whatever 
it  may  be. 

In  the  system  of  American  leads, 
the  lead  of  the  queen  indicates  a 
suit  of  five  or  more;  but  the  queen- 
leads  collectively  have  been  con- 
sidered the  least  satisfactory,  be- 
cause of  the  uncertainty  of  the 
information  as  to  character  of  suit 
conveyed  upon  the  first  round.  The 
original  lead  of  queen  may  mean 
any  one  of  three  combinations,  viz., 
ace,  king,  queen — more  than  four 
in  suit;  king,  queen — more  than 
four  in  suit;  or  queen,  jack,  ten — 
four  or  more  in  suit.  The  Hamil- 
ton modifications  (accepted  by 
many  first-class  players)  simplify 
the  queen-leads  by  leading  ten  in- 
stead of  queen  from  queen,  jack, 
ten;  and  in  order  to  do  this  they 
take  the  lead  of  ten  away  from  the 
king,  jack,  ten  combination  and 
lead  fourth  best  from  it  instead. 
(See,  "Hamilton  Leads.") 

In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  sys- 
tem, the  original  lead  of  queen  in- 
dicates the  supporting-card  game, 
and  not  more  than  two  in  suit. 

G.  W.  Pettes  added  to  the  Amer- 
ican leads  of  queen  two  more  of  his 
own,  viz.,  lead  queen  from  queen, 
jack  and  two  below  the  seven; 
also,  from  queen,  jack,  nine,  and 
two  or  more. 

When  queen  Is  led  originally,  the  com- 
binations may  be  ace,  king,  queen,  with 
at  least  two  small;  or  king,  queen,  with 
at  least  three  small;  or  queen,  knave,  ten, 
with  one  or  more  small.  In  no  other  case 
is  the  leader's  partner  uncertain  as  to 
which  of  three  combinations  has  been 


QUINT 


336 


QUITTED 


opened.  It  has,  therefore,  been  proposed 
— and  the  proposal  is  certainly  ingenious 
— to  lead  ten  from  queen,  knave,  ten,  and 
so  to  reduce  the  queen-leads  to  two.  But 
in  order  to  render  this  action  effective  the 
lead  of  ten  from  king,  knave,  ten,  etc., 
must  be  dropped,  and  the  lead  of  fourth 
best  substituted.  Then,  every  high-card 
lead  will  convey  definite  information  to 
partner  of  one  of  two  alternatives;  the 
first  lead  may  often  decide  between  them, 
owing  to  the  fall  of  the  cards,  or  to  the 
cards  held  by  partner  in  the  suit  led;  in 
default  of  this,  the  card  chosen  for  the 
second  lead  will  always  decide. — "Caven- 
dish"  [L.  A.},  Scribner's  Magazine,  July, 
1897. 

As  far  back  as  February,  1884,  "  Caven- 
dish" wrote  to  me  as  follows:  "  From 
king,  queen,  five  in  suit,  might  not  queen 
be  Ted?  If  queen  •wins,  continue  with 
small.  This  cannot  be  queen,  knave,  ten 
lead,  or  knave  would  be  the  next  lead;  so 
it  must  be  something  else,  viz.,  king, 
queen,  more  than  four  in  suit.  *  *  * 
This  may  also  necessitate  reconsideration 
of  leads  from  ace,  king,  five  in  suit.  If 
ace  is  first  led,  then  king,  leader  has  at 
least  three  small  ones;  this  lead  has  often 
been  proposed,  but  at  present  the  best 
players  I  know  think  the  immediate  de- 
monstration of  ace,  king  more  important 
than  the  declaration  of  number."  Al- 
though his  conviction  grew  stronger 
every  day  that  these  leads  were  right,  in 
fact,  necessary,  as  adjuncts  to  the  un- 
blocking play,  yet  so  great  is  his  respect 
for  British  conservatism,  that  four  years 
elapsed  before  "  Cavendish"  formally  re- 
commended them  in  print,  which  he  did, 
"in  fear  and  quake"  (as  he  afterwards 
acknowledged)  in  three  Field  articles,  the 
first  appearing  May  12,  1888.  To  his  great 
surprise,  however,  his  fears  that  these  in- 
novations would  meet  with  violent  oppo- 
sition proved  groundless.  In  the  Field  of 
December  28,  1880,  he  says:  "I  find  that 
these  leads  are  adopted  all  over  the  king- 
dom, not  only  by  the  minority,  but  by 
players  to  whom  American  leads  are  a 
sealed  book,  and  who  never  dream  of  un- 
blocking."— AT.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.},  Harper's 
Magazine,  March,  1891. 

Quint. — Any  five  cards  in  se- 
quence. 

Quitted. — A  trick  gathered  and 
turned  down  on  the  table  is  quitted 
as  soon  as  the  fingers  are  removed 
from  it.  At  duplicate  whist,  it  is 
quitted  when  each  of  the  four  play- 
ers has  turned  down  and  removed 
his  fingers  from  the  card  played 
by  him. 


According  to  the  American  code 
(section  37),  where  a  trick  has  been 
turned  and  quitted  it  must  not 
again  be  seen  until  after  the  hand 
has  been  played,  and  a  violation  of 
this  law  subjects  the  offender's  side 
to  the  same  penalty  as  in  case  of  a 
lead  out  of  turn — i.  e.,  a  suit  may 
be  called  from  him  or  his  partner 
the  first  time  it  is  the  turn  of  either 
of  them  to  lead.  The  English  code 
(section  91)  allows  any  player  to  see 
the  last  trick  turned.  Previous  to 
the  enactment  of  this  code,  in  1864, 
however,  there  seems  to  have  been 
a  distinction  made  between  long 
and  short  whist,  in  regard  to  this 
point  At  short  whist  the  player 
was  not  allowed  to  see  the  last 
trick.  Deschapelles,  in  his  laws, 
said:  "  You  cannot  insist  upon  see- 
ing the  last  trick  upon  the  principle 
recognized  at  long  whist." 

There  has  been  no  real  improvement  in 
whist  since  the  time  of  Mathews,  and  I 
believe  there  never  will  be  as  long  as  the 
most  pernicious  custom  of  allowing  a 
man  to  look  at  the  last  trick  exists. — 
"Pembridge"  [L+O.],  Westminster  Papers, 
December  /,  7*75. 

The  continued  existence  of  the  rule 
which  allows  a  player  "  to  see  the  last 
trick  turned"  is  greatly  to  be  deprecated. 
It  tends  to  foster  a  spirit  of  inattention  to 
the  game,  and  to  discourage  the  energies 
of  the  student  of  the  game  who  follows 
the  fall  of  the  cards  •with  fitting  keenness 
of  observation.  *  *  *  Francis  Paget 
Watson,  in  his  treatise  on  "  Short  Whist," 
went  so  far  as  to  say,  "  You  cannot  de- 
mand the  sight  of  the  last  trick  at  short 
whist;  the  longs  sanctioned  it,  and  con- 
tinue to  do  so,"  and  Watson  justly  adds: 
"It  is  a  mockery  upon  the  game,  which 
implies  the  greatest  attention  as  it  pro- 
ceeds, and  the  sooner  it  is  altogether  got 
rid  of  the  better."—  W.  P.  Courtney  [L+ 
O.],  "English  Whist." 

In  the  first  edition  of  "The  Art  of 
Practical  Whist"  I  referred  to  the  great 
annoyance  caused  by  unobservant  play- 
ers, who  were  perpetually  wanting  to 
look  at  the  last  trick,  and  I  regretted  that 
law  91,  English  code,  existed.  The  first 
club  that  put  a  penalty  on  looking  at  the 
last  trick  was,  I  believe,  a  whist  club  at 
Melbourne,  Australia.  Any  player  ask- 
ing to  look  at  the  last  trick  was  fined  six- 
pence. By  the  American  code,  law  37, 


"RAILROAD  WHIST  "         337 


RAILROAD  WHIST  " 


"when  a  trick  has  been  turned  and  quitted 
it  must  not  again  be  seen  until  after  the 
hand  has  been  played.  A  violation  of 
this  law  subjects  the  offender's  side  to  the 
same  penalty  as  in  case  of  a  lead  out  of 
turn."  This  law  is  a  great  improvement 
on  law  91,  English  code,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  means  may  be  found  for 
adopting  the  American  law  in  the  Eng- 
lish game. — A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
"Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions.'" 

••  Railroad  Whist."— Whist  as 

generally  played  by  travelers  on 
railroad  trains  to  while  away  the 
tedium  of  a  journey;  whist  played 
rapidly  and  without  strict  adher- 
ence to  the  rules  and  niceties  of  the 
game.  In  making  up  a  table  on  the 
train,  a  very  miscellaneous  assort- 
ment of  players  frequently  comes 
to  the  surface,  and  the  whist  played 
consequently  does  not  rank  very 
high.  In  many  Instances  it  is 
downright  bumblepuppy,  as  "  Cav- 
endish" discovered,  much  to  his 
amusement,  during  his  first  visit 
to  this  country.  He  took  the  trou- 
ble to  jot  down  a  hand  in  which  he 
participated  on  a  train  between 
Grand  Haven  and  Detroit,  August 
8,  1893,  and  it  was  published  in  the 
November  number  of  Whist,  to- 
gether with  his  humorous  descrip- 
tion of  the  scene,  as  follows: 

Affable  Stranger  (afterwards  Mr. 
North) — Play  whist,  sir? 

Self— Yes,  I  play  a  little,  some- 
times. 

A.  S.  (only  two  initials) — We 
have  three  players  on  board,  and — 

Self— Oh  !  I  shall  be  pleased  to 
make  up. 

A.  S. — Pleased  to  meet  you,  sir. 
My  name  is  North. 

Self  (stands  up  and  shakes 
hands) — Pleased  to  meet  you,  Mr. 
North.  My  name  is  Jones. 

North — Pleased  to  make  your  ac- 
quaintance, Mr.  Jones.  (Self  is  in- 
troduced to  Messrs.  East  and  South. 
Usual  formula,  handshaking, 
pleased  to  make  your  acquaint- 
ance, etc.).  We  put  in  a  pretty 


tough  game,  I  guess;  run  long  suits, 
play  calls  and  echoes  any  way.  We 
go  by  G.  W.  P.,  most  times.  We 
do  not  agree  with  the  latest  ' '  Cav- 
endish" notions. 

Self — Oh  !  indeed.  I  am  afraid 
I  shall  be  no  match  for  you.  (All 
sit  down  to  the  table) .  Do  we  cut 
for  partners? 

North — No,  play  as  we  are. 

Self — Very  good.  Shall  we  cut 
for  deal  ? 

North — Oh !  no.  Any  one  be- 
gins dealing.  I'll  deal.  (Begins. ) 

Self— Excuse  me,  I  have  not  cut 
the  cards. 

North — We  never  cut  Just  take 
the  deck  as  it  is. 

Self — I  see;  saves  time.  Very 
well;  good  idea.  ( North  completes 
deal  and  throws  down  a  heart. ) 

[Then  follows  the  hand,  in  which 
"  Cavendish"  (west)  plays  the 
Deschapelles  coup.  The  score  is 
love-all;  hearts  trumps,  and  east 
leads;  the  underscored  card  wins 
the  trick,  and  the  card  below  it  is 
the  next  one  led:] 


eri 

X 
u 

•c 
H 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
13 

East. 

3  * 
5  + 
40 

<?  J 

South. 

West. 

North. 

9  * 
J  * 

KO 
<?  5 
3  0 
<9  6 
*  4 
5  0 
9  0 
*  A 

Q  * 
2  + 
AO 

K» 

A  * 

2  0 
<5>  2 
70 
<?  3 
<3IO 
<?  Q 

<9  4 
QO 

60 
<9  8 
<?  9 
6  + 
7  * 
*  2 
*Q 
10* 

Q?  K 
V  A 

4  * 

V  7 

J  0 
*  7 
*  J 
80 
100 

*K 
*  3 

*  5 

*  8 

*10 
*  6 

*  9 

8  * 

Score:  N-S,  4;  E-W,  9. 


RAILROAD  WHIST" 


338 


REFORM  CLUB 


["  Cavendish's"  remarks  on  the 
play  follow:] 

Trick  2. — The  return  of  the  spade 
is  terrible. 

Trick  5. — The  return  of  the  dia- 
mond is  equally  terrible. 

Trick  8. — North's  best  chance  is 
not  to  trump  this  trick,  but  the  re- 
sult would  be  the  same.  South 
should  discard  another  club. 

Trick  10.  —  The  Deschapelles 
coup.  West  can  count  only  two 
clubs  in  his  partner's  hand.  If  one 
of  these  is  the  queen  (as  it  happens 
to  be),  and  the  ace  wins  the  king, 
the  spades  may  be  brought  in. 

The  Deschapelles  coup  can  be 
defeated  by  a  good  player,  if  he  re- 
fuses to  win  in  the  suit,  holding  the 
ace.  The  tactics  of  the  leader  are 
to  force  out  a  high  card  by  leading 
his  highest,  irrespective  of  number. 
The  tactics  of  the  adversary  should 
be  to  retain  the  commanding  card 
until  the  leader's  partner  is  ex- 
hausted. If  in  the  above  case  south 
lets  the  king  of  clubs  go  he  brings 
in  the  clubs,  and  the  result  would 
be,  north-south,  6;  east-west,  7.  If 
south  had  kept  another  diamond  at 
trick  eight  he  could  have  brought 
in  his  partner's  diamonds,  in  case 
of  his  holding  smaller  clubs  than 
ten,  nine.  The  precise  value  of 
south's  clubs  in  actual  play  is  not 
known,  as  the  last  two  tricks  were 
thrown  down. 

What  is  termed  "  railroad  whist"  can 
be  summed  up  in  one  brief  sentence: 
"  Hurry  up  and  deal,  hurry  up  and  play." 
—Charles  S.  Boutcher  [L.  A .] . 

"  Do  you  play  whist,  sir?"  inquired  an 
individual  of  most  respectable  appear- 
ance, who,  cards  in  hand,  approached  a 
gentleman  enjoying  his  cigar  at  the 
rear  of  the  smoking-car.  "Certainjy," 
was  the  reply.  "All  right.  Will  you  join 
the  table  ?  We  want  one  more."  Do 
you  all  play  a  good  game?"  asked  the 
gentleman.  "Oh,  yes;  they're  all  first- 
rate.  We  always  playon  the  train;  some- 
times all  the  way  to  New  York!"  "I 
would  enjoy  a  good  game,"  said  the  gen- 
tlemau,  "  but  allow  me  to  ask,  as  there  is 


a  difference  of  opinion  upon  these  mat- 
ters, do  you  play  the  call  and  echo,  and 
hold  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  for  a  pur- 
pose ?"  "  The  what?"  asked  the  puzzled 
applicant.  "Do  you  sometimes  finesse 
ace,  knave,  or  throw  the  lead  to  save  the 
tenace?"  "The  which?"  "Do  you  make 
your  leads  from  long  suits,  and  give  spe- 
cial attention  to  the  management  of 
trumps?"  "  Oh  !  yes,  yes  !  I  understand 
now.  We  cut  for  trump,  and  then  chuck 
it  into  the  pack  and  deal."— G.  IV.  Pettes 
[L.A.  P.],  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 
It  is  notorious  that  railroad  whist  is 
invariably  learned  by  ear  and  played  by 
main  strength,  and  although  its  devotees 
aver  that  in  its  weakening  effects  upon 
the  mind  it  is  not  to  be  compared  to  the 
habitual  perusal  of  the  evening  news- 
papers, yet  the  fact  remains  that  in  its 
present  form  it  has  become  an  intolerable 
nuisance  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Com- 
ment upon  the  use  of  "  singletons," 
"  double  ruffs,"  and  false  cards  (the  prin- 
ciple being  that  you  thereby  deceive  two 
enemies  and  only  one  friend)  is  perhaps 
unnecessary;  while  so  far  as  a  revoke  is 
concerned,  it  is  generally  agreed  that  the 
disgrace  lies  in  being  caught.  In  railroad 
whist,  or  "  whiz,"  as  it  might  more  prop- 
erly be  called,  it  is  a  cardinal  axiom  to 
pla'y  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  thereby 
cover  up_  occasional  mistakes.  *  *  * 
But  this  is  small  beer  compared  with  the 
railroad  trump  signal.  *  *  *  As  at 
Waterloo,  it  is  who  shall  pound  the  hard- 
est. Given  a  smoking  car,  with  six  games 
of  whist  in  progress,  and  the  "  thump  " 
signal,  as  it  has  been  felicitously  named, 
becomes  a  perpetual  source  of  annoyance 
and  alarm  to  timid  people  and  nervous 
old  gentlemen. — Harper's  Weekly,  May 
30, 1896. 

Rank. — Size  or  value;  as,  therank 
of  the  cards  at  whist.  The  king,  for 
instance,  is  a  larger  and  more  valu- 
able card  than  the  queen,  and  con- 
sequently ranks  higher. 

Re -Entry,  Card  of.  —  A  card 
which  will  win  a  trick,  and  enable 
the  player  to  regain  possession  of 
the  lead. 

Reform  Club. — A  famous  Lon- 
don club  in  which  whist  has  flour- 
ished for  the  past  fifty  years.  It 
was  at  this  club  that  General  Grant 
played  and  won  a  rubber  against 
some  of  the  finest  players  of  the 


REFUSING  A  FORCE          339     RETURNING  THE  LEAD 


day,  while  being  entertained  on  his 
journey  around  the  world. 

Refusing  a  Force. — Declining 
to  trump  a  trick  when  able  to  do  so 
and  opportunity  offers.  It  means 
that  you  want  trumps  led,  or  are 
trying  to  place  the  lead,  or  want  to 
save  the  thirteenth  trump,  with 
which  to  regain  the  lead  at  the 
proper  time  (having  no  card  of  re- 
entry )  and  bring  in  your  suit. 

Refusing  a  force  depends  on  your  hand, 
and  especially  on  your  partner.  It  is 
generally  received  as  an  axiom  that  you 
should  never  refuse  a  deliberate  force 
from  a  good  player.—^.  F.  Foster  [S.  <?.], 
"Whist  Tactics." 

Rejoue. — A  name  for  duplicate 
whist,  adopted  by  R.  F.  Foster, 
but  not  generally  used. 

The  theory  of  duplicate  whist,  or  re~ 
joui,  as  we  shall  in  future  call  it,  is  that 
the  play  of  each  of  the  competitors,  be 
they  clubs,  teams,  pairs,  or  individuals, 
shall  be  contrasted  with  that  of  the  oth- 
ers, by  giving  to  each  the  same  cards,  with 
the  same  advantages  or  disadvantages  of 
position  at  the  table,  an  equal  number  of 
times.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  0.],  "Duplicate 
Whist  and  Whist  Strategy,"  1894. 

Renounce. — To  renounce  is  not 
to  follow  suit,  but  to  discard  from 
a  plain  suit  instead.  A  renounce  is 
proper  if  you  have  none  of  the  suit 
renounced;  but  having  the  suit,  and 
failing  to  follow  suit  from  it,  consti- 
tutes the  revoke.  In  the  English 
game,  in  order  to  guard  against  the 
revoke,  a  player  is  allowed  to  ask 
his  partner  whether  he  has  any  of 
the  suit  renounced.  In  the  Ameri- 
can game  no  such  question  is  per- 
mitted, for  reasons  which  are  given 
under  "Revoke."  In  duplicate 
whist  (law£"),  a  player  may  ask 
his  adversaries  if  they  have  any  of 
the  suit  renounced;  but  the  ques- 
tion establishes  the  revoke,  if  it  is 
his  partner  who  has  renounced  in 
error. 


When  your  partner  renounces  a  suit, 
never  fail  to  ask  him  whether  he  is  sure 
that  he  has  none  of  it.  If  he  revokes, 
and  you  have  neglected  this  precaution, 
the  fault  is  as  much  yours  as  it  is  his. — 
James  Clay  [L.  <?+]. 


Returning  the  Lead. — Leading 
back  the  suit  led,  particularly  your 
partner's.  It  is  highly  important 
to  inform  the  latter  of  your 
strength  or  weakness  in  the  suit,  in 
order  that  he  may  calculate  how 
many  cards  in  it  the  adversaries 
hold.  It  is  a  universally  accepted 
rule  to  lead  him  back  the  lowest,  if 
you  held  originally  four  or  more, 
and  the  highest  if  you  held  origi- 
nally but  three.  Holding  the  mas- 
ter card  you  return  it  to  him  first 
of  all,  irrespective  of  the  number 
you  hold.  Holding  second  and 
third  best,  return  the  second  best. 
Unless  you  have  trump  strength 
enough  to  lead  them,  or  hold  the 
master  card  in  partner's  suit,  it  is 
well  to  lead  from  your  own  best 
suit,  and  thereby  indicate  it  to  him, 
before  returning  his  original  lead. 

Of  course,  if  partner  is  making 
a  forced  lead,  or  leading  from  evi- 
dent weakness,  you  do  not  return 
his  lead,  but  play  your  own  hand. 

Not  a  word  is  said  about  return- 
ing partner's  lead  by  Hoyle,  which 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  there 
was  no  general  rule  in  his  day,  and 
that  the  idea  of  partnership  in 
the  game  was  not  yet  fully  devel- 
oped. Payne,  who  published  his 
"Maxims"  shortly  after  Hoyle's 
death,  gives  but  three  lines  to  this 
important  subject.  Writing  in 
1770,  he  says:  "  In  returning  your 
partner's  lead,  play  the  best  you 
have  when  you  hold  but  three  orig- 
inally." He  does  not  say  what  the 
player  is  to  do  when  holding  more 
than  three,  and  "Cavendish" 
thinks  that  from  his  curt  way  of 
putting  the  matter,  no  serious  value 
was  attached  to  the  proposition. 


RETURNING  THE  LEAD   340   RETURNING  THE  LEAD 


Mathews,  in  1804,  is  also  very  brief, 
saying:  "With  three,  return  the 
highest;  with  four,  the  lowest  of 
your  partner's  lead. ' '  Neither  does 
he  give  any  reason  for  this  advice. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  middle 
of  this  century  that  the  theory  of 
returned  leads,  or  returning  part- 
ner's lead,  emerged  from  this  crude 
and  unsatisfactory  condition.  There 
is  no  reference  to  it  in  Bohn's 
"  Hand-book  of  Games,"  published 
in  1850.  "Caelebs,"  in  1858,  has 
the  following  observation:  "With 
less  than  four  originally  of  part- 
ner's aggressive  lead,  there  is  rarely 
any  profit  in  finessing;  in  any 
event,  the  next  highest  should  gen- 
erally be  returned."  "Cavendish" 
interprets  this  to  mean:  "  Having 
three  of  partner's  suit  do  not 
finesse,  and,  having  played  highest, 
return  the  higher  of  the  two  re- 
maining. The  word  'generally,' 
however,  shows  there  was  no  con- 
stant rule  in  1858,  even  at  the  Port- 
land Club,  from  which  the  author 
dates. " 

It  remained  for  "  Cavendish" 
("  I/aws  and  Principles  of  Whist," 
1862)  and  Clay  ("Short  Whist," 
1864)  to  lay  down  and  explain  a 
positive  rule  for  the  return  of  part- 
ner's lead.  "  Cavendish,"  in  Whist 
for  April,  1897,  in  commenting  on 
Clay's  remarks  on  the  subject,  says: 
"  He  [Clay]  gives  the  rule,  return 
highest  of  three,  lowest  of  four, 
and  notes  the  exception  in  the  case 
of  holding  the  winning  card,  when 
it  is  to  be  returned  irrespective  of 
number.  He  then  proceeds:  '  The 
foregoing  is,  of  all  similar  rules,  to 
my  mind  the  most  important  for 
the  observance  of  whist-players.' 
He  next  gives  the  theory,  and  ex- 
plains how  'careful  attention  to 
this  rule  *  *  *  assists  your 
partner  to  count  your  hand.'  It 
seems  strange  that  up  to  this  period 
writers  on  whist  either  ignored 


such  an  elementary  rule  altogether, 
or  put  it  as  one  to  be  observed  in  a 
casual  sort  of  way,  or  stated  it 
briefly  and  without  comment 

"  But  the  rule  is  not  without  ex- 
ceptions, and  it  may  be  that  a  per- 
ception of  possible  exceptions 
induced  caution.  It  is  proposed 
now  to  examine  what  are  believed 
to  be  all  the  exceptions. 

"  The  winning  card  is  of  course 
returned  without  regard  to  number. 
This  is  so  obvious,  if  you  want  to 
win  tricks,  that  it  can  hardly  be 
deemed  an  exception. 

"  Holding  second  and  third  best 
and  a  small  one,  the  return  is  the 
second  best,  for  two  reasons:  by 
keeping  the  high  cards,  partner's 
suit  may  be  blocked  if  he  led  from 
more  than  four;  or,  if  partner  led 
from  a  long  suit  of  weak  cards,  the 
return  of  the  small  card  may  allow 
fourth  best  and  best  to  make 
against.  It  is  perhaps  a  stretch  of 
language  to  call  this  mode  of  play 
an  exception. 

"When  partner's  lead  is  small 
from  a  suit  of  more  than  four,  if 
you  held  four  originally,  including 
cards  that  may  block,  return  the 
highest.  Thus:  north's  lead  is  a 
three,  second  hand  plays  four; 
south  plays  king;  fourth  hand 
plays  seven.  In  the  course  of  play, 
all  the  trumps  come  out,  and  it  is 
clear  that  neither  east  nor  west 
would  have  been  justified  in  com- 
mencing a  trump  call  in  north's 
suit.  North  may,  therefore,  be 
credited  with  the  two  of  his  suit, 
and  with  having  led  from  five.  It 
is  now  south's  lead.  His  original 
holding  was  king,  knave,  ten,  five. 
He  should  return  the  knave.  To 
complete  the  illustration,  suppose 
north's  original  holding  was  queen, 
eight,  six,  three,  two;  that  east, 
having  played  the  four,  remains 
with  ace,  nine;  that  north  has  no 
card  of  re-entry  out  of  his  own  suit; 


RETURNING  THE  LEAD       341 


REVOKE 


and  that  south  has  a  card  of  re- 
entry in  a  suit  east  will  probably 
lead. 

"A  variant  of  this  is  when  second 
hand  has  renounced  north's  origi- 
nal lead.  It  may  then  be  right  to 
return  a  strengthening  card  with 
more  than  two  of  the  suit  remain- 
ing. This  will  generally  be  a  ques- 
tion of  judgment,  and  no  rule  can 
be  laid  down. 

"  When  partner's  lead  is  a  high 
card,  unblocking  with  four  in  suit 
commences  on  the  first  round.  It 
should,  nevertheless,  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  highest  of  those  re- 
maining has  to  be  returned,  second 
round.  This  is  such  a  well-known 
rule  of  play,  that  perhaps  the  word 
'  exception'  hardly  applies. 

"  There  is  one  other  exception 
which  is  concerned  with  the  trump 
suit  mainly,  if  not  altogether.  It 
is  this:  Having  an  established  suit 
of  which  partner  holds  none,  if 
partner  leads  a  trump,  and  you 
have  a  possible  card  of  re-entry  in 
trumps,  and  not  in  any  other  suit, 
with  three  trumps  originally,  return 
the  small  trump,  For  example: 
North  leads  say  diamonds  from  ace, 
queen,  knave,  nine,  with  or  without 
small.  All  follow  suit  to  the  ace. 
To  the  diamond  next  led,  south 
plays  ten  (showing  he  has  no  more 
diamonds),  and  fourth  hand  wins 
with  king.  Spades  being  trumps, 
west  now  leads  hearts  or  clubs; 
south  obtains  the  lead,  and  leads  a 
small  trump.  North's  holding  is 
queen,  knave,  and  one  small  trump; 
he  plays  knave;  west  wins  with  ace, 
and  leads  either  a  heart  or  a  club, 
when  north  wins.  North  has  no 
possible  card  of  re-entry  other  than 
queen  of  trumps.  It  is  so  necessary 
for  north  to  have  the  lead  after  the 
third  round  of  trumps,  that  he 
should  return  the  small  trump. 

"  My  aversion  to  rules  loaded 
with  exceptions  is  well  known. 


But,  of  the  five  exceptions  noted, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  three,  being 
rules  of  play,  can  properly  be 
classed  as  '  exceptions. '  The  other 
two  are  certainly  exceptional,  but 
they  depend  on  the  fall  of  the 
cards,  and  can  only  occur  after  the 
whole  scheme  has  been  declared. 
All  whist-players  know  well  that,  at 
late  periods  of  a  hand,  all  rules  of 
play  may  frequently  be  departed 
from  with  advantage."  (See,  also, 
"  Four  Signal,"  "  Trumps,  Return- 
ing," and  "  Unblocking.") 

On  partner's  original  lead,  in  plain 
suits,  winning  with  as  low  a  card  as  a 
queen,  avoid  (if  numerically  weak)  re- 
turning the  suit,  unless  holding  a  higher 
card.  It  is  even  more  desirable  to  return 
an  adversary's  lead.  —  Kate  Wheelock 
\L.  A.],  "  Whist  Rules,"  Second  Edition. 

There  is  scarcely  any  more  obnoxious 
rule  at  whist  than  that  which  many  good 
players  of  their  own  hands  insist  upon, 
that  partner's  lead  should  almost  at  once 
be  returned.  The  player  who  always  re- 
turns your  lead  at  once,  is  more  annoy- 
ing even  than  the  one  who,  when  the 
right  time  has  come  for  returning  it,  in- 
sists on  keeping  to  his  own  suit. — R.  A . 
Proctor  [L.  O.~\. 

Reverse  Discard. — A.  W.  Dray- 
son,  in  the  fifth  edition  of  his  "  Art 
of  Practical  Whist,"  lays  down 
this  rule:  "When  discarding  and 
wishing  to  give  the  opposite  mean- 
ing to  the  usual  discard  indication, 
reverse  the  order,  that  is,  signal, 
and  it  indicates  the  reverse  of  the 
usual  discard." 

Many  of  our  best  players  who  are  not 
using  Drayson's  *  *  *  reverse  dis- 
card, signal  to  show  strength  in  that  suit. 
—Kate  Wheelock  [L.  A.],  "Whist  Rules," 
1896. 

Some  players  us_e  what  is  called  the  re- 
verse discard;  a  signal  in  one  suit  mean- 
ing weakness  in  it,  and  an  invitation  to 
lead  another.  This  avoids  the  necessity 
for  using  the  good  suit  for  signaling  pur- 
poses.— R.  f.  foster  [S.  O.J,  "Complete 
Jfoyle." 

Revoke. — A  revoke  is  a  renounce 
in  error  not  corrected  in  time.  It 


REVOKE 


342 


REVOKE 


consists  in  playing  a  card  of  an- 
other suit  while  holding  a  card  of 
the  suit  led,  and  not  correcting  the 
mistake  before  the  trick  is  turned. 
To  thus  hold  back  a  card  that 
should  be  played,  and  play  another 
in  its  place,  subjects  the  player  to 
the  heaviest  penalty  there  is  in 
whist.  The  English  code  is  par- 
ticularly severe,  entailing  a  penalty 
of  three  tricks,  which  the  non-re- 
voking players  may  exact  in  any 
one  of  three  different  ways.  The 
American  code  provides  for  a  pen- 
alty of  two  tricks  to  be  taken  from 
the  revoking  side  and  transferred 
to  the  score  of  the  non-revoking 
players.  The  revoke  must  be 
claimed  before  the  cards  are  cut  for 
the  next  deal.  In  duplicate  whist 
a  revoke  cannot  be  claimed  after 
the  last  trick  of  the  deal  in  which 
it  occurred  has  been  turned,  and 
the  scores  of  that  deal  have  been 
recorded. 

We  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  that 
there  is  no  circumstance  which  tends  to 
more  confusion  in  whist  than  a  revoke. 
It  is  altogether  repugnant  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  game.  This  fault  requires  a 
severe  chastisement.— Deschapeltes  [0.], 
"Laws,"  Section  8. 

A.  player  revokes  when  he  falls  to  follow 
writ,  though  able  to  do  so,  or  when  he  re- 
fuses to  comply  with  a  performable  pen- 
alty. The  term  is  generally  confined  to 
trumping  a  suit  of  which  the  player  still 
holds  one  or  more  cards. —  Val.  W.  Starnes 
£5.  0.J,  "Short-Suit  Whist." 

Revokes  are  not  half  so  frequent  as 
they  were  when  players  relied  on  their 
partners  to  help  protect  them  by  asking 
if  they  had  no  more  of  the  suit.  Self-re- 
liance is  a  much  greater  protection  from 
error  than  reliance  on  others. — Cassius 
M.  Paine  [L.  A.],  Whist,  December,  1894. 

I  am  aware  of  the  fact,  however,  that 
sometimes  people  have  queer  notions 
about  the  morality  of  certain  things  done 
at  the  card-table.  For  instance,  both 
Deschapelles  and  Carlyon  contended  that 
one  could  not  revoke  on  purpose,  but 
after  having  done  so  inadvertently  it  was 
perfectly  proper  to  make  a  second  or  third 
revoke  in  order  to  conceal  the  first —  Theo- 
dore Schwar*  [L.  A.]. 


By  the  English  code,  either  of  three 
penalties  may  be  enacted  for  a  revoke, 
viz.:  the  non-revoking  players  may  add 
three  to  their  score,  they  may  deduct 
three  from  the  score  ofthe  revoking  play- 
ers, or  they  may  take  three  tricks  from 
the  revoking  players  and  add  them  to 
their  own.  By  the  American  code,  law 
30,  there  is  only  one  penalty,  viz.:  the 
"transfer  of  two  tricks  from  the  re- 
voking^side  to  their  adversaries."  This, 
again,  is  a  considerable  reduction  of  the 
penalty,  and  in  more  than  one  instance 
may  be  no  penalty  at  all.  For  example, 
suppose  both  sides  are  at  the  score  of 
four.  One  side  wins  three  by  cards,  hence 
wins  game,  the  value  of  the  game  being 
three;  but  it  is  found  the  other  side  has 
revoked.  The  revoking  side  in  no  way 
suffer  for  this  revoke,  as  the  adding  of 
two  tricks  makes  no  difference.  This 
would  also  hold  good  if  the  revoking 
players  were  at  any  other  score,  and  the 
non-revoking  players  won  game  without 
the  aid  of  the  penalty  for  the  revoke. 
Considering  how  frequently  a  revoke 
fails  to  be  discovered,  I  think  the  penalty 
should  be  very  severe. — A.  W.  Drayson 
[L+A+],  "Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Deci- 
sions.'1'' 

We  now  come  to  an  important  point: 
the  penalty  for  revoking,  which  General 
Drayson  thinks  too  lenient.  That  it  is 
less 'severe  than  the  English,  results  from 
two  causes:  (i)  Because  the  committee, 
following  as  they  did  all  through  the 
revision,  the  line_  of  simplification,  did 
away  with  all  optional  alternative  penal- 
ties; (2)  because  it  was  decidea  that 
compensation  should  be  given  for  the 
withdrawal  of  the  right  which  a  player 
formerly  had  of  asking  his  partner 
whether  he  had  any  of  the  suit  renounced 
by  him — a  nerve-trying  nuisance  which 
we  were  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  to 
abate.  I  can  well  understand,  however, 
that  this  right  must  stand  where  the 
short,  honor-counting  game  is  played,  for 
a  detected  revoke  must,  in  a  majority  of 
cases,  be  equivalent  to  the  loss  of  the 
game.  The  committee  having  decided  to 
adopt  but  one  penalty,  and  that  a  reduced 
one,  the  question  arose,  which  one  should 
it  be?  The  one  providing  for  the  deduc- 
tion of  points  from  the  score  of  the 
offenders  was  dismissed  as  being  bad 
legislation  to  interfere  with  vested  rights, 
and  savoring  a  little  too  much,  in  just 
such  a  case  as  given  by  General  Drayson, 
of  %-indictiveness,  by  sanctioning  the  gen- 
erally reprobated  act  of  "striking  a  fellow 
when  he  is  down,"  Of  the  two  remain- 
ing penalties  (and  after  serious  oppo- 
sition) the  one  providing  for  the  transfer 
of  two  tricks  was  adopted.  In  my  opin- 
ion, much  the  better  penalty  would  have 
been  the  adding  of  two  points  to  the  score 


RHEINART,  JOHN 


343 


RHEINART,  JOHN 


of  the  non-offending  side.— N.  B.  Trist 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  August,  1895. 

A  revoke  is  a  renounce  iu  error  not  cor- 
rected in  time.  A  player  renounces  in 
error  when,  holding  one  or  more  cards  of 
the  suit  led,  he  plays  a  card  of  a  different 
suit. 

A  renounce  in  error  may  be  corrected 
by  the  player  making  it,  before  the  trick 
in  which  it  occurs  has  been  turned  and 
quitted,  unless  either  he  or  his  partner, 
•whether  in  his  right  turn  or  otherwise, 
has  led  or  played  to  the  following  trick, 
or  unless  his  partner  has  asked  whether 
or  not  he  has  any  of  the  suit  renounced. 

If  a  player  corrects  his  mistake  in  time 
to  save  a  revoke,  the  card  improperly 
played  by  him  is  liable  to  be  called;  any 
player  or  players,  who  have  played  after 
him  may  withdraw  their  cards  and  sub- 
stitute others;  the  cards  so  withdrawn  are 
not  liable  to  be  called. 

The  penalty  of  revoking  is  the  transfer 
of  two  tricks  from  the  revoking  side  to 
their  adversaries;  it  can  be  enforced  for 
as  many  revokes  as  occur  during  the 
hand.  The  revoking  side  cannot  win  the 
game  in  that  hand;  if  both  sides  revoke, 
neither  can  win  the  game  in  that  hand. 

The  revoking  player  and  his  partner 
may  require  the  hand,  iu  which  the  re- 
voke has  been  made,  to  be  played  out, 
and  score  all  points  made  by  them  up  to 
the  score  of  six. 

At  the  end  of  a  hand,  the  claimants  of  a 
revoke  may  search  all  the  tricks.  If  the 
cards  have  been  mixed  the  claim  may  be 
urged  and  proved,  if  possible;  but  no 
proof  is  necessary,  and  the  revoke  is  es- 
tablished, if,  after  it  has  been  claimed, 
the  accused  player  or  his  partner  mixes 
the  cards  before  they  have  been  exam- 
ined to  the  satisfaction  of  the  adversaries. 

The  revoke  can  be  claimed  at  any  time 
before  the  cards  have  been  presented  and 
cut  for  the  following  deal,  but  not  there- 
after.— Laws  of  IVhist  (American  Code), 
Sections  28-33.  (See,  also,  English  Code, 
Sections  71-82.) 

Rheinart,  John.  —  A  distin- 
guished whist-player  and  disciple 
of  Deschapelles.  He  was  born  in 
Alsace-L/oraine  in  iSig.and  received 
his  education  in  part  at  the  College 
of  Metz.  Later  he  attended  the 
gymnasium  of  Treves,  and,  having 
decided  to  study  for  the  bar,  he  be- 
came a  student  at  the  law  school  in 
Paris.  He  remained  in  that  city 
eighteen  years,  practicing  his 
chosen  profession.  While  a  student 
at  the  law  school  he  accidentally 


happened  to  cut  into  a  table  at  whist 
where  Deschapelles  was  one  of  the 
players,  and  at  once  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  great  master,  who, 
conceiving  a  liking  for  him,  took 
considerable  pains  in  coaching  him 
upon  the  game,  and  finally  was 
wont  to  choose  him  as  a  partner  in 
some  of  his  important  matches. 
Mr.  Rheinart  stated  in  after  years 
that  he  never  had  any  interest  in 
the  stakes  which  were  played  for, 
but  that  Deschapelles  was  in  the 
habit  of  making  heavy  bets  upon 
the  game.  In  the  course  of  a  rem- 
iniscence, published  in  Whist  for 
July,  1891,  he  speaks  as  follows  of 
his  first  introduction  to  the  game: 
"With  his  permission,  I  watched 
daily  Deschapelles'splay,  read  what 
he  had  written  on  whist,  and  fre- 
quently asked  for  information  when 
the  coup  was  too  mysterious  for  iny 
understanding.  In  his  explanation, 
which  he  very  cheerfully  gave,  he 
displayed  so  much  clearness, 
shrewdness,  and  originality  that  my 
enthusiasm  for  the  game  was 
awakened,  and  I  became  a  whist- 
player." 

In  1848  Mr.  Rheinart  became 
involved  in  French  politics  to 
an  extent  which,  upon  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  empire,  made  it 
convenient  for  him  to  withdraw 
from  his  native  land.  He  there- 
upon came  to  America  in  1850,  and 
returned  home  in  1851;  but  in  1852 
he  came  again,  and  settled  in  Wash- 
ington county,  Iowa,  where  he  con- 
tinued the  practice  of  law.becoming 
a  leader  of  the  bar  of  his  State  and 
amassing  a  comfortable  fortune. 
In  1878  he  revisited  Paris,  as  one  of 
the  United  States  Commissioners  to 
the  World's  Fair.  In  1880  he  re- 
tired from  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession and  removed  to  Milwaukee, 
where  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Milwaukee  Whist  Club.  He  at 
once  took  an  active  and  leading 


RHEINART,  JOHN 


344 


RHEINART,  JOHN 


part  in  its  affairs,  and  probably  did 
more  than  any  other  man  in  bring- 
ing its  members  up  to  the  high 
standard  of  play  which  they  held 
in  the  eighties.  With  Eugene  S. 
Elliott  and  H.  M.  Northrup,  he 
constituted  the  first  committee  on 
amusement  of  the  Milwaukee 
Whist  Club,  which  committee  in- 
augurated the  first  whist  tourna- 
ment known  to  the  game,  in  1880, 
and  this  tournament  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  the  American  Whist 
League  eleven  years  later,  when  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  Milwaukee  play- 
ers made  a  national  tournament  or 
congress  possible.  The  Milwaukee 
Club  was,  in  1880,  the  only  exclu- 
sive whist  club  in  the  world. 

Mr.  Rheinart's  health  failing,  he 
removed  to  California,  in  1892,  set- 
tling at  Los  Angeles.  There  his 
wife  died  June  24,  1893,  and  there 
he  himself  al»o  passed  peacefully 
away  on  April  21,  1894. 

As  a  partner  and  follower  of  Des- 
chapelles,  Mr.  Rheinart's  style  of 
play  becomes  a  matter  or  special 
interest  to  whist-players,  reflecting 
as  it  did  that  of  his  illustrious 
mentor.  Eugene  S.  Elliott,  who 
was  intimately  associated  with  him 
in  the  Milwaukee  Whist  Club,  in- 
forms us  that  "Mr.  Rheinart  was 
well  up  in  the  modern  game,  but 
did  not  hesitate  to  violate  any  of  its 
rules  when  occasion  required.  He 
had,"  continues  Mr.  Elliott,  "an 
almost  perfect  whist  memory,  and 
a  remarkably  accurate  judgment. 
Ordinarily  he  would  lead  from  his 
long  suit,  in  accordance  with  mod- 
ern play,  though  I  do  not  know 
that  he  was  an  admirer  of  the 
fourth -best  leads.  When  playing 
with  a  partner  of  that  school  he 
would  ordinarily  adopt  them,  how- 
ever. With  a  fair  suit  of  trumps, 
and  a  weak  plain  suit,  a  favorite 
lead  of  his  was  from  knave  single- 
ton, or  knave  and  one,  and  he  rarely 


led  knave  except  under  such  con- 
ditions." 

Charles  S.  Boutcher,  who  played 
against  him  at  Milwaukee,  in  1891, 
says  of  him  in  "  Whist  Sketches:" 
"  Mr.  Rheinhart  is  the  Nestor  of 
the  Milwaukee  Club,  which  accords 
him  the  rank  of  its  best  player.  In 
his  whist-play  he  follows  the  well- 
established  principles  of  the  game 
as  to  the  establishment  of  long 
suits,  etc. ,  but  he  will  not  tie  him- 
self down  to  the  modern  require- 
ment of  uniformity  in  the  original 
lead.  He  will  deviate  when,  in  his 
judgment,  the  interest  of  his  hand 
demands  it,  but  his  departure  in 
this  regard  is  that  of  the  expert,  and 
not  the  tyro,  who  has  no  deeper 
purpose  than  the  hope  of  a  ruff. 
Mr.  Rheinart  has  a  rare  faculty  of 
reading  the  combinations  he  is 
contending  against,  and  he  exer- 
cises great  skill  in  directing  the 
forces  in  his  hand  to  meet  them. 
This  insight  into  strategic  situa- 
tions makes  him  a  most  formidable 
opponent,  and  the  ordinary  player 
who  follows  conventions,  or  other- 
wise, has  no  show  in  a  sitting 
against  him.  Personally,  Mr. 
Rheinart  is  an  accomplished  gen- 
tleman to  meet,  with  the  courtesy 
of  his  race,  but  which  with  him  is 
part  of  his  genial  nature,  and  spon- 
taneous. Apart  from  his  most  in- 
teresting whist  career,  he  is  an  affa- 
ble and  fascinating  man  to  meet." 

R.  F.  Foster  took  down  a  number 
of  hands  played  at  Mr.  Rheinart's 
table,  at  the  first  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League  (Milwau- 
kee, 1891),  and  one  of  these  hands 
is  published,  with  comments  by  Mr. 
Boutcher.  Hearts  are  trumps.  A 
(W.  W.  Wright)  and  B  (John 
Rheinart)  are  partners,  against  Y 
(C.  D.  P.  Hamilton)  and  Z  (C.  S. 
Boutcher).  The  underlined  card 
wins  the  trick,  and  the  card  under 
it  is  the  next  one  led: 


RHEINART,  JOHN 


345 


RHEINART,  JOHN 


n 

1 

H 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

e 

1O 
11 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

*  4 
V  K 

A3 
<5?  3 
2  0 
4  6 
AQ 
5  0 
*  9 
tflO 

*  J 

<y  5 
KO 

*  K 

<2  2 
40 
*  A 

100 

V  4 

3  0 

V  7 

+  5 
8  0 
J  0 
*Q 

6  0 
9  0 
4  4 
<3  6 
QO 
6  4 
7  * 
Q?  J 

*  2 
*10 
<9  Q 

*  8 
V  9 
3  4 
9  4 
104 
Q  * 

7  0 
2  * 
8  * 
J   * 
K  * 

*  7 

A  A 

5  * 

<y  s 

V  A 

Score:  A-B,  6;  Y-Z,  7. 

Mr.  Boutcher's  comments  were: 

Trick  i. — The  original  lead  of 
the  singleton  by  A  is  a  good  illus- 
tration of  the  tactics  so  popular 
with  these  old-school  players  of  the 
Milwaukee  Club.  *  *  * 

Trick  4. — A  gets  in  a  little  trump. 

Trick  6. — Y  reads  the  queen  of 
clubs  with  B,  and  the  best  diamond 
with  A,  and  the  strength  of  trumps 
against  them,  as  Z  showed  but  four 
by  the  lead  of  two.  To  return  the 
trump  would  be  fatal.  The  lead 
of  the  diamond,  to  be  taken  by  Z, 
who  in  turn  must  return  a  club, 
throwing  the  lead  into  B's  hand, 
that  he  may  lead  a  club  or  a  spade 
— this  was  Y's  intent. 

Trick  8.— A  and  B  failed  to  take 
in  the  situation  here,  and  played  as 
Y  had  hoped  they  would  when  at 
trick  six  he  led  the  five  of  dia- 
monds. B  should  unquestionably 
have  led  the  nine  of  hearts 
through  Z,  reading  the  probable 
ten  ace  with  A  over  Z.  Y  could  not 
have  strength  of  trumps,  or  he 
would  most  likely  have  returned 


the  trump.  Had  B  led  the  nine  of 
hearts  here  A-B  would  have  scored 
two  by  cards.  A,  however,  could 
still  have  saved  the  odd  trick  from 
the  wreck  had  he  properly  trumped 
with  the  knave.  The  six  must  lose 
if  Y  had  a  trump. 

Trick  10. — A  should  have  trumped 
this  thirteener,  drawn  the  last  trump 
from  Z,  and  trusted  to  B  taking  the 
needed  trick  in  spades. 

Trick  ii. — Z  leads  the  ace  of 
spades  to  make  the  odd,  as  A  must 
have  just  one  spade. 

A  much  better  example  of  Mr. 
Rheinart's  play,  and  one  that  does 
his  whist  genius  greater  justice,  is 
kindly  furnished  us  by  Mr.  Foster 
from  his  records,  as  one  of  the  very 
best  in  his  collection.  It  is  a 
hand  at  straight  whist,  five  points 
up,  played  at  the  Milwaukee  Whist 
Club,  April  17,  1891.  Rufus  Allen 
(A),  and  Eugene  S.  Elliott  (B) 
were  partners  against  R.  F.  Foster 
(Y)  and  John  Rheinart  (Z).  The 
score  stood:  A-B,  4;  Y-Z,  o.  The 
three  of  hearts  was  turned  by  Z; 
A  led,  and  the  play  was  as  follows: 


1 

H 

I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

QO 
*  3 
<?  5 
tf  Q 

KO 

2  0 

*  K 

<y  4 

Q?  9 
3  0 
4  4 
V  J 
7  0 
8  0 
9  0 
9  4 
104 
J  4 

5  0 
*  A 

*  6 
V  2 
<?  6 
2  4 
*Q 

<?  A 

y  3 

A  Q 
410 
3  4 

100 

J  0 
*  J 
Q?  K 

<3  7 
84 

*  7 

4  0 
*  5 
*  8 
4  * 
5  4 
K  4 

4  2 

6  0 
6  4 
7  4 
Q  4 

*  9 

A  4 

<3>IO 

<9  8 

Score:  Y-Z,  5  by  cards  and  game, 


RHYMING  RULES 


346 


RHYMING  RULES 


Foster's  comments  on  the  hand 
are  as  follows:  "  B's  play  of  king 
second  hand  is  Milwaukee  style. 
Z's  trump-lead  shows  the  master. 
At  trick  six  A  covers  with  the  im- 
perfect fourchette.  At  trick  eight 
Y  knows  he  must  lose  a  club  trick, 
unless  Z  can  get  in  again  to  lead 
the  club  deuce  (marked  in  his 
hand),  through  A's  guarded  eight. 
Z's  discard  of  a  spade,  at  trick 
seven,  marks  him  with  a  possible 
trick  in  diamonds." 

Concerning  Mr.  Rheinart's  play 
in  general,  Mr.  Foster  says:  "  In 
my  opinion,  John  Rheinart  was  in 
advance  of  his  time  in  this  coun- 
try, and  played  what  we  now  know 
as  '  common  sense'  whist.  We 
•were  too  much  wrapped  up  in  '  Cav- 
endish' and  American  leads  to  ap- 
preciate him  while  he  was  among 
us."  Speaking  of  him  personally, 
Mr.  Elliott  says:  "  He  was  a  man  of 
rare  culture,  of  wide  reading,  a 
gentleman  by  birth,  instinct  and 
education,  and  a  man  who  would 
have  taken  a  prominent  place  in 
any  community." 

Rhyming  Rules. — There  was 
published  in  France,  about  1854,  a 
set  of  whist  rules  in  verse,  entitled 
"  Principes  Ge"n£raux  du  Jeu  de 
Whist,"  in  which  the  second  rule 
was  stated  as  follows: 

Montrez  au  partenaire  en  quoi  vous  Ctes 

fort, 
Et  mariez  vos  jeur  d'un  mutuel  accord. 

These  verses  were  said  to  have 
been  written  by  a  general  of  artil- 
lery, and  it  has  been  surmised  that 
it  may  have  been  General  Baron  de 
Vautre",  the  author  of  the  "  Ge"nie 
du  Whist." 

The  celebrated  English  "  Rhym- 
ing Rules,"  by  Dr.  William  Pole, 
were  first  published  as  prose  max- 
ims, in  March,  1864.  They  were 
printed  on  a  card  and  entitled, 


"Pocket  Precepts."  The  idea  of 
the  rhyming  form,  later  adopted, 
was  taken  from  the  French  compo- 
sition above  alluded  to.  The 
"  Rhyming  Rules"  are  published 
in  Pole's  "Theory  of  Whist," 
and  a  still  later  set  of  "  Whist 
Rhymes"  appear  in  his  "  Philoso- 
phy of  Whist."  These  exhibit 
the  present  English  game.  The 
"Rhyming  Rules"  read  as  fol- 
lows: 

If  you  the  modern  game  of  whist  would 
know, 

From  this  great  principle  its  precepts 
flow: 

Treat  your  own  hand  as  to  your  partner's 
joined, 

And  play,  not  one  alone,  but  both  com- 
bined. 

Your  first  lead  makes  your  partner  un- 
derstand • 

What  is  the  chief  component  of  your 
hand; 

And  hence  there  is  necessity  the  strong- 
est 

That  your  first  lead  be  from  your  suit 
that's  longest. 

In  this,  with  ace  and  king,  lead  king,  then 

ace; 
With  king  and  queen,  king  also  has  first 

place; 
With  ace,  queen,  knave,  lead  ace  and  then 

the  queen; 
With  ace,  four  small  ones,  ace  should  first 

be  seen. 

With  queen,  knave,  ten,  you  let  the  queen 
precede; 

In  other  cases  you  the  lowest  lead, 

Ere  you  return  your  friend's,  your  own 
suit  play; 

But  trumps  you  must  return  without  de- 
lay. 

When  you  return  your  partner's  lead, 
take  pains 

To  lead  him  back  the  best  your  hand  con- 
tains, 

If  you  received  not  more  than  three  at 
first; 

If  you  had  more,  you  may  return  the 
worst. 

But  if  you  hold  the   master  card  you're 

bound, 

In  most  cases,  to  play  it  second  round. 
Whene'  er  you  want  a  lead,  'tis  seldom 

wrong 
To  lead  up  to  the  weak,  or  through  the 

strong. 


RHYMING  RULES 


347 


RHYMING  RULES 


If  second  hand,  your   lowest  should   be 

played, 
Unless  you  mean,  "trump  signal"  to  be 

made; 
Or  if  you've  king  and  queen,  or  ace  and 


you  v 
king, 


Then  one  of  these  will  be  the  proper 
thing. 

Mind  well   the  rules  for  trumps,  you'll 

often  need  them: 
When   you  hold  Jive  'tis  always  right  to 

lead  them; 

Or  if  the  lead  won't  come  in  time  to  you, 
Then  signal  to  your  partner  so  to  do. 

Watch  also  for  your  partner  s  trump  re- 
quest, 

To  which,  with  less  than  four,  play  out 
your  best. 

To  lead  through  honors  turned  up  is  bad 
play, 

Unless  you  want  the  trump  suit  cleared 
away. 

When,  second  hand,  a  doubtful  trick  you 
see, 

Don't  trump  it  if  you  hold  more  trumps 
than  three; 

But  having  three  or  less,  trump  fear- 
lessly. 

When   weak  in  trumps  yourself,    don't 

force  your  friend, 
But  always  force  the  adverse  strong  trump 

hand. 

For  sequences,  stern  custom  has  decreed 
The  lowest  you  must  play,  if  you  don't 

lead. 
When  you  discard,  weak  suits  you  ought 

to  choose. 
For  strong  ones  are  too  valuable  to  lose. 

Pole's  "Rhyming  Rules"  were 
republished  in  Mclntosh's  "Modern 
Whist"  (Utica,  N.  Y.,  1888),  "  with 
additions  and  emendations  by  T. 
D.  L. "  A  revised  version,  made  to 
suit  the  American  game,  was  pub- 
lished by  John  T.  Mitchell,  in  Whist 
for  November,  1892,  and,  with  fur- 
ther changes,  embodied  in  his  book 
on  "  Duplicate  Whist"  (1897).  Mr. 
Mitchell's  version  is  as  follows: 

If  you  the  fin  de  siZcle  game  of  whist  would 

know, 
From  this  great  principle  its  precepts 

mostly  flow: 
Your  first  and  second  leads  let  partner 

understand, 
Both  quantity  and  quality  of  suit  in  hand. 


With  ace,  king,  queen,  and  knave,  the 

lead's  the  knave  or  king; 
With  ace  and  king  and  queen,  the  queen 

or  king's  the  thing; 
With  ace  and  king,  the  ace  or  king— the 

king  if  four, 
The  first  of  these  if  you  have  five  in  suit 

or  more. 

With  king  and  queen  and  knave,  with  or 

without  the  ten, 
With  four  lead  king,  with  five  or  more  the 

knave  lead  then; 
With  king  and  queen  and  two,  the  king 

should  first  be  seen; 
With  king  and  queen  and  three,  the  first 

lead  is  the  queen. 

With  queen  and  knave  and  ten,  with  or 

without  the  nine; 
First  lead  the  ten;  with  four,  the  queen  is 

next  in  line; 
But  holding  five  or  more,  with  knave  you 

next  proceed, 
Though  holding  four  with  nine,  the  nine's 

the  second  lead. 

With  ace  and  queen  and  knave,  with  or 

without  the  ten, 
The  first  lead  is  the  ace,  with  queen  you 

follow  then. 
If  only  four  in  suit;  with  five,  the  knave's 

the  play; 
Though  holding  ten  alone,  follow  with 

ten,  they  say. 

(These  secondary  leads  are  on  this  basis 
played — 

Indifferent  high  cards  to  tell  the  tale  are 
made; 

The  lower  of  two  shows  five,  the  higher 
only  four; 

The  middle  of  three  shows  five,  the  low- 
est six  or  more.) 

With  ace  and  six,  ace-queen  or  knave  and 

three,  lead  ace; 
The  fourth  best  is  the  lead  in  every  other 

case. 
In  trumps  don't  lead  high  from  ace-king, 

ace-queen,  ace-knave,  king-queen, 
Unless  originally  six  in  suit  are  seen. 

When  you  your  partner's  plain-suit  lead 
return,  take  pains 

To  lead  him  back  the  very  best  your  hand 
contains; 

That  is,  if  you  received  not  more  than 
four  at  first; 

If  you  had  more  than  that,  you  may  re- 
turn the  worst. 

In  trumps,  you  lead  him  back  the  best 

with  three  or  less, 
The  worst  with  four  or  more  unless  you 

ace  possess. 


RHYMING  RULES 


348 


RHYMING  RULES 


Your  partner   do  not  force,    if  you  in 

trumps  are  weak, 
Unless  it  is  quite  plain  a  force  he's  tried 

to  seek. 

Whene'er  you  want  a  lead,  you'll  find  'tis 

seldom  wrong, 
To  lead  up  to  the  weak,  or  (sometimes) 

through  the  strong; 
Still,  in  the  course  of  play,  you  often  will 

find  need 
To  twist  this  rule  around   so  you  can 

throw  the  lead. 

When  you  discard,  cards  from  weak  suits 

you  ought  to  choose. 
For  those  in  strong  ones  are  too  valuable 

to  lose, 
But  should  you  discard  from  strong  suit 

to  guard  your  hand. 
Then  signal  with  the  cards  you  throw,  to 

show  command. 

To  lead  through  honors  turned  is  culpably 

bad  play. 
Unless  you  wish  to  have  the  trump  suit 

cleared  away. 
When  adversaries  try  that    scheme   of 

leading  through, 
Don't  keep  command  too  long,  or  else  the 

play  you'll  rue. 

Mind  well  the  rule  for  trumps, 'tis  seldom 

wrong  to  lead  them — 
When  you  hold  five  with  one,  or  four  with 

honors  two; 
Andjif  the  chance  to  lead  won't  come  in 

time  to  you, 
Then  you  must  signal  to  your  partner  so 

to  do. 

When,  second  hand,  you  hold  one  honor 

and  one  small, 
Don't  jump  in  with  the  high  unless  you 

mean  to  call; 
And  when,  in  that  same  place,  a  doubtful 

trick  you  see. 
Don't  trump  it  if  in  trumps  you  hold 

more  cards  than  three. 

But  if  you're  fourth  in  hand,  don't  fail  a 
trick  to  take. 

Because  you  have  four  trumps,  and  one 
long  suit  to  make. 

For  sequences,  remember,  custom  has  de- 
creed. 

That  lowest  of  them  you  must  play,  when 
not  your  lead. 

Don't  get  too  bad  a  case  of  the  unblock- 
ing craze 

Or  else  you'll  forfeit  tricks  in  foolishest  of 
ways; 

Retain  the  lowest  card  of  four  for  the 
fourth  round. 

But  don't  take  partner's  trick  unless  you 
know  your  ground. 


In  making  opening  leads,  select  your  suit 

that's  longest — 
For  cards  to  bring  it  in  you  may  require 

your  strongest. 
Stick  closely  to  these  rules  and  when  you 

"strike  your  gait." 
You'll  not  lose  many  tricks  at  "  straight " 

or  "duplicate." 

Another  set  of  very  clever  rhym- 
ing rules,  by  Rev.  Francis  Robert 
Drew,  senior  mathematical  master 
at  Malvern  College,  England,  hung 
for  many  years  in  the  card-rooms 
of  the  Malvern  Club.  They  were 
headed  "Old  Bumble's  Art  of 
Whist,"  and  W.  P.  Courtney,  in  his 
"English  Whist  and  Whist  Play- 
ers," says  they  "are  worthy  of  a 
more  extensive  circulation  than 
they  have  yet  received."  In  1873 
a  small  volume,  entitled  "  Whist 
in  Rhymes  for  Modern  Times," 
was  published  in  London  under  the 
name  of  "A.  Thistlewood."  The 
author  was  David  Johnson  Mac- 
Brair,  of  Edinburgh,  solicitor,  who 
died  in  1893.  On  January  i,  1876, 
there  appeared  in  the  Westminster 
Papers,  London,  some  lines  of  this 
kind,  by  F.  L.  Slous,  which  had 
been  privately  printed  as  early  as 
1832.  They  bore  the  title,  "A 
Quiet  Rubber  of  Whist."  Still 
another  set  of  rhyming  rules  ap- 
peared in  New  York,  in  1888,  in  an 
eleven  -  page  booklet,  entitled, 
"Whist  Rules  for  Leads  in 
Rhyme,"  by  Anna  C.  Clapp.  The 
latest  rhyming  rules  that  have 
come  under  our  notice  are  by  Mrs. 
Henry  E.  Wallace  (q.  v. ),  pub- 
lished in  a  neat  folder,  under  her 
pen  name  of  Margaretta  Wetherill 
Wallace.  They  are  entitled  "Ameri- 
can Whist  Leads  in  Rhyme,"  and 
run  as  follows: 

Lead  ace,  and  follow  with  the  king  to 
show 

A  suit  of  five,  three  cards  the  queen  be- 
low. 

In  trumps  this  play  most  incorrect  would 
be 

If  knave  were  not  among  the  lower 
three. 


RHYMING  RULES 


349 


RHYMING  RULES 


Lead  ace,  and  follow  afterwith  the  queen, 
One  small  card  with  the  knave  will  now 

be  seen; 

But  if  the  ace  is  followed  by  the  knave, 
Two  small  ones  with  the  queen  you'll 

surely  have. 

Ace,  ten,  will  always  show  a  suit  of  four, 
The  queen  and   knave  exactly,  but  no 

more. 
Lead  ace  again,  and  follow  with  fourth 

best, 
Four  cards  below  the  ace  will  then  be 

guessed. 

In  leading  king  a  suit  of  four  you'll  find, 

With  ace  in  front  or  else  the  queen  be- 
hind. 

In  trumps  king  may  be  even  led  from 
three; 

The  other  cards  must  then  both  honors 
be. 

If  king  goes  out  and  follows  with  the  ace, 
'T  will  show  two  small  ones  only  have 

next  place; 
And  should  the  king  be  followed  by  the 

lady, 
One  little  card  and  ace  are  likely  ready. 

But  if  the  ace  be  missing  from  your 
hand, 

Lead  king,  then  queen,  and  all  will  un- 
derstand 

That  two  small  cards  still  in  that  suit 
remain. 

Be  careful  how  you  lead  from  it  again. 

If  leading   king   you   next   the   knave 

should  play, 
Both  ace  and  queen  may  later  lead  the 

way; 
But   should   the  ace   be   not   your  suit 


amo 


mg, 
,  the 


Play  king,  then  knave,  if  you  hold  queen 
and  one. 

When  next  king  leads,  he  follows  with 

the  ten, 
This   shows   exactly  queen   and   knave 

again, 

But  should  a  lower  card  than  ten  appear, 
One  small  card  headed  by  the  queen  is 

there. 

Her  majesty  comes  forth  in  manner  bold; 
Two  cards  above  and  two  below  you  hold. 
She  comes  from  suit  of  five  you  will 

divine, 
Unless  she's  followed  by  the  knave  or 

nine. 

You  lead  her  out,  and  later  let  ace  fall, 
With  king,  two  cards  are  yours,  but  both 

are  small; 
But  should  she  next  be  followed  by  the 

king, 
Three  little  cards  and  ace  you  forth  will 

bring. 


Without  the  ace  the  play  is  just  the  same. 
Lead  queen,  then  king,  and  three  small 

cards  remain. 

The  queen  now  bids  his  majesty  farewell; 
Play  queen  and  knave,  the  ten  and  one  to 

tell. 

First  queen,  then  ten;  this  will  your  part- 
ner show, 

With  knave,  two  little  cards  the  ten  be- 
low. 

Queen  followed  by  the  nine  shows  knave 
and  ten, 

A  suit  of  four  you  will  behold  again. 

Queen,  followed  by  a  lower  card  than 

nine. 
With  king,  two  cards  below  the  queen  are 

thine. 

Thus  by  observing  closely  we  descry 
That  king  is  absent  when  the  knave  is 

nigh. 

To  lead  the  knave  alone  you'd  hardly 

dare, 

Unless  supported  by  the  royal  pair. 
This    rule   to    trumps,    however,    don't 

apply; 
Knave  leads  when  only  ten  and  nine  are 

by. 

Knave,  followed  by  the  ace,  shows  king, 

queen,  one. 
King  takes  A's  place,  and  one  more  card 

is  shown. 

But  even  if  the  ace  should  now  be  lacking. 
Play  knave,  then  king,  with  queen  and 

two  cards  backing. 

Lead  knave,  then  queen  to  show  a  gener- 
ous suit: 

Ace,  king,  and  three  indifferent  cards  to 
boot. 

But  even  if  the  ace  you  now  should  miss. 

The  play  would  still  remain  the  same  as 
this. 

We  now  are  coming  to  the  lead  often; 
Ace,  queen  we  lack,  but  always  find  the 

men; 
While  one  or  more  small  cards  you  also 

hold. 
By  second  play  the  number  can  be  told. 

You  play  the  ten,  and  if  the  ace  should 

Yall, 

King  next:  if  not,  the  lowest  card  of  all. 
If  by  this  play  you  force  the  queen,  lead 

king 
In  hopes  that  thus  the  knave  to  power 

you'll  bring. 

To  show  your  friend  a  suit  of  five,  there'd 

be 
Both  king  and  knave,  with  others,  two  or 

three; 
Lead  ten,  then  knave,  to  show  the  cards 

have  strength. 
The  knave  here  tells  us  that  the  suit  has 

length. 


RHYMING  RULES 


350 


ROTARY  DISCARD 


If  you  a  lower  card  than  ten  should  lead. 

The  fourth  best  it  should  be,  all  are 
agreed. 

The  number  led  from,  and  the  combina- 
tion. 

Are  only  known  by  later  observation. 

Mrs.  Wallace  has  also  reduced 
third-hand  play  and  unblocking  to 
rhyme,  as  follows: 

On  partner's  lead  of  ace,  queen,  jack,  ten, 

nine. 
With   four    exactly  play  third   best   of 

thine: 
Whene'er  his  lead  shows  cards  with  him 

are  found 
His   suit    protecting    three    full    times 

around. 
Next  play  the  card  that's  second  from  the 

top. 
Keep  small  card  last  or  else  his  lead  you'll 

stop. 

If  with  unblocking  you  would  also  call. 
You  do  this  with  the  middle  cards  of  all. 

Ace,  king,  two  small,  third  best  on  part- 
ner's queen 

On  second  round  let  king  be  surely  seen, 
Ace,  king,  one  small,  king  on  the  queen 

you  place: 
While  second  time  you  follow  with  the 

ace. 
Ace,  jack,  two  small  on  queen  again  third 

best, 
Then  ace.    You'll  partner  find  of  king 

possessed. 

Ace,  jack.  On  any  card  let  high  one  go. 
Ace  and  two  small.  On  honor  led  play 

low: 

Except  on  ten,  for  then  the  play  is  high. 
Keep  small  one  to  return  him  by  and  by. 
Ace,  one.  The  ace  upon  the  jack  you 

bring — 
It's  too  expensive  on  the  queen  or  king. 

With  king  queen,  jack,  small,  jack  and 

then  the  lady, 
If  jack  you  lack  for  ace  third  best  have 

ready. 

This  rule's  for  honors.  If  the  lead  be  ten 
Play  low.  and  after  send  the  jack  again. 
King,  jack,  two  small,  third  best  on  ace, 

then  Jack. 

But  play  is  low  if  one  small  card  you  lack. 
King,  small.  On  anv  honor  play  is  low; 
But  if  the  ten  is  led  king  has  to  go. 

Queen,  jack,  two  small.    On  ace  third 

best  you  play. 

On  second  round  let  jack  no  longer  stay. 
Queen  and  two  small  On  honor  led  play 

small, 
But  second  round  the  queen  must  surely 

fall. 


If  these  few  rules  you  miss  or  disregard, 
Perhaps  you'll  block  your  partner's  final 

card. 

Unblocking  has  another  use  to  heed — 
By  it  his  suit  can  partner  plainly  read. 

Rotary  Discard. — A  mode  of 
discarding  whereby  the  four  suits 
are  given  an  arbitrary  order,  and  a 
discard  from  one  means  strength 
in  the  next  one  in  order,  the  idea 
being  to  enable  the  player  to  indi- 
cate his  strong  suit  without  weak- 
ening it.  This  discard  was  first 
proposed  and  advocated  by  P.  J. 
Tormey,  before  the  San  Francisco 
Whist  Club,  in  an  address  pub- 
lished in  Whist  for  January,  1895. 
Mr.  Tormey  took  the  long  familiar 
arrangement  of  the  cards — spades, 
hearts,  clubs,  diamonds — and  sug- 
gested that  a  player  strong  in 
hearts,  and  weak  in  spades,  dis- 
card a  spade,  thereby  declaring 
strength  in  hearts.  If  strong  in 
clubs,  he  discards  a  heart;  if  strong 
in  diamonds,  he  discards  a  club; 
and  if  strong  in  spades,  he  discards 
a  diamond,  and  thus,  in  rotation, 
he  is  able  to  indicate  strength  in 
any  suit,  at  the  same  time  observ- 
ing the  maxim,  that  discards  should 
be  generally  made  from  weak  suits. 
The  trump  suit  is  dropped  out  of 
consideration  in  the  arrangement. 
For  example,  if  hearts  are  trumps, 
andclubsare  your  strongest  suit,  you 
indicate  it  by  discarding  a  spade. 

The  rotary  discard  has  caused 
much  discussion  since  its  introduc- 
tion by  Mr.  Tormey.  Many  players 
have  experimented  with  it  for  a 
time,  and  then  dropped  it,  on  the 
ground  that  it  frequently  forced  a 
discard  from  a  suit  which  it  was 
expensive  to  touch.  Others  con- 
tinue to  give  it  their  adherence, 
and  it  is  a  notable  fact  that  Messrs. 
McCay  and  Smith,  who  won  the 
pair  championship  in  1896,  em- 
ployed it.  ' '  Cavendish' '  condemns 
it  as  a  fad. 


ROTARY  DISCARD 


351 


RUBBER 


In  the  fall  of  1897,  the  team  from 
the  Philadelphia  Whist  Club  gave 
the  rotary  discard  a  trial  in  the 
matches  for  the  Challenge  Trophy, 
but  employed  it  only  when  unable 
to  follow  suit  on  a  trump  lead  made 
by  the  partner,  no  other  suit  hav- 
ing been  led.  A  member  of  that 
team  wrote  as  follows  concerning 
it,  in  the  latter  part  of  November: 
"While  my  experience  is  not  as 
yet  sufficiently  extensive  to  justify 
me  in  urging  it  too  strongly,  yet  I 
can  say  that,  so  far,  I  have  seen  it 
win  quite  a  number  of  tricks  with- 
out having  a  loss  scored  against  it; 
that  I  believe  in  the  long  run  it 
will  prove  a  decided  gainer,  and 
before  we  are  much  older  will 
be  accepted  as  conventional.  Of 
course  it  must  be  understood,  that 
I  am  referring  to  the  adoption  of 
the  rotary  discard  only  when  the 
partner  has  opened  trump  as  the 
initial  lead  of  the  hand,  and  no 
other  suit  has  been  led.  If  a  plain 
suit  has  been  led,  even  for  but  one 
round,  I  believe  the  use  of  the 
rotary  is  unnecessary,  as  a  discard 
from  weakness  will  point  the  strong 
suit  just  as  accurately,  and  its  ex- 
tension beyond  the  limit  given 
seems  to  me  sure  to  entail  confu- 
sion, misunderstanding,  and  loss." 

One  objection  urged  against  the 
discard  is,  that  by  changing  the 
order  of  rotation,  by  private  agree- 
ment, a  team  might  puzzle  its  op- 
ponents and  gain  an  advantage. 
Such  practice  would,  however,  be 
as  illegal  as  any  other  private  con- 
vention (q.  v.),  and  subject  the 
offenders  to  the  same  penalty. 

This  [discard]  is  complicated,  but  as  it 
is  sometimes  used  in  test  matches  to  puz- 
zle the  opponents,  it  is  well  to  under- 
stand the  principle.— Emma  D.  Andrews 
[L.  A.],  "TheXYZof  Whist." 

This  discard  *  *  *  has  had  its  fol- 
lowers since  the  fifth  congress,  and  as  it 
proclaims  both  weakness  and  strength  in 
unequivocal  terms,  it  is  certainly  entitled 


to  respectful  consideration.  — John  T. 
Mitchell  [L.  A.],  "Duplicate  Whist  and 
Modern  Leads." 

The  rotary  discard  is  beneath  notice. 
Take  the  suits  in  any  agreed  on  order, 
and  discard  from  the  one  next  to  that 
which  partner  is  to  lead,  jumping  the 
trump  suit.  A  short  trial  will  prove  the 
inefficiency  of  this  fad. — "Cavendish"  [/,. 
A.],  Scribner's  Magazine,  July,  1897. 

It  is  simply  this:  On  your  discard  you 
say,  by  playing  one  card  only:  "  In  this 
suit  I  am  weak;  in  the  next  higher  one 
in  hand  I  am  strong."  This  idea  is  taken 
from  a  Mexican  game.  *  *  *  This 
mode  of  discarding  endows  your  card 
with  two-fold  information.  Whether  it  is 
good  or  bad  whist-play,  I  leave  it  to  bet- 
ter judges  than  I  to  adjudicate. — P.  J. 
Tormey[L.  A.},  Whist,  January,  1895. 

We  cannot  agree  with  Mr.  Tormey's 
idea  that  it  is  always  best  to  discard  from 
the  weakest  suit;  in  fact,  we  think  this  is 
the  one  point  in  whist  where  inference 
should!  be  drawn  with  great  latitude,  be- 
cause it  is  so  often  necessary  to  make  a 
protective  discard.  *  *  *  Mr.  Tormey's 
plan  of  discard,  in  the  order  of  suits,  may 
be  easily  conceived  to  make  the  informa- 
tion more  definite,  but  to  be  reliable,  it 
must  be  adhered  to  strictly,  and  that 
would  often  impose  sacrifices  by  un- 
guarding short  suits,  which  we  think 
•would  be  destructive  of  good  whist. — 
CassiusM.  Paine  [L.A.],  Whist,  January, 
1*95- 

It  has  been  tried  by  different  teams  at 
various  times,  and,  as  a  rule,  abandoned 
for  the  reason  that  it  frequently  forced  a 
discard  from  a  suit  that  it  was  expensive 
to  touch.  The  limited  use  made  of  it  by 
the  Philadelphia  team  is  not  liable  to 
that  objection,  however,  and  it  gives  to  a 
partner  with  a  strong  hand  the  most  im- 
portant and  accurate  information  at 
puce.  It  frequently  saves  him  from  wast- 
ing a  trump  by  making  an  extra  lead  to 
get  a  second  discard,  and  when  the 
length  in  trumps  does  not  warrant  an 
extra  lead,  it  saves  the  trump  leader  the 
necessity  of  guessing  between  two  suits  as 
to  which  his  partner  desires  to  have  led. 
—Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.],  Philadel- 
phia Press,  November  24, 1897. 

Round,  A. — Every  four  cards 
played  in  succession;  a  trick. 

Rubber. — Two  games  won  out 
of  three  played  in  succession.  The 
rubber  applies  only  to  the  English 
five-point  game,  with  honors  count- 
ing, and  section  i  of  the  English 


"  RUBBER,  A  VERY  QUIET  "  352       "  RUFF  AND  HONOURS  " 


code  provides  that  if  the  first  two 
games  are  won  by  the  same  players, 
the  third  game  is  not  played.  The 
decisive  game  is  called  the  rubber 
game.  The  American  code  substi- 
tutes single  games  for  the  rubber. 
(See,  also,  "American  and  English 
Laws.") 

When  one  game  has  been  won  on  each 
side,  a  third  is  required  to  decide  the 
rubber;  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  two 
games  have  been  won  by  the  same  side, 
the  rubber  is  finished,  and  a  fresh  one  is 
commenced.  *  *  *  A  rubber  means 
two  out  of  three  consecutive  games. — 
Deschapelles  [O.],  "Laws,"  Sect  ton  50. 

"Rubber,     a     Very     Quiet."  — 

James  Payn,  in  his  volume,  "  High 
Spirits,"  tells  the  story  of  four 
players,  two  men  and  two  elderly 
spinsters,  residing  in  the  same 
town,  who  were  wont  to  meet  night 
after  night  for  a  quiet  rubber  at 
whist.  Gradually  death  claims 
them,  one  after  another,  but  the 
spirit  of  gentility  precludes  the  sur- 
vivors from  admitting  to  a  place 
in  the  set  the  local  auctioneer  and 
undertaker,  who,  however,  hopes 
in  spite  of  every  disappointment, 
to  be  finally  received  into  the 
charmed  circle.  But  every  renewal 
of  hope  only  ends  in  disappoint- 
ment, and  at  last  only  one  of  the 
players  is  left.  She,  too,  passes 
away,  and  at  her  request,  her  last 
two  packs  of  cards  are  buried  with 
her.  Thus  ends  what  the  novelist 
has  designated  as  "  A  Very  Quiet 
Rubber." 

Rubber  Points.— In  the  English 
or  five-point  game,  with  honors, 
the  final  count  determining  win- 
nings or  losses  is  by  rubber  points. 
The  winners  of  a  game  count  three 
rubber  points  if  they  win  a  treble — 
*.  e.,  if  they  score  five  points  in 
that  game  against  nothing  by  their 
adversaries.  They  mark  two  rub- 
ber points  if  they  win  a  double — 


*.  e.,  if  the  adversaries  have  scored 
only  one  or  two  points  in  the  game. 
They  mark  one  rubber  point  if  they 
win  a  single — *'.  e. ,  if  their  adversa- 
ries have  scored  three  or  four  points 
to  their  five  in  the  game.  The  side 
winning  the  rubber  (two  out  of 
three  games)  add  two  more  rubber 
points  for  that  achievement.  The 
value  of  all  the  rubber  points  is 
next  determined  by  deducting  from 
the  winners'  score  whatever  rubber 
points  may  have  been  made  by 
their  adversaries.  The  balance  of 
rubber  points  must  be  settled  for 
by  the  losers  at  whatever  stake  per 
rubber  point  has  previously  been 
agreed  upon  or  understood,  a  sep- 
arate stake  upon  the  rubber  itself 
(the  best  two  out  of  three)  being 
sometimes  played  for. 

Ruff. — To  ruff  means  to  trump. 
The  word  is  from  the  French  rou/ie, 
and  at  first  had  the  meaning  of  a 
point  at  piquet.  Next  we  find  it 
used  in  the  old  English  game  re- 
sembling whist,  in  which  it  meant 
to  discard.  Later  it  obtained  its 
present  meaning.  A  cross-ruff 
means  to  trump  alternately,  when 
partners  lead  suits  for  that  purpose. 
(See,  "Trump.") 

Never  ruff  an  uncertain  card,  if  strong, 
or  omit  doing  so  if  weak  in  trumps. — 
Thomas  Mathews  [L.  O.],  "Advice  to  the 
Young  Whist-Player,"  1804. 

"Ruff    and     Honours." — An 

ancient  game  concerning  which 
Charles  Cotton,  in  his  "Compleat 
Gamester"  (1674),  says:  "  Whist  is 
a  game  not  much  different  from 
this."  "Ruff  and  honours"  was 
played  with  a  pack  of  fifty-two 
cards,  the  ace  ranking  the  highest. 
There  were  four  players,  two  being 
partners  against  the  other  two. 
Each  player  received  twelve  cards; 
the  remaining  four  were  left  as  a 
"stock"  on  the  table,  and  the  top 


nsohsmA  lo  jteteoovbA 
fiiiw 


RUFF  AND  HONOURS  " 


town, 
after 

whist 
thein. 

Splr  t 


^  .-wmdi*  V>»'  :.*»«      I.  *.,  if  the  adversaries  have  scored 

-.»'!*,       oaly  one  or  two  points  in  the  game. 
Blue      They  mark  one  rubber  point  if  they 
ift/jfc**      win  a  single — i.  £.,  if  their  adversa- 
ries have  scored  three  or  four  points 
to  their  five  in  the  game.    The  side 
\i       winning    the    rubber  (two  out  of 
three  games)  add  two  more  rubber 
^^      points  for  that  achievement.     The 
value  of  all   the  rubber  points  is 
-x  ->      next  determined  by  deducting  from 
***      the  winners'  score  whatever  rubber 
point-}   may    have   been    made   by 
i,r»          their  adversaries.     The  balance  of 
rubber  points  niuft  be  settled  for 

^^^    _  tt  by  the  losers  at  whatever  slake  per 

/*•*•*'•      •     ¥«ry     Quiet." rubber  point  has   previously  been 
/•»ju.  a.  u:s  volume,  "High       agreed  upon  or  understood,  a  sep- 

itwo'mAdvocates  of  American  Leads;^ 

ers,    residing  g  .      — •«- 

ere  wo;u  t^lul 

night   for  a  <jtm»t  r\\> 

Gradually     d^nth    claims 
one   after   another,  but  the 

George  W.  Pettte '  »e  «nr- 

i  from    ^irittiitig   to  a  place 

•  wi.  the  )o<m!  auctioneer  aud 

hcwt",  MiltOOeC 

il*  of  tvery  di«*j»pf»intnient, 

_,  _          u. to    Uic 

Charles  S.  Street. 


Ruff. -To  ntff  means  to  trump. 
The  word  is  from  the  French  roufle, 
aud  at  first  had  the  oieaning  of  a 
point  aj0jjn}3wt.Mi$Gf}ftllWe  find  it 
used  in  the  old  English  game  re- 
.aynibluig  whist,  in  which  it  meant 
TD°m8card.  Later  it  obtained  its 
present  meaning.  A  cross-ruff 
i?au9  to  )>UTT'Prp^)frr\M^i  •>'»  when 
partners  lej»d  suits  for  that  purpose. 


her.     Th-i 
Rubber." 


f.  what 
as  "  A 


Rubber  Point*. —In  the  English 

or  five-point  game,  with  honors, 
tlic  final  count  d^tcraihiing  win- 
nings nr  losses  is  by  lubber  points. 
The  winners  of  a  game  count  three 
ruble,  r  points  if  they  win  n  trebie — 
*'.  f.,  if  they  score  five  points  in 
that  Kiiuie  against  nothfng  by  their 
adversaries.  They  mark  two  rub- 
ber poir.-.a  if  they  win  &  double — 


gatue 
Cotton, 


:»\'A.  if  strong, 
;n  trun:ps. — 
Adi-icr  to  the 


Honour*."  —  An 

f-iuortung    which 

in  his  "  Compleat 

'  .  nays:  "  Whist  is 

ch    •'iifferent  from 

;s1  honours"    was 

park    of    fifty-two 

oking  the  highest. 

pleycrs,  two  being 

'.    "Jw-    other    two. 

••'.•"?  twtive  cards; 

.     o.*--r    "left  a,s  a 

..-•  :>.  ma  the  Lop 


RUFFING  GAME 


353 


RUNNING 


one  was  turned  up  to  determine  the 
trump  suit.  The  player  holding 
the  ace  of  trumps  had  the  privilege 
of  taking  the  "stock"  in  exchange 
for  any  four  cards  in  his  hand,  and 
this  operation  was  called  "ruff- 
ing." The  score  was  nine,  and 
the  party  that  won  most  tricks  were 
"most  forward  to  win  the  set." 
Three  honors  in  the  hands  of  part- 
ners were  reckoned  equivalent  to 
two  tricks,  and  four  honors  to  four. 
Pole  says:  "This  came  very  near 
whist,  and  was,  in  fact,  whist  in  an 
imperfect  form." 

The  game  of  triomphe,  or  French  ruff, 
must  not  be  confused  with  the  English 
game  of  trump,  or  ruff-and-honours,  the 
predecessor  of  our  national  game  of 
whist.  Cotton  clearly  distinguishes  be- 
tween the  two,  calling  triotnphe  French 
ruff  (ruff  and  trump  being  synonymous), 
and  trump  English  ruff-and-honours. — 
"'Cavendish''''  [L.A.]  "Card Essays." 

Ruffing  Game. — A  mode  of  play 
at  whist  in  which  every  opportunity 
is  taken  to  make  tricks  by  trump- 
ing. In  the  Howell  (short-suit) 
system  the  ruffing  game  is  one  of 
five  forms  of  strategy  employed.  It 
is  indicated  by  the  original  lead  of 
an  eight,  seven,  or  six-spot  from 
generally  not  more  than  two  in 
suit,  and  the  lead  is  said  to  be  from 
the  "top  of  nothing." 

This  is  the  usual  strategy  of  the  begin- 
ner, and  it  owes  its  attractiveness  to  the 
apparent  advantage  of  making  your  own 
high  cards,  and  of  appropriating  those  of 
your  adversary  by  trumping  them. — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  O.],  "  Whist  Strategy,"  1894. 

Rules.— The  rules  of  whist  are 
the  precepts,  maxims,  and  correct 
principles  which  govern  it,  and 
which  must  be  followed  in  order  to 
play  correctly.  Nearly  every  rule 
of  play  has  its  important  excep- 
tions, and  it  is  highly  essential  that 
a  correct  knowledge  of  these  be  also 
obtained,  so  that  the  player  may 
know  the  rules,  and  when  to  disre- 

23 


gard  them.  While  the  rules  may 
be  at  times  disregarded,  no  such 
latitude  is  allowed  the  player  so  far 
as  the  laws  are  concerned.  If  the 
laws  of  whist  are  infringed  the  pen- 
alty must  be  paid.  A  disregard  of 
the  rules  may  indirectly  bring  as 
serious  consequences,  or  more  so, 
in  the  loss  of  tricks  in  play. 

The  only  rule  of  play  which  is  abso- 
lutely general— play  to  win.— R,  A.  Proc- 
tor [L.  O.] 

In  general,  rules  of  play  which  are 
loaded  with  exceptions  are  almost  as  bad 
as  no  rule  at  all.— "Cavendish"  [L.  A.], 
"  Whist  Developments.'1'' 

Rules  are  for  the  majority  of  cases,  not 
for  exceptional  positions,  and  a  player  is 
good,  very  good,  or  of  the  highest  class, 
in  proportion  to  the  rapidity  and  acute- 
ness  with  which  he  seizes  the  occasion 
when  rules  must  be  disregarded.— la mes 
Clay  [L.  0+]. 

A  good  player  ought  to  be  acquainted 
not  only  with  the  rules  themselves,  but 
also  with  the  reasoning  on  which  they 
are  founded,  in  order  that  he  may  be  able 
to  judge  when  they  are  not  applicable  as 
well  as  when  they  are. —  William  Pole  [L. 
A+],  "Philosophy  of  Whist." 

The  masters  of  the  game  are  those  who 
follow  the  rules  when  they  should,  and 
disregard  them  when  common  sense,  or 
their  whist  judgment,  convinces  them 
that  they  are  at  a  point  in  play  not  pro- 
vided for  by  any  set  rule. — C.  D.  P.  Ham- 
ilton [L.  AJ,  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

Do  not  abuse  the  statement  made  in  all 
good  whist-books,  that  rules  ought  some- 
times to  be  departed  from.  This  is  true; 
but  to  judge  correctly  when  and  how 
such  departure  should  be  made  is  one  of 
the  attributes  of  the  very  best  players. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Philosophy  of 
Whist." 

Running. — When  players  are  on 
the  defensive,  or  playing  a  hopeless 
game,  they  are,  in  modern  par- 
lance, said  to  be  running. 

Some  ["common  sense"]  players  play 
the  ace  from  ace,  king,  and  others  to  in- 
dicate that  they  are  simply  "running" 
for  what  tricks 'are  in  sight,  and  lead  the 
king  when  they  hope  for  a  trump  signal 
from  partner,  considering  that  in  such  an 
event  the  whole  suit  might  possibly  be 
brought  in  by  the  aid  of  partner's  trump 
strength.—  W.  A.  Potter  [S.  O.],  Provi- 
dence Journal,  August  I,  1897. 


RUSSIAN  BOSTON 


354 


SAFFORD,  A.  G. 


"  Russian  Boston." — A  variety 
of  "  boston."  It  contains  a  distin- 
guishing feature  known  as  "  carte 
blanche,"  which  is  the  same  as 
"chicane"  in  "bridge."  The  or- 
der of  the  suits  is  diamonds,  hearts, 
clubs,  and  spades.  Honors  are 
counted,  and,  as  in  "boston  de 
Fontainbleau,"  a  bid  known  as 
"  piccolissimo"  is  introduced. 

Safford,  A.  G. — Author  of  a  val- 
uable series  of  schedules  for  dupli- 
cate whist-play,  and  one  of  the  earli- 
est players  to  devote  his  talents  to 
the  improvement  of  the  duplicate 
game,  so  far  as  the  arrangement 
and  movements  of  the  players  were 
concerned.  Mr.  Safford  was  born 
at  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  August  17,  1844. 
He  was  educated  at  the  University 
of  Vermont,  class  of  1863,  and  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  A.  M.  from 
that  institution.  He  left  college  in 
1862,  and  entered  the  military  tele- 
graph corps  of  the  army,  serving  as 
chief  operator  of  the  Department 
of  the  South,  and  at  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Grant,  at  City 
Point,  Va.,  during  the  last  year  of 
the  war. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Safford  took  up 
the  study  of  law.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  September,  1867,  in 
his  native  State,  and  practiced  there 
until  1886,  when  he  removed  to 
Washington,  D.  C.,  where  he  has 
since  resided,  and  where  he  was 
solicitor  for  the  Inter-state  Com- 
merce Commission  from  1890  to 
1896.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Senate  of  Vermont,  from  1880 
to  1882. 

Mr.  Safford  belonged  to  a  whist 
club  in  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  in  1882, 
and,  upon  removing  to  Washing- 
ton, joined  the  Chess,  Checkers, 
and  Whist  Club,  the  Capital  Bicycle 
Club,  and  the  Columbia  Athletic 
Club,  of  that,  city,  and  the  Manhat- 
tan Athletic  Club,  of  New  York,  in 


all  of  which  whist  has  been  made 
a  special  feature  during  the  past 
few  years.  He  attended  the  first 
congress  of  the  American  Whist 
League,  Milwaukee,  1891,  and  was 
until  1896  a  member  of  its  board  of 
directors.  He  has  played  occa- 
sionally in  matches  for  the  tro- 
phies of  the  League,  and  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Manhattan  Athletic  Club 
team  played  the  first  match  game 
occurring  in  this  country  after  the 
organization  of  the  League,  and 
under  its  new -rules  of  play,  at 
which  time  his  team  defeated  the 
Hamilton  Club  team,  of  Philadel- 
phia. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  at 
the  first  congress  of  the  League, 
OrndorfPs  improved  schedule  for 
teams  of  four  was  used  for  the  first 
time.  Mr.  Safford's  attention  hav- 
ing been  drawn  to  the  duplicate 
game,  he  quickly  saw  the  necessity 
for  correct  and  equitable  methods 
of  arranging  and  moving  the 
players,  individuals  as  well  as 
pairs,  and  teams  of  four.  He  made 
the  subject  a  study  during  his  spare 
moments,  and  the  first  result  con- 
sisted of  formulas  for  moving  eight, 
twelve,  and  sixteen  players,  which 
were  published  in  Whist  for  Jan- 
uary, 1892,  for  the  benefit  of  all 
lovers  of  the  game.  For  five  years 
more  he  continued  his  labors,  and 
in  1897  appeared  his  series  of 
schedules  for  pairs  which  he  named 
the  "comparative  system."  Mi- 
nute directions  are  given  for  the 
movements  of  the  pairs  and  trays, 
and  the  final  comparative  scores 
are  quickly  ascertained.  By  the 
"  comparative  system"  the  players 
are  arranged  in  pairs,  and  moved 
about  at  the  different  tables  in  such 
a  manner  that  each  pair  plays  once 
with  every  other  pair  as  adversa- 
ries, and  each  pair  plays  one  side 
or  the  other  of  every  deal,  and  is 
compared  for  results  with  the  pair 


SAFFORD,  A.  G. 


355 


SAFFORD,  A.  G. 


holding  the  same  cards.    To  accom-  by  the  following  diagram  for  the 

plish  this  without  duplicating  the  movement  of  eight  pairs  of  players, 

cards  is  the  special  feature  of  the  four  tables,  kindly  sent  us  for  this 

system,  which  may  be  illustrated  purpose  by  Mr.  Safford: 


First.       8 


Second.   8 


Third.      8 


Fourth.    8 


Fifth.       8 


Sixth.       8 


Seventh.  8 


A—  I. 

8   6 

B—  V. 

6   7 

c—  in. 

7   4 

D—  II. 

1325 

2436 

A—  n. 

8   7 

B—  VI. 

7   * 

C—  IV. 

i   5 

D—  III. 

2436 

3547 

A—  III. 

8   I 

B—  VII. 

I    2 

c—  v. 

2    6 

D—  IV. 

3547 

4651 

A—  IV. 

8    2 

B—  I. 

2    3 

C—  VI. 

3   7 

D—  V. 

4651 

5762 

A-V. 

8   3 

B—  II. 

3   4 

c—  vn. 

4   i 

D—  VI. 

5762 

6173 

A—  VI. 

8   4 

B—  III. 

4   5 

C—  I. 

5   2 

D—  VII. 

6173 

72^4 

A—  VII. 

8   5 

B—  IV. 

5   6 

c—  n. 

6   3 

D—  I. 

SAFFORD,  A.  G. 


356 


SAVING  THE  GAME 


The  Arabic  numerals  indicate  the 
number  of  the  respective  pairs,  and 
the  Roman  numerals  the  number 
of  the  boards  or  trays;  the  tables 
are  indicated  by  the  letters  "A," 
"  B,"  etc. 

If  the  plan  is  examined,  it  will 
be  found  that  each  pair  meets  every 
other  pair  as  adversaries,  and  each 
pair  has  played  one  side  or  the 
other  of  every  deal;  and  only  seven 
boards  or  trays  are  required.  Take 
deal  No.  i,  for  example:  Pair  num- 
ber one  plays  it  north  and  south,  at 
the  first  formation,  against  pair 
number  eight;  pair  number  six 
plays  it  north  and  south,  at  the 
fourth  formation,  against  pair  num- 
ber two;  pair  number  seven  plays 
it  north  and  south,  at  the  sixth  for- 
mation, against  pair  number  five; 
pair  number  four  plays  it  north  and 
south,  at  the  seventh  formation, 
against  pair  number  three. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that 
pairs  one,  six,  seven,  and  four  play 
the  north  and  south  cards  of  deal 
No.  i,  and  pairs  eight,  two,  five, 
and  three  play  the  east  and  west 
cards  of  that  deal,  and  the  result 
of  the  playing  of  that  particular 
deal  is  determined  by  comparing 
pairs  numbers  one,  four,  six,  and 
seven  with  each  other,  and  the  re- 
maining pairs  with  each  other  also. 
Further  examination  of  the  sched- 
ule will  show  that  each  pair  plays 
one  side  or  the  other  of  every  one  of 
the  seven  deals,  and  holds  the  same 
cards  with  every  other  pair  the 
same  number  of  times.  Score- 
cards  are  prepared,  having  in  the 
left-hand  table  the  location  at  each 
table  of  the  particular  pair  for  the 
several  successive  formations,  the 
number  of  the  board  or  tray  played 
at  that  formation,  and  with  a  table 
beyond  for  extending  the  score  of 
the  deal,  in  a  space  under  the  num- 
ber of  the  pair  which  plays  the  deal 
the  same  way  as  the  particular  pair. 


Such  score-cards  are  prepared  for 
as  many  as  sixty-four  players,  and 
the  formulas  may  be  extended  in- 
definitely, so  as  to  include  as  many 
players  as  may  be  gathered  to- 
gether, and  requiring  but  one  less 
in  number  of  trays  to  be  played 
than  there  are  number  of  pairs. 

Mr.  Safford  was  the  first  to  apply 
numbers  to  the  pairs,  and  to  pro- 
vide for  the  movement  from  forma- 
tion to  formation,  by  increasing  the 
number  of  the  player  or  pair  play- 
ing at  a  particular  position  by  one. 
These  formulas  were  published 
from  time  to  time,  and  Mr.  Saf- 
ford's  method  of  designation  is  now 
generally  employed  in  the  making 
of  schedules,  whether  individual, 
pairs,  or  teams. 

In  his  whist-play,  Mr.  Safford  is 
an  advocate  of  old  leads,  and  of  a 
somewhat  modified  short-suit  game. 

Besides  those  who  wrote  against  the 
system  [of  American  leads],  there  were 
those  who  opposed  it  in  play.  A.  G.  Saf- 
ford, of  the  Capital  Bicycle  Club  in  Wash- 
ington, took  with  him  to  the  second  whist 
congress,  held  in  New  York  in  1892,  a 
team  of  four  men  who  did  not  believe  in 
informatory  leads  of  any  sort.  These 
gentlemen  were  Harry  N.  Low,  Jules  P. 
Woolen,  W.  T.  Bingham,  and  L.  G. 
Eakins,  and  they  won  the  championship 
of  the  American  Whist  League,  defeat- 
ing fifteen  of  the  strongest  teams  in  the 
world  by  the  most  decisive  score  ever 
made  at  a  tournament,  although  all  their 
adversaries  used  the  informatory  svstem 
of  play.—  R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},  Monthly 
Illustrator,  1897. 

Saving  the  Game. — Preventing 
the  adversaries  from  going  out  that 
hand.  To  play  to  save  the  game 
is  the  cautious,  defensive,  often  des- 
perate, play  of  the  weak  hand.  In 
the  English  five-point  game,  with 
honors  counting,  playing  to  the 
score  is  highly  important,  and  play- 
ers must  constantly  be  on  the  alert 
to  save  the  game,  if  they  can  not  win 
it.  Saving  the  game  is  also,  to 
some  extent,  important  in  the 


SCHOOLS,  WHIST  IN          357 


SCIENCE  OR  ART? 


American  seven-point  game,  hon- 
ors not  counting;  but  in  duplicate 
whist,  where  points,  and  not  games, 
are  the  essential  thing,  saving  the 
game  is  an  unknown  term. 

In  England,  saving  a  point  is 
another  important  consideration 
for  the  losing  players.  According 
to  the  rules,  if  one  side  wins  the 
game  before  the  other  side  scores  a 
point,  the  winners  count  a  game  of 
three  points,  known  as  a  treble;  if 
the  losers  are  one  up,  the  winners 
count  a  double,  or  game  of  two 
points;  if  the  losers  manage  to  get 
three  tricks,  the  winners  only  count 
a  single,  or  a  game  of  one  point. 
Hence,  it  is  important,  even  though 
losing  the  game,  to  obtain  one  or 
three  tricks,  if  possible. 

Play  to  save  the  game;  that  being  as- 
sured, play  to  win  the  game.  Don't 
speculate  with  the  game  to  see  how  many 
tricks  you  can  make,  but  if  you  wantonly 
one  trick  to  save  the  game,  take  it  as 
early  as  you  can. — A.J.  Mclntosh  \L.  A.~\, 
"Modern  Whist  and  Portland  Rules,"  i8$8. 

You  must  lose,  in  anv  event,  unless 
the  deep  finesse  wins,  and  if  one  or  more 
of  your  finesses  win  you  may  save  the 
game.  *  *  *  When  the  forces  against 
you  are  evidently  irresistible,  as  one  hand 
marked  with  the  long  trumps  and  a  great 
suit  besides,  there  is  no  room  for  finesse. 
If  you  have  the  master  card,  play  it,  es- 
pecially if  it  will  save  the  game. — C.  D. 
P.  Hamilton  \L.  A.].  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

Schools,  Whist  In.— See,  "Whist 

as  an  Educator." 

Schools  of  Whist. — Divisions 
of  whist-players  who  adhere  to  the 
teachings  of  this  or  that  authority 
or  instructor.  Broadly  speaking, 
those  who  played  the  old  ten-point 
game,  honors  counting,  with  little 
or  no  reference  to  partnership  play, 
were  said  to  belong  to  the  old  school 
of  Hoyle.  Then  came  the  school 
of  Payne,  of  Mathews,  of  Clay,  of 
"  Cavendish,"  of  Foster,  of  Howell, 
and  others,  each  with  important 


improvements  or  changes  in  play. 
A  school  of  whist  sometimes  repre- 
sents a  distinct  system,  but  various 
schools  sometimes  grow  up  on  the 
same  system  or  some  slight  varia- 
tion. (See,  "System.") 

Schwarz,  Theodore.  —  Third 
president  of  the  American  Whist 
League;  was  born  in  Baltimore, 
Md.,  January  12,  1839.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  physician,  who  removed  to 
Philadelphia  during  the  same  year. 
In  the  latter  city  Theodore  received 
his  education,  graduating  from  the 
High  School  in  1858.  In  1874  he 
located  in  Chicago,  where  he  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  com- 
mission business  ever  since. 

His  whist  career  began,  under  the 
tuition  of  his  father,  at  an  early 
age,  and  he  studied  the  game  with 
aU  his  heart,  so  that  he  is  to-day 
one  of  the  best-informed  whist- 
players  in  this  country,  not  only  in 
regard  to  the  literature  of  whist, 
but  concerning  the  practice  of  the 
game  in  the  past  and  present.  He 
took  a  very  active  part  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  American  Whist 
League,  and  was  elected  corre- 
sponding secretary  at  its  organiza- 
tion at  Milwaukee  in  1891,  serving 
in  that  capacity  until  1894.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  laws 
which  framed  the  American  code, 
adopted  by  the  League  in  1893,  and 
has  contributed  several  valuable 
articles  on  the  subject  of  the  laws 
to  Whist.  He  was  elected  vice- 
president  of  the  League  in  1894, 
and  president  in  1895. 

Mr.  Schwarz  also  took  an  active 
part  in  the  formation  of  the  Chicago 
Whist  Club,  and  served  as  its  presi- 
dent from  1891  to  1894.  He  is  a 
firm  adherent  of  the  long-suit  game 
and  American  leads. 

Science  or  Art  1 — The  question, 
Is  whist  a  science  or  an  art?  is 


SCIENCE  OR  ART? 


358 


SCIENCE  OR  ART? 


answered  by  Pole:  "It  is  both." 
Foster  discerns  two  kinds  of  whist- 
players,  the  scientific  and  the  artis- 
tic, and  accords  to  the  latter  the 
higher  position.  It  must  follow 
that  there  are,  in  his  estimation,  also 
two  kinds  of  whist;  in  other  words, 
that  true  whist  is  not  a  science, 
but  an  art.  Let  us  consider,  then, 
the  exact  meaning  of  the  words 
"science"  and  "art,"  and  what 
relation  they  bear  to  each  other. 
James  C.  Fernald,  in  his  book  of 
synonyms,  tells  us  that  "science  is 
knowledge  reduced  to  law,  and  em- 
bodied in  system.  Art  always  re- 
lates to  something  to  be  done, 
science  to  something  to  be  known. 
Not  only  must  art  be  discriminated 
from  science,  but  art  in  the  indus- 
trial or  mechanical  sense  must  be 
distinguished  from  art  in  the  esthe- 
tic sense;  the  former  aims  chiefly  at 
utility,  the  latter  at  beauty.  The 
mechanic  arts  are  the  province  of 
the  artisan,  the  esthetic,  or  fine 
arts,  are  the  province  of  the  artist; 
all  the  industrial  arts,  as  of  weaving 
or  printing,  arithmetic  or  naviga- 
tion, are  governe'd  by  exact  rules. 
Art  in  the  highest  esthetic  sense, 
while  it  makes  use  of  rules,  trans- 
cends all  rule;  no  rules  can  be  given 
for  the  production  of  a  painting 
like  Raphael's  '  Transfiguration, '  a 
statue  like  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  or 
a  poem  like  the  '  Iliad.'  Science 
does  not,  like  the  mechanic  arts, 
make  production  its  direct  aim,  yet 
its  possible  productive  application 
in  the  arts  is  a  constant  stimulus  to 
scientific  investigation;  the  science, 
as  in  the  case  of  chemistry  or  elec- 
tricity, is  urged  on  to  higher  devel- 
opment by  the  demands  of  the  art, 
while  the  art  is  perfected  by  the 
advance  of  the  science.  Creative 
art,  seeking  beauty  for  its  own  sake, 
is  closely  akin  to  pure  science  seek- 
ing knowledge  for  its  own  sake." 
It  seems  to  us  that  whist  is  both 


a  science  and  an  art,  but  it  certainly 
is  not  a  mechanical  or  industrial 
art.  Aside  from  mental  training, 
it  produces  nothing  except  the 
pleasure  of  winning  and  the  pain 
of  losing,  unless  we  except  also  the 
"honest"  living  which  the  che- 
valiers d*  Industrie  were  wont  to 
make  out  of  it  when  it  was  used  for 
betting  purposes  in  its  palmiest 
days.  Whether  whist-playing  is  a 
fine  art,  such  as  produces  "Iliads" 
and  "Apollo  Belvederes,"  and  such 
as  Mr.  Foster  is  inclined  to  regard 
it  in  its  highest  form,  is  still  a  ques- 
tion. 

Whist  is  an  art;  if  in  any  sense  a  sci- 
ence, it  is  certainly  not  an  exact  science. 
—"Pembridge"  [L+O.],  "Decline  and  Fall 
of  Whist." 

Whist  is  both  a  science  and  an  art.  It 
is  a  science  because  its  foundations  are 
laid  on  truly  scientific  principles,  on  the 
mathematical  laws  of  probabilities,  and 
on  strictly  scientific  reasoning  directing 
their  application.  It  is  an  art  because  it 
requires  education,  practice,  judgment, 
and  skill  in  the  actual  conduct  of  the 
play.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  intellect- 
ual pursuits,  it  is  only  by  a  combination 
of  the  two  that  eminence  can  be  obtained. 
Hence,  both  must  be  learned. —  William 
Pole[L.A+]. 

Whist  is  an  abstract  science,  which 
treats  of  the  action  of  fifty-two  represen- 
tativesof  five  mental  powers— observance, 
memory,  inference,  calculation,  andjudg- 
ment.  By  practice  only  with  cards  it  can 
no  more  be  learned  than  geology  can  be 
learned  by  handling  minerals;  than  archi- 
tecture can  be  learned  by  planing  lumber 
or  driving  nails.  The  learner  of  whist 
must  be  a  student  or  he  can  never  be  an 
actor.  Practice  is  of  no  avail  unless  prin- 
ciple controls  it.— G.  W  Petles  [L.  A.  P.], 
"American  Whist  Illustrated." 

Is  whist  a  science  or  an  art  ?  A  definite 
answer  to  this  question  would  go  far  to 
settle  some  of  the  most  heated  controver- 
sies connected  with  the  game.  Science 
is  generally  defined  as  knowledge  put  in 
order.  *  *  *  Scientific  experiment  and 
observation,  if  properly  conducted,  will 
always  give  exactly  the  same  results. 
Sixteen  parts  of  sulphur  and  a  hundred 
parts  of  mercury  will  always  produce 
vermilion,  just  as  a  cuttlefish  will  always 
produce  sepia;  but  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  scientific  principles  of  painting 
will  not  make  an  artist.  Even  with  the 
examples  before  him,  a  painter  finds  it 


SCORE 


359 


SCORE-CARD 


impossible  to  imitate  the  works  of  the 
greatest  masters.  There  is  a  touch  in 
them  that  is  beyond  science,  and  which 
marks  the  work  as  that  of  an  individual 
mind  expressing  itself  through  the  artis- 
tic use  of  scientific  facts. 

It  is  so  in  whist,  the  principles  of  which 
clearly  belong  to  the  science  of  experi- 
ment and  observation,  especially  in  such 
matters  as  the  leads,  the  value  of  cards  of 
re-entry,  and  the  importance  of  tenace. 
But  when  we  come  to  use  these  principles 
in  actual  play,  when  we  come  to  design 
the  mosaic  which  will  be  formed  by  the 
fall  of  the  cards,  our  scientific  knowledge 
is  very  much  like  the  painter's  knowledge 
of  the  properties  of  colors. 

There  are  thousands  of  persons  who 
have  mastered  every  lead  and  follow. 
every  signal  and  echo,  every  finesse  and 
underplay,  yet  who  will  never  be  whist- 
players  in  the  artistic  sense  of  the  word. 
They  belong  to  the  scientific  school;  they 
play  the  scientific  game,  and  they  appear 
totally  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  whist- 
play  is  an  art,  not  a  science,  and  that 
those  who  really  excel  in  it  are  as  rare  as 
those  who  have  distinguished  themselves 
in  painting  and  sculpture. — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.\,  Monthly  Illustrator. 

Score. — The  score  is  the  record 
of  the  points  made  by  each  side  in 
playing;  also,  the  points  thus 
marked  or  recorded.  To  score  is 
to  count  or  mark  the  points  won 
during  the  progress  of  the  game, 
and  one  player  on  each  side  usually 
does  this  for  his  side. 

In  duplicate  whist,  the  total 
number  of  tricks  taken  by  each 
side  is  recorded  at  the  end  of  each 
hand,  upon  score-cards  provided 
for  that  purpose.  The  score  made 
in  the  overplay  is  recorded  oppo- 
site that  made  in  the  original  play, 
in  order  that  a  comparison  may  be 
made  and  the  loss  or  gain  duly  as- 
certained. 

The  keeping  of  the  score  (at 
least  at  straight  whist)  is  a  com- 
paratively simple  matter  in  the 
American  game,  but  in  the  Eng- 
lish game  so  many  extra  points  are 
taken  into  consideration  that  it 
becomes  a  more  serious  task.  Be- 
sides the  scoring  of  tricks  by  cards, 
there  is  the  scoring  of  honors,  four 
or  two  points,  according  to  the 


number  held  in  excess  of  those  held 
by  the  adversaries.  Tricks,  how- 
ever, count  before  honors,  so  that 
if,  for  example,  each  side  is  at  the 
score  of  three,  and  one  side  makes 
two  by  honors,  the  other  two  by 
cards,  the  latter  wins  the  game. 
Then  there  are  also  the  additional 
points  for  the  winners  of  singles, 
doubles,  trebles,  and  bumpers,  and 
the  extra  rubber  points  to  be  duly 
counted  and  recorded.  In  America 
none  of  these  things  are  taken  into 
consideration ,  each  side,  in  straight 
whist,  scoring  one  point  for  every 
trick  taken  above  six,  during  the 
play  of  each  hand,  and  the  one  first 
scoring  seven  points  winning  the 
game.  The  value  of  the  game  is 
determined  by  deducting  the  losers' 
score  from  seven ;  the  winners  win 
by  the  number  of  points  shown  in 
the  difference.  Some  players  score 
all  the  points  made  by  each  side 
during  a  sitting,  and  at  duplicate 
whist  this  is  the  rule.  (See,  also, 
"  Playing  to  the  Score.") 

If  an  erroneous  score  be  proved,  such 
mistake  can  be  corrected  prior  to  the 
conclusion  of  the  game  in  which  it  oc- 
curred, and  such  game  is  not  concluded 
until  the  trump  card  of  the  following  deal 
has  been  turned  up. — Laws  of  Whist 
(English  Code),  Section  n. 

If  any  one,  prior  to  his  partner  play- 
ing, calls  attention  in  any  manner  to  the 
trick,  or  to  the  score,  the  adversary  last 
to  play  to  the  trick  may  require  the  of- 
fender's partner  to  play  his  highest  or 
lowest  of  the  suit  led,  or,  if  he  has  none, 
to  trump  or  not  to  trump  the  trick. — 
Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code),  Section 
35- 

Score- Book. — A  book  in  which 
scores  made  at  whist  are  kept  for 
future  reference. 

Score  -  Card.  —  A  card  upon 
which  the  total  number  of  tricks 
made  by  each  side,  at  duplicate 
whist,  is  recorded  in  detail.  Pro- 
vision is  made  for  a  comparison 
of  the  tricks  made  by  each  side  on 


SCORING 


360 


SCORING 


the  original  play  with  those  made 
on  the  duplicate  or  overplay,  thus 
showing  where  losses  or  gains  took 
place,  and  showing,  by  the  totals, 
which  side  wins. 

Scoring. — The  act  of  recording 
the  points  won  at  whist;  keeping 
the  score.  Scoring,  at  straight 
whist,  is  done  by  means  of  various 
devices,  and  many  ingenious  whist- 
markers  have  been  invented  for 
the  purpose  from  time  to  time,  one 
of  the  very  best  being  that  devised 
by  R  F.  Foster.  In  many  clubs 
ordinary  poker  chips  are  used  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  score,  and 
the  various  numbers  of  points  made 
are  indicated  by  a  generally  rec- 
ognized manner  of  arranging  the 
chips  on  the  table.  The  following 
is  a  plain  and  convenient  method: 


One. 
O 

Four. 

oooo 


Two. 
00 


Three. 

ooo 


Five.  Six. 

oo          ooo 


The  chip  above  the  line  is  deemed 
to  represent  three.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  indicate  more  than  six  in 
the  seven-point  game,  as  the  last 
trick  necessary  to  win  is  apparent 
without  scoring.  We  may  add  that 
"Cavendish"  endorses  the  above 
arrangement.  In  some  parts  of  the 
United  States  the  following  method 
has  been  employed  for  years,  only 
three  chips  being  used,  so  that  there 
are  no  counters  to  be  taken  care 
of  on  the  left  of  the  score-keeper: 
Chips  in  a  straight  pile  indicate 
none;  one  chip  off  pile,  one;  one 
chip  on  top  of  two  lying  side  by  side, 
two;  three  chips  in  a  row,  three; 


placed  in  this  manner, 


four; 


placed  in  this  manner,    Q^Q    five; 
placed  in  this  manner,  QQ    six. 


According  to  the  American  game 
of  seven  points,  honors  not  count- 
ing, the  game  is  out  as  soon  as 
either  side  scores  seven  points; 
the  tricks  that  might  be  made 
above  seven  are  not  taken  into 
account,  and  the  value  of  the  game 
is  ascertained  by  deducting  the 
loser's  score  from  seven.  For  ex- 
ample: If  one  side  has  three  points 
when  the  other  goes  out  with  seven, 
the  value  of  the  game  is- four  points, 
that  being  the  number  shown  by 
deducting  the  losers'  score  from 
seven.  This  is  in  accordance  with 
the  American  code,  but  some  prefer 
to  play  the  last  hand  out  and  count 
all  tricks  made. 

At  duplicate  whist  scoring  is  done 
by  means  of  score-cards,  and  upon 
a  different  basis  from  scoring  at 
straight  whist.  In  the  latter  every 
trick  won  in  excess  of  six,  each 
hand,  is  put  down.  In  duplicate 
the  correct  way  is  to  set  down  in 
the  proper  columns  the  full  number 
of  tricks  won  by  each  side,  both  in 
the  original  play  and  the  duplicate 
or  overplay.  The  original  and  du- 
plicate play  of  each  side  are  added 
together  each  deal,  and  the  number 
of  tricks  taken  by  the  winning  side 
in  excess  of  thirteen  is  placed  in 
the  gain  column.  It  was  pointed 
out  in  Whist  for  October.  1892,  that 
some  clubs  pursued  a  different  but 
erroneous  method;  instead  of  scor- 
ing the  total  number  of  tricks 
taken  by  both  sides,  they  scored 
only  to  the  winner  of  each  deal  the 
number  of  tricks  taken  by  that  side 
in  excess  of  six,  as  at  straight  whist. 
This  excess  was  entered  in  the 
original  score  column  for  the  first 
play,  and  in  the  duplicate  score  col- 
umn for  the  overplay — the  losers, 
or  the  side  making  six  or  less  tricks, 
being  scored  blank  in  each  case. 
The  difference  between  the  true  and 
false  method  amounts  to  a  point  in 
some  hands;  and  in  a  match  or  sit- 


SCORING 


361 


SCORING 


ting  where  many  hands  are  played, 
the  difference  would  be  consider- 
able, as  may  easily  be  ascertained 
by  experiment. 

In  match  play,  when  large  num- 
bers of  players  are  engaged,  the 
matter  of  keeping  the  score  cor- 
rectly for  each  individual,  pair,  or 
team  of  four  or  more,  as  the  case 
may  be,  becomes  very  important; 
and  it  is  especially  desirable,  where 
the  match  is  one  extending  over 
several  days,  that  the  result  of  the 
play  at  each  sitting  be  speedily  as- 
certained and  announced.  This 
need  has  been  especially  felt  at  each 
annual  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League, where  many  contests 
for  trophies  and  championships 
take  place.  To  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  case  a  number  of  ways 
of  keeping  the  score  have  been 
tried,  but  the  most  perfect  is  un- 
doubtedly that  invented  by  P.  J. 
Tormey,  of  San  Francisco,  and  per- 
manently adopted  at  the  seventh 
congress  of  the  League,  at  Put-in- 
Bay,  1897.  Under  the  Tormey 
method  the  official  score,  double 
checked,  for  the  first  contest 
(Brooklyn  Trophy)  was  put  on  the 
bulletin  board  in  exactly  eleven 
minutes  after  the  play  ended;  the 
victors  being  known  in  four  min- 
utes. At  no  time,  in  any  other 
match,  was  the  result  delayed  over 
fifteen  minutes.  The  year  previous 
it  took  almost  as  many  hours.  Mr. 
Tormey 'smethod  of  scoringthe  two- 
table  game  was  also  adopted  by  the 
League  in  the  contest  for  the  Chal- 
lenge Trophy.  In  former  contests 
the  method  pursued  was  to  record 
the  net  gains  for  each  team  on  each 
deal  from  one  to  forty-eight.  Mr. 
Tormey 's  way  is  to  record  the  en- 
tire number  of  tricks  taken  by  north 
and  south  of  each  team,  and  the 
gains  or  losses  are  shown  just  the 
same,  while  in  addition  to  this  in- 
formation is  conveyed  as  to  how  the 


hands  are  running.  In  a  commu- 
nication published  in  Whist  for 
September,  1897,  Mr.  Tormey  gives 
full  particulars  concerning  his 
method.  He  says: 

"  The  method  of  scoring  used  at 
the  seventh  congress,  at  Put-in -Bay, 
called  the  Tormey  system,  was  first 
introduced  to  the  whist-playing 
public  on  this  coast  by  the  writer 
at  the  second  annual  meeting  of 
the  Pacific  Coast  Whist  Association, 
in  the  fall  of  1895,  in  the  contest 
which  took  place  in  the  rooms  of 
the  Trist  Duplicate  Whist  Club,  and 
has  been  used  in  all  our  important 
contests  ever  since.  Like  many 
other  inventions,  necessity  was  the 
mother  of  it. 

"  When  the  executive  committee 
of  the  American  Whist  League  met 
at  St.  Louis,  in  January,  1896,  to 
formulate  a  program  of  play  for 
the  sixth  congress,  held  at  Man- 
hattan Beach,  I  suggested  to  the 
committee  to  try  our  way  of  scoring, 
but  the  suggestion,  somewhat  to  my 
surprise  and  amusement,  didn't 
even  call  forth  an  explanation  of 
what  the  system  was,  as  another 
untried  method  had  the  '  call,'  and 
was  adopted.  You  know  how  it 
worked — no  announcement  being 
made  of  the  result  of  any  contest 
until  after  noon  of  the  next  day; 
and  in  one  instance — the  A.  W.  L. 
Challenge  Trophy — not  until  the 
morning  of  the  second  day. 

"  The  method,  if  worthy  of  such 
a  name,  is  very  simple,  indeed. 
Any  club  that  uses  it  once  will  won- 
der why  it  was  never  thought  of 
before.  The  modus  operandi  is  as 
follows:  Use  score-cards  made  in 
two  colors  of  card  board — not  thin 
paper — have  them  made  just  large 
enough  to  accommodate  whatever 
number  of  deals  you  are  likely  to 
play  before  moving  (a  good  size  is 
about  2l/2  by  2^  inches),  and  space 
off  for  no  more  than  five  deals.  Use 


SCORING 


362 


SCORING 


one  color  card  for  north  and  south 
players,  and  the  other  color  for  east 
and  west;  have  printed  on  the  top 
edge  of  the  cards,  in  bold-faced 
type,  '  north  and  south,'  '  east 
and  west. '  To  expedite  the  scor- 
ing, we  generally  number  the 
teams  of  four,  or  pairs,  always  put- 
ting the  names  of  the  respective 
clubs,  as  well  as  the  players'  names, 
opposite  the  number  on  the  tally- 
sheet  that  we  post  on  the  bulletin 
board.  A  good  sample  of  tally 
sheet  will  be  found  on  page  251, 
August  Whist,  Hamilton  Club  Tro- 
phy. 

"  Immediately  after  the  play  of 
each  deal — or  frame  of  deals,  if 
more  than  one  is  played  before  pro- 
gressing— have  the  score-cards  col- 
lected, putting  them  in  numerical 
order,  beginning  at  table  No.  i, 
before  handing  them  to  the  scorer. 
The  collector  of  these  cards  should 
always  take  particular  notice  to  see 
that  the  total  score  for  each  table, 
for  both  pairs,  is  thirteen,  or  a  mul- 


tiple of  thirteen,  according  to  the 
number  of  deals  played.  When  this 
is  done  pass  out  new  score-cards  for 
the  next  round,  and  your  scorer  can 
go  on  tabulating  as  the  play  pro- 
gresses. A  few  minutes  after  a 
contest  is  over  the  tabulations  are 
completed.  Like  a  trial  balance,  it 
proves  itself.  The  result  of  each 
contest  is  announced  and  bulletined 
in  less  time  after  a  match  ends 
than  it  takes  me  to  write  this. 
We  usually  take  manifold  copies 
to  have  them  ready  for  our  press 
committee. 

"  Our  method  of  scoring  the  two- 
table  game  for  the  challenge  trophy, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  American 
Whist  League  at  the  last  congress, 
is  also  simple.  In  place  of  giving 
the  gains  and  losses  for  each  of  the 
forty-eight  deals  of  the  match,  the 
number  of  tricks  taken  each  deal 
by  the  north  and  south  players  of 
each  team  is  given,  and  the  gains, 
etc.,  are  carried  out  in  the  column 
on  the  right,  as  follows: 


TRIST 

VS. 

JONES. 

Trist 
Gains. 

Jones 
Gains. 

Deals 

i 

a 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Trist  N.  and  S. 

•  •  7 

q 

4 

2 

7 

6 

2 

6 

5 

Jones  N.  and  S. 

.  .6 

1 

5 

3 

8 

5 

2 

5 

3 

"  By  this  method  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  the  deals  run,  something  that 
every  whist-player  likes  to  know." 

While  considerable  progress  has 
been  made  in  perfecting  the  ma- 
chinery for  taking  and  announcing 
the  scores  at  duplicate  whist,  the 
matter  of  scoring  is  itself  still  in  an 
unsettled  and  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition. As  between  two  teams 
only,  be  they  pairs,  or  fours,  or 
more,  on  a  side,  it  is  easy  to  arrive 
at  a  conclusion.  All  that  is  neces- 
sary is  to  ascertain  which  side  ob- 
tained the  greater  number  of 
tricks;  but  when  three  or  more 


such  teams  engage  in  a  match,  the 
question  of  arriving  at  a  just  and 
equitable  score  is  beset  with  dif- 
ficulties, and  while  several  methods 
have  been  devised  by  whist  math- 
ematicians of  the  highest  ability, 
each  method  is  found  more  or  less 
defective  in  some  particulars.  In 
the  earliest  system,  that  of  averag- 
ing, introduced  by  John  T.  Mitchell 
in  progressive  duplicate,  or  compass 
whist,  all  the  north  and  south  scores 
are  averaged,  and  the  play  of  all 
those  who  sit  thus  throughout  the 
match  is  gauged  by  that  average; 
at  the  same  time,  the  scores  of  the 


SCORING 


363 


SCOTCH  WHIST ' 


east  and  west  players  are  also  aver- 
aged, and  the  play  of  each  player 
sitting  thus  is  marked  plus  or  minus, 
as  it  rises  above  or  falls  below  that 
average.  While  this  system  is  con- 
ceded to  be  fair  in  the  main,  it  is 
objected  to  because  "it  allows  a 
pair  to  suffer  by  the  errors  or  share 
in  the  profits  of  pairs  at  different 
tables,  or,  in  brief,  to  be  affected  by 
the  play  over  which  it  has  no  con- 
trol." In  the  Howell  and  Safford 
systems,  the  movements  differ  from 
those  at  compass  whist;  sometimes 
the  players  sit  north  and  south,  and 
sometimes  they  change  to  east  and 
west.  In  the  method  of  scoring 
these  two  systems  again  differ  from 
one  another,  and  R.  F.  Foster,  in 
the  New  York  Sun  of  December 
26,  1897,  and  subsequent  issues, 
claimed  to  have  discovered  some 
surprising  changes  in  the  relative 
positions  of  pairs  when  comput- 
ing the  scores  first  according  to 
Howell,  and  then  according  to  Saf- 
ford. 

Mr.  Howell  discards  the  averag- 
ing method  in  his  system  for  pairs, 
and  instead  compares  each  deal 
score  with  the  maximum  actually 
made.  The  pair  with  the  smallest 
loss  is  the  winner,  and  by  averag- 
ing the  losses  a  plus  or  minus  score 
may  be  computed  for  each  pair.  In 
answer  to  the  charge  that  the  move- 
ments under  his  method  are  un- 
necessarily complicated,  he  says,  in 
a  letter,  under  date  of  January  29, 
1898:  "  That  is  not  true;  the  move- 
ments are  simplified  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  bring  about  the  desired 
results,  and  they  are  virtually  the 
same  as  under  the  Safford  method, 
which  differs  from  mine  only  in  the 
matter  of  scoring.  I  have  no  crit- 
icism to  make  upon  Mr.  Safford's 
scoring  process  except  in  regard  to 
its  complexity.  It  is  fair  enough, 
but  very  cumbersome,  and  I  prefer 
a  method  that  is  not  cumbersome 


and  at  the  same  time  reasonably 
fair."  Both  the  Howell  and  Saf- 
ford systems  are  very  popular. 

An  idea  in  scoring  which  is  lately 
finding  much  favor  in  match  play 
is  to  decide  each  contest  by  the 
number  of  matches  won  (counting 
each  deal  a  match),  instead  of  by 
the  number  of  tricks,  the  trick 
score  being  used  only  to  decide  ties. 
While  this  is  nothing  new,  the  di- 
rectors of  the  American  Whist 
League,  at  their  meeting  in  Janu- 
ary, 1898,  decided  to  give  it  a  more 
general  trial  in  progressive  con- 
tests at  the  eighth  congress  of  the 
League,  at  Boston,  in  July  follow- 
ing. It  is  thought  this  will  tend 
to  make  the  play  more  conserva- 
tive, as  "big  swings"  (as  unusual 
gains  in  certain  hands  are  called) 
will  no  longer  be  important  in  win- 
ning victories. 

"Scotch  Whist."  —  Scotch 
whist,  or  catch-the-ten,  is  another 
so-called  variety  of  whist.  It  is 
usually  played  with  a  pack  of 
thirty-six  cards,  all  below  the  six 
being  excluded.  The  cards  in  plain 
suits  rank  as  at  whist,  but  in  trumps 
the  jack  is  the  highest,  the  ace 
being  next,  etc.  Any  number  of 
persons  from  two  to  eight  can  play. 
Each  game  is  complete  in  itself, 
there  being  no  rubber.  The  side  or 
player  first  scoring  forty-one  points 
wins.  A  special  value  is  attached 
to  the  following  cards  of  the  trump 
suit:  The  jack,  ten  points;  the  ten, 
ten  points;  the  ace,  four  points;  the 
king,  three  points;  and  the  queen, 
two  points.  The  side  making  what 
is  called  cards  score  as  follows,  in 
addition  to  the  above:  One  point 
for  each  card  in  excess  of  either 
party's  quota  of  cards  in  the  tricks 
taken.  For  instance,  suppose  four 
are  playing,  each  player's  share  of 
the  thirty-six  cards  would  be  nine. 
If  two  partners  take  five  tricks,  or 


SECOND  HAND 


364 


SECOND  HAND 


twenty  cards,  they  score  two  for 
cards,  that  being  the  number  over 
and  above  their  joint  quota  of  eight- 
een cards.  The  great  object  of  the 
game  is  to  catch  the  ten  of  trumps, 
which  counts  for  the  player  or  side 
taking  it. 

In  criticising  "  Historical  Notes  on 
Whist,"  the  editor  of  a  London  paper 
blamed  me  for  saying  nothing  about 
"  Scotch  whist."  I  wrote  to  him  explain- 
ing that  Scotch  whist,  or  catch-the-ten, 
was  purposely  omitted,  as  it  had  no  more 
resemblance  to  whist  than  the  Scotch  fid- 
dle has  to  a  violin.  To  my  surprise  and 
amusement,  he  inserted  my  letter  in  his 
next  number. — "•Cavendish"  [L.  A.], 
"Card-Table  Talk." 

"Scotch  whist"  introduces  a  special 
object  in  addition  to  winning  tricks- 
catching  the  ten  of  trumps;  that  card  and 
the  honors  having  particular  values  at- 
tached to  them.  This  variety  of  whist 
may  be  played  by  any  number  of  persons 
from  two  to  eight;  and  its  peculiarity  is 
that  when  a  small  number  play,  each  has 
several  distinct  hands,  which  must  be 
played  in  regular  order,  as  if  held  by 
difierent  players.— .A?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
"Complete  Hoyle." 

Second  Hand. — The  player  to 
the  left  of  the  leader,  or  first  hand; 
the  player  who  plays  the  second 
card  to  a  trick.  "  Y,"  or  "  east," 
should  always  play  second  hand  on 
the  first  round,  or  opening,  of  a 
game,  unless  otherwise  specified. 
As  the  play  progresses,  the  position 
of  second  hand  varies  with  it,  de- 
pending entirely  upon  who  takes 
a  trick  and  leads  another  card. 

The  directions  for  the  proper 
play  of  second  hand  are  multi- 
tudinous. Upon  one  very  old  and 
fundamental  rule  all  are  agreed: 
As  a  general  thing,  the  second 
hand  should  play  his  lowest,  unless 
he  is  going  to  signal  for  trumps. 
Other  exceptions  are  numerous. 
When  you  hold  a  sequence  of  high 
cards  (ace,  king,  queen;  king, 
queen,  jack,  or  queen,  jack,  ten), 
play  the  lowest  of  the  sequence 
second  hand.  From  ace,  king,  or 
king,  queen,  and  others,  put  on  the 


lower  of  the  high  cards.  From 
ace,  queen,  jack,  or  ace,  jack,  ten, 
and  others,  play  the  lowest  of  the 
high  cards.  From  ace,  queen,  ten, 
you  play  the  ten  if  strong  in 
trumps,  but  the  queen  if  weak  in 
trumps.  Cover  an  honor  led,  if 
you  hold  more  than  one  honor 
yourself,  or  if  you  hold  only  one, 
that  one  being  the  ace.  On  the 
lead  of  a  medium  card,  if  led  on 
the  fourth-best  principle,  cover  the 
card  led  with  the  lowest  that  will 
take  the  trick,  if  you  have  several 
high  cards,  and  can  place  the  three 
higher  cards  than  the  one  led  re- 
maining in  the  leader's  hand. 

Players  employing  so-called 
short-suit  leads,  as  a  general  rule, 
cover  whatever  card  is  led,  if  they 
are  able,  second  hand,  the  idea 
being  to  protect  and  promote  part- 
ner's suits  as  far  as  possible. 

Second-hand  play  in  trumps  also 
differs  from  second-hand  play  in 
plain  suits,  because  trumps  win  on 
their  merits,  and  are  not  subject  to 
the  vicissitudes  of  plain  suits. 

Playing  high  cards  when  second  to 
play,  unless  your  suit  is  headed  by  two  or 
more  high  cards  of  equal  value,  or  unless 
to  cover  a  high  card,  is  to  be  carefully 
avoided.— -James  Clay  [L.  0+]. 

The  play  of  the  second  hand  is  always 
regarded  as  that  of  the  enemy.  He  is  the 
intruder  who  continually  steps  between 
the  leader  and  his  partner,  upsetting 
their  best-laid  plans.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
"Whist  Tactics." 

Signaling  for  trumps  second  hand,  on 
an  adverse  suit,  is  by  some  players  re- 
garded as  dangerous,  unless  your  cards 
are  such  that  you  can  suppress  the  signal 
if  the  development  is  unfavorable. — R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  0.J.  "Whist  Tactics." 

Generally  speaking,  if  vou  hold  a  com- 
bination of  high  cards  from  which  you 
would  lead  one  of  them  on  an  original 
lead,  you  should  play  one  of  them  at 
second  hand,  either  to  take  the  trick  or 
force  out  higher  cards  to  promote  the 
others  you  hold. — Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.}. 

Second-hand  play  is  subject  in  a  mate- 
rial degree  to  the  trumps  in  hand,  the 
card  turned,  the  score,  etc.  That  which 
may  be  proper  play  if  weak  in  trumps 
may  be  bad  play  if 'strong  in  them.  You 


SECOND-HAND  SIGNAL       365 


SEQUENCE 


may  often  make  a  great  game  by  a  well- 
judged  finesse.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.}, 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

There  are  three  things  for  second  hand 
to  do  of  importance_  in  the  order  named: 
(a)  Win  the  trick  if  you  can  under  the 
rules,  and  as  cheaply  as  possible.  (6)  Pre- 
vent third  hand  from  winning  too 
cheaply,  (c)  Keep  command  of  ^your  op- 
ponents' suit  as  long  as  convenient. — C, 
E.  Coffin  [L.  A.],  "Gist  of  IVTiist:' 

The  general  rule  for  the  second  hand  is 
to  play  your  lowest,  for  your  partner  has 
a  good  chance  of  winning  the  trick;  and 
the  strength  being  on  your  right,  it  is 
good  to  reserve  your  high  cards  (particu- 
larly tenaces,  such  as  ace  and  queen)  for 
the  return  of  the  lead,  when  you  will  be- 
come fourth  player.  —  William  Pole 
[L.A+]. 

There  are  few  points  which  distinguish 
more  thoroughly  the  good  from  the  infe- 
rior whist-player  than  the  play  second 
band.  *  *  *  The  second  player  may 
have  strength  or  weakness,  or  neither 
strength  nor  weakness,  in  the  suit  led, 
and  his  play  thus  depends  upon  a  greater 
possible  variety  of  positions. — fi.  A .  Proc- 
tor [L.O.]. 

Our  old  friend  who  will  put  on  a  knave, 
having  knave  and  another,  second  hand, 
is  a  simple  example.  Who  taught  him 
this?  Who  invented  the  move?  Or  do 
each  of  the  players  who  follow  this  rule 
re-invent  it  for  themselves,  and  look  upon 
themselves  as  the  author  of  a  remarkable 
discovery  ?  No  one  ever  defended  the 
play.  No  one  can  show  any  benefit  from 
it.  Every  one  condemns  it,  yet  we  can 
only  scotch  the  varmint.  The  player  is 
scared,  but  ten  minutes  afterwards  he 
still  puts  on  knave.  So  with  king  and 
another,  second  baud.  —  Westminster 
Papers  [L+O.] 

Second- Hand  Signal. — Among 
the  many  innovations  proposed  in 
recent  years  is  a  play,  or  signal,  for 
second  hand,  whereby  it  should  be 
made  more  difficult  for  the  first 
hand,  or  ieader,  to  place  his  suit. 
The  idea  is  for  the  second  hand 
to  play  the  higher  of  two  small 
cards  on  a  low  card  led,  except 
when  the  second  hand  desires  to 
signal  for  trumps,  when  the  play 
is  reversed.  "The  objection  to 
this  play,"  says  Milton  C.  Work, 
"  which  seems  to  make  it  a  trick- 
loser,  is  that  the  partner  of  the 
second-hand  player  cannot  as  accu- 


rately tell  when  he  can  force  him, 
which  information  is  more  im- 
portant than  any  benefit  the  play 
may  give." 

Seeing  the  Hand. — See,  "Look- 
ing Over  a  Hand." 

See-Saw.  —  A  term  used  by 
Hoyle  and  other  early  players;  it 
has  the  same  meaning  as  cross-ruff 
(q.  f.).  Hoyle  says,  in  his  "Short 
Treatise:"  "  See-saw  is  when  each 
partner  trumps  a  suit,  and  they 
play  those  suits  to  one  another  to 
trump." 

Self- Playing  Cards. — An  inven- 
tion of  R.  F.  Foster's  whereby  a 
series  of  pre-arranged  games  is 
properly  played  by  a  smaller  num- 
ber of  persons  than  in  ordinary 
playing.  An  ordinary  pack  of  play- 
ing cards  has  printed  upon  the 
backs  of  the  cards  certain  letters 
and  figures,  which  show  to  whom 
the  cards  are  to  be  dealt.  From 
128  to  1 60  hands  can  be  played 
with  each  pack.  Each  hand  illus- 
trates some  special  point  in  whist 
tactics,  such  as  underplay,  re- 
fusing a  force,  placing  the  lead, 
unblocking,  grand  coup,  etc.  If 
only  one,  two,  or  three  persons 
play,  instead  of  playing  "dummy," 
with  the  absentees'  cards  exposed, 
the  cards  are  dealt  to  the  absent 
players  face  down,  and  are  un- 
known; but  the  cards  so  dealt  will 
play  themselves,  exactly  as  if  an 
expert  were  present  and  held  them. 
For  educational  purposes  in  whist 
the  value  of  this  method  of  play  is 
highly  recommended. 

Semi-Honors. — A  name  some- 
times given  by  English  players  to 
the  ten  and  nine,  as  mentioned  by 
Pole  in  his  "  Theory  of  Whist." 

Sequence. — Two  or  more  cards 
in  consecutive  order  of  rank.  Three 


SET 


366  SHAKESPEARE  AND  WHIST 


in  sequence  is  a  tierce;  the  ace, 
king,  and  queen  are  a  tierce  major. 
A  sequence  of  four  is  a  quart;  a 
sequence  of  five,  a  quint,  etc.  A 
head  sequence  is  a  sequence  at  the 
head  of  a  suit;  an  intermediate  se- 
quence, one  between  higher  and 
lower  cards;  and  a  subordinate 
sequence  is  a  sequence  of  small 
cards. 

It  is  a  universally  accepted  rule  to 
play  the  lowest  of  a  sequence  when 
following  suit,  second,  third,  or 
fourth  hand;  but  in  leading  from  a 
sequence  the  practice  varies,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rules  laid  down 
for  the  leads. 

Sequences  are  always  eligible  leads,  as 
supporting  your  partner  without  injuring 
your  own  hand. —  William  Payne  [L.  O.\, 
"  Whist  Maxims,"  1770. 

Set. — Four  players  at  a  table  are 
spoken  of  as  a  set. 

Seven-Point  Game,  The. — The 

American  game  of  seven  points, 
honors  not  counting,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  English  five-point 
game,  with  honors  counting.  (See, 
"American  Game.") 

Seven-Spot. — The  eighth  card  in 
rank  or  value  at  whist,  counting 
from  the  ace  down ;  one  of  the  low 
cards. 

It  is  led  only  as  a  fourth  best  in 
the  system  of  American  leads,  and 
as  a  penultimate  or  antepenultimate 
(or  fourth  best)  in  the  old  leads. 
In  the  Howell  (short-siiit)  system, 
it  indicates  the  ruffing  game,  gen- 
erally not  more  than  two  in  suit, 
and  no  higher. 

The  discard  of  any  card  higher 
than  a  seven  is  also  regarded  as  a 
call  for  trumps.  ( See, ' '  Single-Dis- 
card Call.") 

Shakespeare  and  Whist. — So 
many  passages  in  the  plays  of 


Shakespeare  have  been  quoted  as 
applicable  to  whist,  that  some  peo- 
ple are  under  the  impression  that 
he  actually  knew  and  practiced  this 
delightful  pastime.  But  investiga- 
tion does  not  sustain  such  view,  so 
far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain. Whist  was  first  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  a  well-defined  game, 
with  a  code  of  rules,  by  the  first 
Lord  Folkestone,  in  1728.  It  was 
further  perfected  and  popularized 
by  Hoyle  in  1742.  Previous  to  the 
time  of  Lord  Folkestone,  it  existed 
in  various  rude  forms,  and,  we  are 
told,  was  confined  chiefly  to  the 
servants'  halls. 

The  question  is,  Did  Shakespeare 
know  of  the  game,  and  ever  allude 
to  it  in  his  works  ?  Such  passages 
as:  "Force  a  play"  ("Henry  V.," 
act  2,  chorus);  "  We  must  speak  by 
the  card"  ("Hamlet,"  act  5,  scene 
2),  "Nine  trumps,  two  aces — 'tis  a 
good  hand"  ("Othello,"  act  I, 
scene  4),  etc.,  are  apt  to  lend  some 
color  to  the  supposition  of  those 
who  judge  offhand;  but  it  seems 
to  us  that  had  the  game  of  whist 
been  such  in  his  day  as  to  merit  his 
attention  (had  its  possibilities  been 
suspected),  we  would  have  had  a 
more  definite  notice  and  eulogy 
than  these  half-humorous  perver- 
sions. 

"We  may,  on  many  accounts, 
regret,"  says  an  amateur,  who  pub- 
lished an  illustrated  brochure  on  the 
game,  "that  whist  was  not  gener- 
ally known  or  played  throughout 
England  at  an  earlier  period,  in  the 
days  of  Elizabeth,  or  rather  in  those 
of  Shakespeare,  for  it  is  fair  to 
compute  epochs  from  the  highest 
in  intellect  as  well  as  the  highest 
in  rank.  Had  it  been  so  ordained, 
and  our  immortal  bard  had  loved 
his  innocent  rubber,  what  inimita- 
ble allusions  to  it  might  have  been 
scattered  through  his  works  !  Con- 
ceive his  criticism  on  the  Prince's 


SHAKESPEARE  AND  WHIST  367       SHELBY,  MISS  ANNIE  B. 


lead  or  Poins'  finesse,  delivered  the 
more  earnestly  that  he  might  cheat 
unobserved!  How  figurative  had 
ancient  Pistol  been  on  kings, 
queens,  knaves,  and  deuces!  How 
accomplished  a  trickster,  in  an- 
other scene,  had  Autolycus  shown 
himself!  How  Sir  Toby  Belch 
would  have  expressed  his  detesta- 
tion of  a  mean  and  meagre  hand, 
next  in  his  sober  abhorrence  to  '  an 
unfilled  can,'  or  to  a  sot  in  his 
drunken  reprehension!" 

But  the  Bard  of  Avon  was  born 
in  1564,  and  died  in  1616.  It  was 
not  until  1728  that  Folkestone  first 
gave  better  shape  to  the  rudiments 
of  the  game,  and  not  until  1742 
that  Hoyle  published  the  first  book 
on  whist.  Consequently,  as  Dr.  W. 
J.  Rolfe,  the  great  Shakespearian 
authority,  says  in  a  letter  received 
from  him  under  date  of  July  29, 1897: 
' '  There  can  be  no  reference  to 
whist  in  Shakespeare,  as  the  game 
was  not  then  known;  but  apt  quo- 
tations for  it, ' '  he  adds,  ' '  can  be 
found  in  the  plays,  as  for  bicycling 
and  many  other  modern  inven- 
tions." Here  are  some  of  the  most 
widely-quoted  references  applica- 
ble to  whist: 

He  echoes  me. — ''Othello,"  act  3,  scene 3. 

Force  a  play. — "Henry  V."  act  2,  chorus. 

We  must  speak  by  the  card. — "Ham- 
let," act  5,  scene  2. 

In  God's  name,  lead.— "Third  Henry 
VI."  act  3,  scene  i. 

Do  you  call,  sir? — "Measure  for  Meas- 
ure," act  4,  scene  2. 

A  kind  of  excellent  dumb  discourse. — 
"Tempest,"  act  3,  scene  3. 

What  sneak  comes  yonder? — "Troilus 
and  Cressida,"  act  f,  scene  2. 

Nine  trumps,  two  aces— 'tis  a  good 
hand.— "Othello,"  act  z,  scene 4. 

But  would  you  undertake  another 
suit? — "Twelfth  Night,"  act 3,  scene  I. 

For,  indeed,  I  have  lost  command. — 
"Antony  and  Cleopatra,"  act  3,  scene  2. 

Beshrew  his  hand — I  scarce  could  un- 
derstand it. — "  Comedy  of  Errors"  act  2, 
scene  f. 


(Society  whist):  All  the  men  and 
women  merely  players. — "As  you  Like 
It,"  act  2,  scene  7. 

(The  singleton):  Thou  meagre  lead, 
which  rather  threat'nest  than  dost  prom- 
ise ought. — "Merchant  of  Venice,"  act 3, 
scene  2. 

(Discarding  the  best  card  to  show  com- 
mand): Throw  away  the  dearest  thing, 
as  'twere  a  careless  trifle. — "Macbeth," 
act  I,  scene  4. 

In  spite  of  these  and  similar  quo- 
tations, "  Cavendish"  expresses  the 
following  correct  opinion  in  "  The 
Whist  Table:"  "Whist  is  not  men- 
tioned by  Shakespeare,  nor  by  any 
writer  of  the  Elizabethan  era,  from 
which  we  may  infer  that  the  game 
was  then  scarcely  in  existence." 

Shelby,  Miss  Annie  Blanche. — 

A  well-known  Western  teacher  and 
writer  on  whist.  She  was  born  at 
Portland,  Oregon,  of  Southern  par- 
entage, her  father  being  a  descend- 
ant of  Governor  Isaac  Shelby,  the 
first  governor  of  Kentucky,  and  her 
mother  a  daughter  of  General 
Joseph  Lane,  of  North  Carolina, 
one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Mexican 
war,  and  one  of  the  early  pioneers 
and  first  governor  of  Oregon.  Miss 
Shelby  was  graduated  at  the  age  of 
fifteen,  the  youngest  of  the  class, 
from  the  convent  of  the  Holy  Name 
of  Jesus  and  Mary,  at  Portland,  and 
shortly  afterwards  was  accepted  as 
a  teacher  in  one  of  the  Portland 
public  schools. 

When  a  mere  child  she  received 
her  first  instructions  in  whist,  two 
friends,  both  thoroughly  good  play- 
ers, constituting  themselves  her  in- 
structors. "It  was,"  she  says, 
"my  good  fortune,  from  the  be- 
ginning, to  play  almost  entirely 
with  gentlemen,  and  with  players 
of  ability  and  experience.  The  au- 
thorities used  were  'Cavendish,' 
Pole,  Drayson,  etc.  The  lead  of 
the  fourth  best,  as  recommended 
by  Drayson,  under  the  name  of 


SHELBY,  MISS  ANNIE  B.      368 


SHORT-SUITER 


penultimate  and  antepenultimate, 
was  familiarly  known  and  used  by 
us  with  results  satisfactory  to  our- 
selves at  least."  A  club  of  which 
she  was  a  member,  composed  first 
of  two  and  later  of  four  tables, 
soon  became  known  as  the  best 
club  in  Portland.  This  was  at  a 
time  when  whist  was  but  little 
studied,  particularly  by  ladies,  and 
one  of  the  rules  of  the  club  called 
for  a  certain  amount  of  application 
on  the  part  of  each  of  the  mem- 
bers, a  rule  which  was  cordially 
and  cheerfully  complied  with. 
When  the  club  had  been  in  exist- 
ence some  two  or  three  years  her 
father  died,  and  thereupon,  accom- 
panied by  her  mother,  she  left 
Portland  and  spent  several  years  in 
travel,  both  in  this  country  and 
Europe.  During  this  time  Miss 
Shelby  enjoyed  the  advantage  of 
meeting  and  playing  with  thor- 
oughly advanced  players,  and  the 
American-lead  system  having  su- 
perseded the  old  game,  she  went 
diligently  to  work,  and  with  the 
aid  of  "  Cavendish"  (twenty-second 
edition),  Ames,  Hamilton,  and  Cof- 
fin, soon  familiarized  herself  with 
the  modern  scientific  game. 

Within  a  few  months  after  her 
return  to  Portland,  in  1893,  at  the 
request  of  friends,  she  began  to 
teach  the  game,  having  the  endorse- 
ment in  her  new  undertaking  of 
well-known  whisters  like  P.  J.  Tor- 
mey,  of  San  Francisco,  and  E.  H. 
Shepard,  of  Portland.  Not  only 
friends  and  acquaintances,  but 
others,  including  both  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  availed  themselves  of 
the  opportunity  of  joining  her  class- 
es, and  it  was  not  long  before  she 
found  her  time  entirely  taken  up. 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1896  and  1897,  at  the  request  of  the 
members  of  the  Kate  Wheelock 
Club,  which  is  composed  of  nearly 
a  hundred  members,  Miss  Shelby 


gave  a  series  of  lectures,  twelve  in 
number,  in  which  she  made  it  her 
aim,  as  far  as  possible,  to  state  not 
only  that  certain  principles  and 
truths  are  so,  but  to  explain  why 
they  are  so;  in  other  words,  to  ap- 
peal to  the  reasoning  powers  rather 
than  the  memory  of  her  hearers. 
Immediately  afterwards  she  was 
asked  by  the  management  of  the 
Portland  Oregonian,  a  paper  which 
enjoys  a  wide  and  enviable  reputa- 
tion, to  assume  control  of  a  whist 
department  which  they  were  desir- 
ous of  introducing.  Her  first 
column  appeared  in  the  issue  of 
February  7,  1897,  and  was  continued 
every  Sunday  thereafter  until  her 
departure  from  Portland  for  the 
summer,  early  in  July.  Going  to 
San  Francisco  immediately  after 
her  return  home,  she  has  been  un- 
able as  yet  to  resume  her  journal- 
istic duties,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
she  is  at  this  writing  (December, 
1897)  engaged  in  the  preparation  of 
a  work  on  whist,  at  the  request  of 
pupils  and  friends,  which  is  to  be 
published  at  an  early  date. 

Short  Suit. — A  suit  containing 
three  cards,  or  less. 

Short-Suiter. — One  who  plays 
the  short-suit  game,  and  is  opposed 
to  the  long-suit  game;  one  who 
believes  in  opening  his  hand,  as  a 
rule,  by  leading  from  a  suit  of 
three  or  less.  Some  short-suiters 
will  lead  from  the  long  suit  under 
exceptionally  favorable  circumstan- 
ces, just  as  most  long-suiters  will 
make  what  they  call  forced  leads 
(leads  from  short  suits)  in  desperate 
emergencies.  The  most  radical 
short-suiters  hold,  however,  that  a 
long  suit  should  never  be  led  from 
originally.  If  they  have  a  favor- 
able long  suit,  and  sufficient  trump 
strength,  they  will  pay  attention  to 
it,  and  strive  to  bring  it  in,  by  lead- 
ing trumps  first. 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE      3^9      SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


Every  player  knows  that  when,  from  a 
generally  weak  baud,  he  lays  on  the  table 
the  fourth-best  card  of  a  long  suit,  he 
stands  only  a  small  chance  of  winning  a 
trick  with  the  first  best.  Is  there  any 
way  of  improving  that  chance  ?  Is  there 
any  way  of  relieving  partner  from  the 
necessity  of  backing  you  in  a  clearly 
profitless  venture  ?  The  short-suiter  says 
there  is.  It  is  simple  enough— don't 
touch  the  long  suit  at  all,  but  open  a  short 
one  and  wait.—  E.  C.  Howell  \S.  //.], 
"Whist  Openings." 

The  short-suiters  claim  that  it  is  better 
to  furnish  information  of  a  broader  char- 
acter by  the  opening  lead,  leaving  such 
petty  details  as  whether  the  longest  suit 
in  hand  is  composed  of  five  or  of  six  cards 
to  be  found  out  later.  For  this  reason 
they  abandon  the  whole  system  of  num- 
ber-showing leads.  If  a  high-card  com- 
bination is  to  be  led  from,  they  prefer  to 
show  command  rather  than  the  number 
of  cards  the  suit  contains,  and  if  abso- 
lute command  is  lacking,  to  indicate  just 
how  much  short  of  that  position  they 
originally  were.  *  *  *  The  short-suiter 
declines  to  lead  a  low  card  from  a  long 
suit  not  admitting  of  a  high-card  lead, 
unless  his  supporting  strength  in  trumps 
and  entry  cards  is  sufficient  to  render  it 
probable  that  the  suit  can  be  brought  in 
if  partner  can  afford  an  average  amount 
of  assistance.  Here  is  where  the  unrec- 
oncilable  difference  between  the  two  sys- 
tems comes  in.  "  Even  though  the  hand 
be  weak,"  says  the  long-suiter,  "the  long 
suit  is  still  the  best  defensive  lead."  The 
short-suiter  emphatically  denies  this, 
and  believes  in  lying  still  with  suits 
that  are  probably  impossible  to  estab- 
lish, combinations  that  are  better  led  up 
to  than  led  away  from,  and,  in  short,  in 
not  attempting  more  than  he  can  per- 
form. When  he  leads  a  low  card  he  says 
to  partner:  "I  am  in  a  position  to  play 
the  long-suit  game  if  you  can  assist."  If 
he  cannot  do  this  he  plays  a  supporting 
card  from  a  short  suit  to  help  his  part- 
ner's hand,  or,  failing  that,  to  throw  the 
lead  and  wait.  These  leads  are  not  to 
invite  a  rufi,  as  many  seem  to  think,  al- 
though they  proclaim  readiness  to  do  so 
if  partner  can  see  no  better  game;  they 
are  simply  a  warning  to  partner  that  the 
leader  sees  no  prospect  of  making  a  long 
suit  in  that  particular  hand.  It  'follows, 
therefore,  that  the  original  lead  of  every 
card,  from  the  ace  down,  carries  an  en- 
tirely different  meaning  in  the  two  sys- 
tems of  play.—  IV.  A.  Potter  [S+O.], 
Providence  Journal,  August  I,  1897. 

Short-Suit  Game,  The. — A  sys- 
tem of  play  at  whist  which  makes 
leads  from  short  suits  its  most 

24 


prominent  feature,  just  as,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  long-suit  game 
pays  more  attention  to  the  leading 
and  bringing  in  of  long  suits. 

While  the  long-suit  game  has  al- 
ways had  the  largest  following  (its 
sway  being  at  times  almost  com- 
plete), we  have  evidence  that  short- 
suit  play  received  some  considera- 
tion from  the  earliest  times.  A 
common  practice  (mentioned  by 
"Caelebs"),  when  playing  from  a 
weak  two-card  suit,  was  to  play  the 
higher  first,  the  lower  next,  to  show 
no  more  of  the  suit.  Thomas 
Mathews,  in  1804,  found  it  neces- 
sary to  observe  that  "  to  lead  from 
only  three  cards,  unless  in  sequence, 
is  bad  play,  and  proper  only  when 
you  think  it  is  your  partner's  suit." 
On  the  other  hand  George  Anson, 
one  of  the  finest  players  of  his  day 
(he  died  in  1857),  upon  one  occa- 
sion laid  down  the  dictum  that  it 
was  the  height  of  bad  play  to  lead 
from  a  suit  with  nothing  higher 
than  a  ten,  if  you  had  a  suit  with 
an  honor  to  lead  from,  unless  from 
strength  in  trumps  there  was  a 
possibility  of  bringing  in  the  small 
cards.  Mr.  Anson 's  short-suit  ten- 
dencies were  as  nothing,  however, 
to  that  which  came  to  the  surface 
later  in  criticisms  of  "Cavendish," 
Clay,  and  Pole,  the  great  trio  who 
perfected  the  long-suit  game.  A 
writer  in  the  Westminster  Papers 
for  October,  1870,  gives  utterance 
to  the  following  heretical  opinion: 
"  In  studying  the  theory  of  whist, 
the  conclusion  has  been  forced  upon 
me  that  the  system  of  play  at 
present  taught  and  followed  is 
founded  on  an  erroneous  estimate 
of  chances;  that  although  it  is 
sometimes  right  to  make  your  orig- 
inal lead  from  your  strongest  suit, 
yet  that,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  balance  of  advantages  is  in  fa- 
vor of  leading  from  your  weakest. 
What  I  particularly  deprecate  is 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE      370      SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


the  plan  of  commencing  always  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  obtain  an  ad- 
vantage only  when  you  and  your 
partner  hold  unusually  strong 
cards." 

The  editor  of  the  journal  ( Charles 
Mossop),  as  well  as  "Mogul"  and 
other  vigorous  writers,  expressed 
similar  views,  and  when  the  long- 
suit  authorities  added  to  their  game 
many  conventional  signals,  and, 
above  all,  the  American  leads,  the 
chorus  of  opposition  was  largely 
increased,  and  in  the  din  of  battle, 
some  who  were  only  opposed  to  in- 
f ormatory  play,  appeared  also  to  be 
arrayed  against  the  long-suit  open- 
ing, when  such  was  not  the  fact. 
As  an  example  we  may  cite  the  op- 
position of  Richard  A.  Proctor, 
who  employed  long-suit  leads,  al- 
though he  earnestly  combatted 
modern  conventions. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  long- 
suit  theory,  as  advocated  by  ' '  Cav- 
endish" and  Pole,  paid  rather  scant 
attention  to  short  suits.  The 
modern  scientific  game  (the  perfec- 
tion of  partnership  play  by  means 
of  the  long  suit)  did  not  take  short 
suits  into  consideration  as  an  im- 
portant factor  in  whist-play.  In 
long  suits  Pole  was  willing  to  admit 
a  choice  of  the  stronger  four-card 
suit  over  the  weaker  five-card  suit 
for  the  original  lead,  but  when  it 
came  to  opening  from  a  suit  of  three 
good  cards  (a  short  suit)  as  against 
a  suit  of  four  weak  cards,  he  hesi- 
tated, and  pointed  out  that  to  un- 
necessarily lead  from  the  three-card 
suit  would  be  a  violation  of  his 
theory.  With  the  powerful  influ- 
ence of  "Cavendish"  and  his  dis- 
ciples exerted  in  favor  of  this 
system,  wedded  as  it  was  by  them 
also  to  American  leads,  and  other 
new  informatory  play,  it  was  natu- 
ral that  it  should  sweep  everything 
before  it  in  this  country,  and  that 
for  several  years  American  whist 


and  the  long-suit  game  should  have 
been  synonymous.  When,  how- 
ever, the  pendulum  had  swung  as 
far  as  it  could,  there  came  a  reac- 
tion, and  this  reaction  is  still  at 
work,  and  promises  to  correct  some 
things  which  may  have  been  too 
radical  in  the  long-suit  propaganda. 
Not  that  the  long-suit  game  will  be 
displaced,  for  fundamentally  it 
rests  upon  principles  which  are  as 
sound  as  whist  itself,  but  we  foresee 
the  inevitable  yielding  to  the  dic- 
tum that  for  exceptional  hands  or 
situations  adequate  exceptions 
must  be  made  in  the  rules.  If  all 
the  world  played  always  from  the 
long  suit,  and  all  the  world  played 
duplicate  whist  so  that  there  could 
be  no  disadvantage  in  the  holding 
of  poor  hands,  it  might  be  proper 
to  advocate  the  inviolability  of  the 
long-suit  rule;  but  even  then  it 
would  rob  whist-play  of  one  of  its 
manifold  varieties  which  constitute 
its  chief  charm. 

We  have  already  seen  that  short- 
suitism  is  no  new  thing;  that  its 
symptoms  were  made  manifest  in 
England  at  various  times  in  the 
history  of  whist;  and  that  the  for- 
mulation of  more  stringent  rules 
for  long-suit  play  by  "Cavendish" 
and  Pole  brought  out  strong  pro- 
tests. But  all  this  was  mild  com- 
pared with  the  opposition  which 
suddenly  developed  in  the  New 
World,  under  the  leadership  of  R. 
F.  Foster,  who  had  come  to  this 
country  from  Scotland  at  an  early 
age,  and  published  his  first  book  on 
the  game  in  1889.  In  this  volume 
he  followed  the  acknowledged  au- 
thorities, although  not  without  fre- 
quent show  of  resentment,  and  his 
two  succeeding  books  found  him  a 
full-fledged  whist  philistine.  In  the 
early  part  of  1896,  as  whist  editor 
of  the  New  York  Sun,  he  sprung  a 
mine  under  the  long-suit  game  in 
this  country  which  shook  the  entire 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE     37 1      SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


structure,  although  it  did  not  de- 
stroy it.  His  explosives  consisted 
of  a  series  of  powerful  articles, 
which  seemed  to  have  the  weight 
of  the  Sun's  own  authority,  being 
unsigned,  and  giving  no  indication 
as  to  authorship.  In  these  articles 
(the  first  of  which  appeared  in  the 
issue  for  February  23),  war  on  the 
long-suit  game  was  for  the  first  time 
waged  in  a  masterly  and  systematic 
manner  in  the  daily  press  of  this 
country.  There  had,  indeed,  been 
many  discussions  in  other  papers 
prior  to  this  time,  and  some  direct 
attacks,  but  nothing  like  the  ener- 
getic warfare  to  which  the  Ameri- 
can public  was  now  treated ;  for  the 
Sun's  articles  were  copied  far  and 
wide,  and  reached  the  whist-play- 
ers of  the  country  better  than  did 
the  text-books,  by  means  of  which 
Mr.  Foster  had  previously  made 
known  his  views.  The  result  was 
that  many  of  those  who  sympa- 
thized with  him  made  themselves 
heard,  and  in  time  the  "revolt" 
assumed  the  proportions  of  a  new 
school — that  of  "  short-suit  whist." 
Mr.  Foster's  chief  contention  in 
the  Sun  was  that  long  suits  were 
trick-losing  leads,  and  short-suit 
leads  trick  winners;  and  (what  gave 
his  arguments  their  special  force), 
he  went  directly  to  the  play  of  the 
American  Whist  Congress,  as  pub- 
lished in  its  official  proceedings,  to 
prove  his  position.  Taking  the 
hands  played  in  the  final  contests 
for  the  Hamilton  Trophy,  he  tabu- 
lated them  with  startling  results. 
In  one  of  his  tables  he  asserted  that 
in  thirty-seven  hands  the  original 
long-suit  leader  never  took  a  single 
trick  in  the  suit  led  from.  Whist 
of  March,  1896,  pointed  out  that 
his  arrangement  of  the  tables  was 
"somewhat  specious  and  mislead- 
ing," and  that  out  of  the  thirty- 
seven  hands  above  referred  to 
twelve  were  merely  repetitions,  or, 


in  other  words,  duplicate  or  over- 
play. However,  any  inaccuracies 
of  this  kind  did  not  impair  the 
success  of  the  onslaught,  and  when 
new  facts  and  figures  were  adduced 
in  the  Sun,  it  became  apparent 
even  to  the  most  optimistic  long- 
suit  players  that  there  was  some 
truth  (even  though  originally  dis- 
counted) in  Foster's  contentions. 

In  addition  to  the  war  on  paper 
now  came  the  war  of  actual  play. 
The  short-suiters  and  the  long- 
suiters  locked  horns  to  see  who  was 
right.  Not  that  short-suit  play 
and  players  were  up  to  this  time 
unknown  in  this  country.  They 
had  always  existed  in  the  minority, 
and  had  been  known  to  win  vic- 
tories in  whist  contests.  As  early 
as  1892,  at  the  second  congress 
of  the  American  Whist  League,  a 
team  of  four  from  the  Capital  Bi- 
cycle Club,  of  Washington,  D.  C., 
won  the  championship,  although 
they  were  opposed  to  American 
leads,  information,  and  the  long- 
suit  game.  Mr.  Foster  and  his 
followers,  however,  carried  the  war 
into  Africa.  They  challenged  the 
long-suit  adherents  right  and  left, 
and  numerous  contests  were  played, 
and  duly  recorded,  analyzed,  and 
commented  upon  in  the  Sun.  Vic- 
tories were,  of  course,  scored  by 
each  side,  for  the  merits  of  the 
players  themselves,  aside  from  the 
systems  of  play  employed,  natu- 
rally had  a  bearing  on  the  results. 
The  team  from  the  Manhattan 
Whist  Club,  of  which  Foster  him- 
self was  captain,  greatly  distin- 
guished itself,  winning  five  out  of 
six  prizes,  in  the  inter-city  tourna- 
ment in  Brooklyn,  which  closed 
April  3,  1896.  Later  on,  however, 
two  of  the  members  of  this  team, 
playing  with  two  other  members 
with  whom  they  had  won  the  chal- 
lenge trophy  at  the  sixth  American 
Whist  League  congress,  suffered 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE      372      SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  long- 
suit  team  from  the  Narragansett 
Club,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  and 
great  was  the  jubilation  of  all  long- 
suit  partisans.  And  thus  the  con- 
test between  the  opposing  forces 
continued.  The  long-suiters  were 
ready  also  with  tongue  and  pen,  and 
one  of  their  most  efficient  leaders, 
George  L.  Bunn,  captain  of  the 
famous  St.  Paul  team,  sarcastically 
remarked  that  the  Sun's  arguments 
appeared  to  him  to  amount  to  this: 
"  I  can  take  more  tricks  in  my  suit 
if  my  adversary  is  kind  enough  to 
lead  it  for  me;  so  I'll  just  give  him 
a  few  tricks  in  his  long  suit,  and  in 
return,  perhaps,  he  will  give  me  a 
few  in  mine." 

The  short-suit  side  of  the  contro- 
versy was  re-enforced  by  several 
writers  who  possessed  the  gift  of 
expressing  their  views  with  equal 
vigor,  and  among  these  the  most 
bold  and  original  was  Edwin  C. 
Howell,  a  disciple  of  Foster,  who 
proposed  an  entirely  new  system  of 
openings,  providing  for  five  differ- 
ent modes  of  play,  each  suited  to 
some  peculiarity  of  the  hand.  One  of 
these  was  the  long-suit  game,  which 
he  permitted  under  extremely  fa- 
vorable conditions,  but  without  the 
use  of  American  leads.  Another 
disciple  of  Foster,  who  perhaps 
more  closely  represented  his  ideas 
of  short-suit,  or  "common  sense" 
play,  and  who  now  threw  himself 
into  the  fray  with  a  vigorous  pen, 
was  Charles  R.  Keiley,  a  leading 
New  York  player  and  teacher, 
whose  views  are  embodied  in  his 
book  called  "  Common  Sense  in 
Whist." 

In  general  short-suit  advocates 
differ  materially  in  their  ideas  as  to 
the  best  way  of  playing  the  short- 
suit  game.  Foster  himself  was  for 
years  of  the  opinion  that  no  exact 
rules  could  be  laid  down  for  what 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  and  other 


long-suiters  contemptuously  named 

fuerilla  warfare.  Howell  was  the 
rst  to  make  the  attempt,  and  was 
followed  by  another  enthusiastic 
worker  in  the  short-suit  cause,  Val. 
W.  Starnes,  of  Georgia,  who  em- 
bodied his  ideas  in  ' '  Short-Suit 
Whist,"  a  volume  which  was 
brought  out  in  1896.  Every  book 
on  whist  published  since  Foster's 
agitation  began  has  devoted  a 
large  share  of  attention  to  short- 
suit  play,  notably  "Whist  of  To- 
day," by  Milton  C.  Work;  "Whist 
Up  to  Date,"  by  Charles  S.  Street, 
and  "Winning  Whist,"  by  Emery 
Boardman.  Not  that  any  of  these 
can  be  classed  as  short-suit  advo- 
cates; they  are  long-suit  players 
with  liberal  views  regarding  the 
employment  of  short  suits.  Mr. 
Street  is  of  the  opinion  that  he 
has  discovered  a  way  to  harmonize 
all  long  and  short-suit  differences 
by  what  he  calls  ' '  The  Modified 
Game"  (g.v.).  Judge  Boardman  is 
willing  to  concede  this  much  to 
short-suit  play:  "  Unless  the  eldest 
hand  holds  at  least  four  trumps, 
headed  by  the  ten  or  better,  he 
should  lead  origin  all}'  from  his 
most  advantageous  weak  plain  suit; 
and  his  partner,  unless  possessing 
at  least  that  minimum  of  trump 
strength,  should  adopt  the  same 
line  of  play,  each  leading  from  his 
own  weakness  to  his  partner's  prob- 
able strength  in  the  endeavor  to 
establish  a  see-saw  in  plain  suits, 
likewise  taking  every  advantage  of 
finesse  and  tenace." 

All  of  this  indicates  that  short- 
suit  leads  can  no  longer  be  ignored 
as  a  factor  in  the  American  game. 
American  whist-players  generally 
are  of  the  opinion  that  leads  from 
long  and  short  suits  both  belong  to 
legitimate  whist-play;  the  only 
question  is,  how  far  is  it  necessary 
to  depart  from  the  standard  long- 
suit  opening,  which,  when  possible, 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE     373      SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


must  always  remain  the  first  consid- 
eration. It  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that,  notwithstanding  asser- 
tions to  the  contrary,  both  Pole  and 
"  Cavendish"  provide  for  short-suit 
leads  in  certain  emergencies.  Writ- 
ers who  follow  Pole  and  "Caven- 
dish," and  accept  their  teachings, 
likewise  have  recourse  to  leads  from 
short  suits,  otherwise  known  as 
forced  leads.  They  do  not,  how- 
ever, make  them  a  prominent,  but 
rather  an  exceptional,  feature  of 
the  game. 

Had  short  suits  been  analyzed 
and  reduced  to  a  system  as  fully  as 
long  suits,  or  had  they  been  given 
pronounced,  though  subordinate, 
recognition  in  the  long-suit  econ- 
omy, there  would  have  been  no 
"revolt"  from  "Cavendish"  and 
Pole.  But,  with  a  more  concilia- 
tory spirit  manifesting  itself,  and  a 
disposition  to  do  justice  to  both 
sides,  the  revolt  itself  may  have 
been,  after  all,  a  blessing  in  dis- 
guise. Whist,  in  its  issue  of  June, 
1896,  for  instance,  says:  "The 
main  difference  between  the  two 
systems  would  seem  to  be  mostly 
in  the  opening  leads.  The  extreme 
players  of  either  school,  we  pre- 
sume, would  lead  from  their  longest 
or  shortest  suit,  regardless  of  all 
circumstances.  This  is  certainly  a 
great  mistake,  for  the  most  perfect 
game  of  whist  consists  of  a  judi- 
cious blending  of  the  best  points  of 
both  systems."  Fisher  Ames,  one 
of  the  first  exponents  of  "Caven- 
dish" and  the  American  leads  in 
this  country,  tersely  puts  the  case 
as  follows: 

"  Let  us  have  no  confusion  of 
ideas  as  to  what  is  meant  by  long- 
suit  and  short-suit  system.  Accord- 
ing to  some  of  the  advocates  of  the 
short-suit  system,  the  long-suit  sys- 
tem means  the  invariable  opening 
from  the  longest  suit  under  any 
and  all  conditions,  regardless  of  the 


cards  held  in  any  suit.  There  is  no 
such  game  recommended  in  any 
book  on  whist,  so  far  as  I  ever 
heard.  Whist-players  have  always 
resorted  to  short-suit  leads  when 
their  hand  indicated  it.  It  would 
be  just  as  fair  to  say  that  the  short- 
suit  system  means  the  invariable 
opening  from  the  shortest  suit, 
under  any  and  all  conditions.  The 
real  difference  is  practically  that 
one  system  uses  the  short-suit 
opening  more  frequently  than  the 
other. ' ' 

This  certainly  indicates  that  there 
must  be  a  middle  ground  upon 
which  all  players  can  meet,  and 
reconcile  existing  differences.  Fos- 
ter seems  all  along  to  have  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  the  long-suit 
game  cannot  be  ignored  entirely. 
In  his  "Whist  Strategy,"  1894,  he 
says:  "  I  do  not  for  a  moment  wish 
it  to  be  supposed  that  I  am  about 
to  advocate  the  universal  adoption 
of  the  short-suit  lead,  for  it  is  no 
more  generally  applicable  than  any 
other,  and  is  a  very  difficult  game 
to  play  well."  Again:  "  If  a  short- 
suit  player  opens  a  long  suit  he  is 
playing  the  long-suit  game,  and  his 
partner  may  depend  upon  it  that 
nothing  short  of  a  very  unfortunate 
position  of  the  cards  will  prevent  its 
success."  More  pronounced  still 
is  the  evidence  which  we  find  in  his 
whist  columns  in  the  Sun  of  May 
24,  1896:  "  Extremes  are  seldom  or 
never  right  in  anything,  and  it  is 
the  opinion  of  the  Sun  that  neither 
of  these  systems,  as  a  system,  is 
sound,  but  that  the  true  theory  of 
whist  lies  between,  and  that  the 
future  development  of  the  game 
will  be  towards  the  discovery  of  the 
proper  proportion  in  which  the  two 
systems,  long  and  short,  should  be 
mixed." 

It  is  everywhere  believed  that 
whist  is  passing  through  another 
stage  of  the  evolution  so  ably  de- 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE     374     SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


scribed  by  Pole.  When  the  war  of 
the  long  and  short-suit  factions  is 
over  we  believe  it  may  be  safely 
predicted  that  still  better  whist  will 
be  the  result. 

In  closing  this  brief  review  of  the 
rise  of  short-suitism  we  can  do  no 
better  than  notice  what  progress 
was  claimed  for  it  at  the  end  of  the 
year  1897.  Foster,  writing  in  the 
Sun  (December  5),  claims  that  the 
"common-sense"  system  has  been 
found  the  best  up  to  date,  although 
he  recognizes  the  fact  that  the 
entire  short-suit  game  is  still  in  an 
experimental  stage.  He  quotes, 
with  approval,  the  statement  of  an- 
other writer  that  "  while  radical 
short-suitism  is  adopted  by  very 
few  of  the  experts,  conservative 
short-suitism  is  no  longer  an  ex- 
periment, since  it  is  accepted  and 
practiced  by  a  large  proportion  of 
our  strongest  players."  "This," 
Foster  thinks,  "agrees  pretty 
closely  with  the  statement  made  at 
Albany  by  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent officers  of  the  American  Whist 
League,  who  said  that  the  result  of 
his  observations  had  been  to  con- 
vince him  that  there  were  to-day 
only  two  great  classes  of  whist- 
players,  those  who  mixed  in  a  little 
short  suits,  and  admitted  it,  and 
those  who  dallied  with  them,  and 
denied  it." 

He  is  of  the  opinion  that  of  the 
many  short-suit  ideas  which  have 
been  brought  forward  during  the 
past  two  years  there  seem  to  be  at 
least  three  or  four  which  have  come 
to  stay.  These  may  be  briefly  out- 
lined as  follows:  ( i )  Leading  the 
top  of  a  suit  in  which  there  is  no 
honor.  (2)  Leading  a  low  card  in 
a  plain  suit  to  show  general 
strength,  and  to  encourage  partner 
to  play  a  forward  game,  especially 
in  leading  trumps.  (3)  Leading 
weak  trumps  from  hands  which  are 
above  the  average  in  plain  suits, 


especially  if  one  suit  is  practically 
established,  and  is  accompanied  by 
a  card  of  re-entry  in  another  suit. 
(4)  The  return  to  the  old  idea  of 
playing  weak  two-card  suits  down, 
to  show  no  more  instead  of  to  call 
for  trumps.  It  was  Lord  Bentinck 
who  proposed  to  change  the  mean- 
ing of  this  play  to  calling  for  a 
trump-lead  instead  of  asking  for  a 
force. 

"  The  idea  of  showing  general 
strength  by  the  lead  of  a  low  card 
in  a  plain  suit, ' '  says  Foster,  ' '  orig- 
inated with  the  old  Manhattan 
team,  and  it  was  undoubtedly  the 
great  factor  in  their  phenomenal 
success.  So  evident  were  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  system  that  Haw- 
kins used  to  laugh  at  the  blindness 
of  the  experts,  and  wonder  how 
long  it  would  be  before  they  would 
wake  up  and  see  it.  Well,  they  are 
fully  alive  to  it  now. 

"When  this  idea  is  adopted  the 
minor  details  of  the  system  must 
be  a  matter  of  agreement  between 
the  partners.  Some  players  use 
any  card  below  the  eight  as  an  in- 
dication of  general  strength,  while 
others  stop  at  the  four  or  five. 
Howell  seems  to  think  he  invented 
this  system  of  encouragement,  but 
the  only  thing  new  in  his  system 
was  using  the  six,  seven,  and  eight 
as  an  invitation  to  be  forced  in  that 
suit.  The  Sun  has  in  its  possession 
letters  written  a  year  before  How- 
ell's  book  was  published,  asking 
just  how  far  down  it  was  safe  to  go 
for  a  card  which  would  be  recog- 
nized as  not  led  from  a  strong  suit. 
The  general  idea  in  those  days  was 
to  stop  at  the  eight  for  the  top  of 
nothing,  anything  above  a  seven 
being  '  rotten. '  This  was  the  Man- 
hattan idea,  although  Hawkins 
thought  even  then  that  it  would  be 
safe  to  go  lower  down.  Recent 
experiments  have  led  some  teams 
to  go  down  to  the  five. 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE     375     SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


"The  Pyramid  Club,  of  Boston, 
which  is  generally  conceded  to  be 
the  strongest  coterie  of  players  in 
New  England,  lead  the  two,  three, 
or  four  of  a  plain  suit  to  encourage 
the  partner  to  play  a  forward  game, 
and  the  five,  six,  seven,  and  eight 
as  the  top  of  nothing  or  intermedi- 
ates. They  lead  the  queen,  jack, 
ten,  and  nine  as  supporting  cards, 
and  '  run'  with  kings  and  aces  only 
when  they  have  no  re-entry  cards 
or  trump  strength. 

' '  The  New  Jersey  players,  who 
seem  strong  enough  to  beat  the 
best  men  from  both  New  York  and 
Brooklyn,  and  to  play  the  com- 
bined strength  of  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  and  Washington  to  a 
tie,  go  as  high  as  the  six  in  leading 
from  a  plain  suit  to  show  general 
strength.  They  use  the  queen, 
jack,  ten  as  supporting  cards,  and 
the  seven,  eight,  nine  as  intermedi- 
ates from  suits  that  are  long,  but 
not  accompanied  by  re-entry  cards 
or  trump  strength." 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  short-suit 
situation  at  this,  writing,  as  noted 
by  the  father  of  short-suit  whist. 
(See,  also,  "  Forced  Leads.") 

There  are  justifiable  short-suit  leads, 
especially  if  the  player  is  not  the  origi- 
nal leader  of  the  hand.— G.  W.  Pettes  [L. 
A.  P.},  "American  Whist  Illustrated." 

With  a  desperate  score,  if  the  adversa- 
ries opened  the  hand  with  a  trump-lead, 
it  is  generally  well  to  open  your  weakest 
suit  first.— Fisher  Ames  [L.A.],  "Practi- 
cal Guide  to  Whist." 

It  is  justifiable  to  lead  from  a  suit  of 
less  than  four  cards  when  your  long  suit 
has  been  started  by  your  adversaries,  and 
you  consider  it  dangerous  to  continue  the 
suit,  or  when  the  previous  play  indicates 
that  your  short  suit  is  your  partner's  long 
one.— John  T.Mitchell  [L.A.I,  "Duplicate 
Whist." 

It  has  been  repeatedly  shown  in  these 
articles  that  the  short-suit  game  is  even 
more  informatory  than  the  long-suit 
game,  so  far  as  the  general  character  of 
the  hand  goes,  although  perhaps  not  so 
much  so  as  to  such  minute  details  as  the 
spots  on  the  cards  which  will  be  thrown 


away  later  in  [the  hand. — R.  F.  Foster  [S. 
O.\,  New  York  Sun,  July  zz,  1897. 

Leading  from  a  short  suit  is  not  only 
bad  in  itself— especially  the  atrocious 
lead  from  a  single  card  which  weak  play- 
ers affect — but  it  is  not  a  method  of  lead- 
ing systematically  available,  for  not  every 
hand  possesses  a  suit  of  fewer  than  three 
cards.  But  every  hand  must  possess  a 
suit  of  four  cards  at  least— that  is,  a  long 
suit.— R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  0.],  "How  to  Play 
Whist." 

When  obliged  to  lead  from  a  suit  of  less 
than  four  cards,  the  rule  is  to  lead  the 
highest,  in  order  to  strengthen  your  part- 
ner's hand,  if  the  card  you  lead  happens 
to  be  of  his  suit,  and  also  to  show  him 
that  you  are  weak  in  it.  *  *  *  When 
leading  from  a  short  suit  in  which  you 
have  two  honors,  you  lead  the  higher.  If 
the  card  you  lead  wins  the  trick,  you  fol- 
low with  the  other  honor.— -John  T.  Mitch' 
ell  [L.  A.],  "Duplicate  Whist." 

An  approximate  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem will  probably  be  found  ere  long  from 
practical  experience.  The  short-suit  fad- 
dists play  duplicate  matches  from  which 
luck  is,  to  a  great  extent,  eliminated.  If 
they  win  a  considerable  proportion  of 
these  matches,  the  whole  theory  of  whist 
will  have  to  be  reconsidered;  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  hopelessly  beaten, 
short-suitism  will  die  a  natural  death. — 
"Cavendish"  [Z,.  A.],  Scribner's  Maga- 
zine, July,  1897. 

It  is  generally  undesirable  to  lead  from 
short  suits,  *  *  *  (i)  because  you  thus 
lose  the  chief  advantage  of  the  lead— the 
opportunity  to  inform  your  partner  of 
your  long  suit  and  the  chance  of  estab- 
lishing it.  (2)  You  probably  help  your 
opponent  to  establish  his,  the  chances 
being  two  to  one  that  your  antagonists 
have  strength  in  your  weak  suit. — Kate 
Wheelock  [L.  A.],  "The  fundamental 
Principles  and  Rules  of  Modern  American 
Whist,"  1887. 

It  is  advisable  in  most  cases  where  your 
game  is  desperate,  and  where  it  is  clear 
your  partner  must  be  strong  in  your 
weak  suit  to  save  the  game,  to  lead  your 
weakest  suit,  notwithstanding  principle 
i.  Your  partner  should  finesse  deeplyin 
the  suit  you  lead  him,  and  should  not  re- 
turn it,  but,  actuated  by  motives  similar 
to  yours,  should  lead  his  weakest  suit,  in 
which  you  should  finesse  deeply,  and 
continue  your  weak  suit,  and  so  on. — 
''Cavendish"  [L.  A.}. 

What  surprises  us  is  that  so  few  of  the 
long-suit  players  seem  to  be  aware  of  the 
large  number  of  short-suit  plays  advo- 
cated by  their  authors  under  situations 
of  forced  leads,  strategy,  perception,  etc. 
Get  out  your  copy  of  "  Cavendish"  and 
verify  this  statement.  If  we  were  to 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE     376     SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE 


write  a  book  on  the  short-suit  system,  we 
should  quote  very  largely  from  the  mas- 
ter. About  all  that  the  short-suit  authors 
have  done  is  to  codify  the  exceptions  to 
the  long-suit  system. — Cassius  M.  Paine 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  August,  1896. 

In  playing  against  short-suit  leads, 
second  hand  must  cover  much  more 
freely,  and  must  cover  certain  cards 
•which,  under  the  long-suit  system  of 
leading,  he  is  instructed  to  pass.  Third 
hand,  as  a  rule,  is  expected  to  finesse 
pretty  deeply  on  a  short  suit  led  by  his 

Eartner,  while  at  the  long-suit  game  such 
uessing  is  properly  restricted  to  the 
holding  of  ace-queen  only,  and  even  this 
is  regarded  by  many  players  as  of  little 
or  no  value  if  holding  more  than  three 
cards  of  the  suit.—  W.  A.  Potter  [S+O.], 
Providence  Journal,  August  1, 1897. 

Over  a  year  ago  a  party  of  four  men  in 
this  city  [New  Castle,  Pa.,]  decided  to 
give  the  original  short-suit  game,  as  we 
understood  it,  a  fair  trial.  They  arrived 
at  this  general  idea:  If  a  hand  is  a  tenace 
hand  in  suit,  be  the  trump  four  small  or 
less,  it  will  be  permissible  to  open  a  short- 
suit  originally  where  the  card  led  is  not 
below  a  nine,  or  to  open  a  four-suit  headed 
with  nine  or  ten,  with  the  highest  card  in 
it.  It  follows  then  that  the  partner  does 
not  return  the  suit  so  opened,  but  that  it 
is  a  good  suit  to  lead  through  the  original 
leader.— G.  B.  Zahniser  [S.  O.],  Whist. 
April,  1896. 

The  long-suit  player  always  begins  with 
his  long  suit,  whether  he  has  the  slightest 
hope  of  establishing,  defending,  and 
bnnging  it  in  or  not.  The  short-suit 
player  never  touches  it  except  for  one  or 
two  reasons:  because  he  is  in  a  hurry  to 
secure  tricks  with  any  winning  cards  the 
suit  may  contain,  or  because  he  is  pretty 
sure  he  can  make  the  suit  with  any  rea- 
sonable assistance  from  his  partner.  If 
neither  of  these  reasons  exists,  he  will 
not  lead  the  suit  as  a  long  suit,  but  will 
begin  with  an  intermediate  card,  if  he 
leads  it  at  all.—  R.  F.  Foster  \S.  O.],  New 
York  Sun,  May  17,  1896. 

Many  of  those  who  adopt  the  short- 
suit  game  as  a  regular  system  of  play, 
use  the  original  or  opening  lead  to  indi- 
cate the  general  character  of  the  hand, 
rather  than  any  details  of  the  individual 
suit.  In  the  long-suit  game  the  original 
leader  is  always  assuming  that  his  part- 
ner may  have  something  or  other,  and 
playing  on  that  supposition.  The  short- 
suit  player  indicates  the  system  of  play 
best  adapted  to  his  own  hand,  without 
the  slightest  regard  to  the  possibilities  of 
his  partner.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  partner 
to  indicate  his  hand  in  turn,  and  to  shape 
the  policy  of  the  play  on  the  combined 
indications  of  the  two.  This  system  was 


elaborated  by  E.  C.  Howell.— R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "Complete  Hoy le." 

From  such  considerations  as  these 
[when  the  game  is  desperate  and  you  hold 
only  weak  suits]  has  arisen  the  so-called 
short-suit  system,  that  of  finesse  and  ten- 
ace  instead  of  main  strength,  bearing 
about  the  same  relation  to  the  regular 
long-suit  play  as  chess  does  to  checkers. 
It  should  neither  be  hastily  condemned 
nor  indiscriminately  adopted.  The  ad- 
vantage of  this  system  consists  in  its 
conceded  effectiveness,  under  favorable 
circumstances,  in  the  play  of  hands  de- 
void of  or  weak  in  trumps.  Its  disad- 
vantages are  due  chiefly  to  the  great 
difficulty  at  times  of  recognizing  the 
nature  of  the  lead,  as  in  this  play  part- 
ner's suit  should  never  be  returned,  or  a 
possible  advantage  of  fine_sse  or  tenace 
sacrificed.  It  is  usually  quite  as  difficult 
to  find  two  players  who  can  be  relied 
upon  to  properly  support  each  other  in 
this  system  as  to  beat  their  game  when 
found. — Emery  Boardman  \L+A .] , "  Win- 
ning Whist." 

If  you,  pitying  the  pathetic  efforts  of 
the  wooden  long-suit  player  as  he  blindly 
tries  to  cast  all  hands,  be  they  large  or 
small,  round,  triangular,  or  oval,  in  his 
one  little  square  mould,  if  you,  I  repeat, 
have  led  singletons  and  short  suits,  and 
later  have  eagerly  trumped  those  suits, 
you  must  have  noticed  certain  flaws  in 
your  system;  you  frequently  must  have 
shaken  your  partner's  confidence  in  you, 
by  calling  upon  him  to  play  sometimes 
upon  a  lead  from  length,  other  times  upon 
a  short  lead,  he  could  not  tell  which,  being 
absolutely  in  the  dark  as  to  what  you  held 
in  your  hand.  Have  you  not  often  led  a 
low-card  singleton,  or  else  a  low  two-card 
suit,  and  caused  your  partner  to  play  third 
in  hand  a  king  or  a  queen,  which  was  lost 
to  the  adversary's  ace?  Do  you  think 
that  such  a  loss  was  compensated  for  by 
the  chance  you  thereby  gained  to  trump 
that  suit,  if  indeed  the  adversaries  did 
not  first  draw  your  trumps  ?— Charles  S. 
S!reet^L+A.],  "Whist  Up  to  Date,"  1897. 

In  these  cases  [with  four  trumps  which 
cannot  be  led  without  further  justifica- 
tion and  three  plain  suits  of  three  cards 
each;  or  with  your  long  suit  previously 
led  by  the  adversary]  you  may  be  driven 
to  make  an  unphilosophical,  or,  as  it  is 
technically  called,  forced  lead  from  a 
short  suit  of  three  cards  or  less.  *  *  * 
But  you  must  not  try  to  deceive  your 
partner  into  believing  you  are  leading 
from  a  long  suit;  and  an  effective  mode 
of  doing  this  is  to  reverse  the  ordinary 
rule  and  lead  the  highest,  instead  of  the 
lowest  of  the  suit.  •  *  *  This  rule  is 
not  arbitrary;  it  is  founded  on  reason, 
for  your  high  card  will  probably  enable 
your  partner  to  finesse,  and  will  save 


SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE      377          SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


him  from  losing  a  high  card  to  no  pur- 
pose, which  he  might  do  if  you  led  the 
lowest.  If,  having  three,  the  highest  is 
an  ace,  king,  or  queen,  you  are  justified 
in  leading  the  lowest  iu  the  hope  of 
afterwards  making  your  high  card,  and 
to  avoid  the  chance  of  strengthening  the 
adversary.—  William  Pole  [L.A+],  "Phil- 
osophy of  Whist,"  1883. 

The  New  York  Sun's  whist  column,  for 
the  past  two  issues,  has  contained  statis- 
tics to  burn — and  that's  all  they  are 
good  for.  The  thing  sought  to  be 
proved  is,  we  suppose,  that  if  these  suits 
had  not  been  opened  more  tricks  would 
have  been  taken  in  them,  and  conse- 
quently, according  to  the  profound  logic 
of  the  editor,  the  suits  should  never  have 
been  opened  at  all,  but  a  short  suit  should 
have  been  led  in  each  case,  whereupon, 
of  course,  the  adversaries  will  proceed  to 
lead  their  short  suits,  which  will  be  the 
long  suits  of  the  original  leaders,  and  the 
original  leaders  will  then  proceed  to  take 
tricks  in  those  long  suits.  In  other  words, 
the  argument  is  this:  I  can  take  more 
tricks  in  my  suit  if  the  adversary  is  kind 
enough  to  lead  it  for  me;  so  I'll  just  give 
him  a  few  tricks  in  his  long  suit,  and  in 
return,  perhaps,  he  will  give  me  a  few 
in  mine.  I'll  be  fair  about  it;  I'll  give 
first  and  trust  to  his  generosity  in  return- 
ing the  gift.  Of  course,  the  mere  state- 
ment of  this  argument  is  an  absurdity; 
in  the  first  place,  it  contains  an  admis- 
sion that  the  short-suit  lead  is  going  to 
give  the  adversaries  tricks  in  their  long 
suits  that  they  could  not  get  if  compelled 
to  lead  them  themselves — a  practical  con- 
fession that  the  short-suit  game  is  a  de- 
cided advantage  to  the  opponents.  In 
the  next  place,  it  entirely  overlooks  the 
fact  that  the  adversary,  with  the  great 
advantage  of  having  his  suit  established 
by  his  opponent's  lead,  before  he  returns 
the  favor,  is  very  apt  to  exhaust  trumps, 
and  make  a  few  cards  of  that  established 
suit,  giving  his  partner  discards  of  the 
losing  cards  in  the  long  suit  of  the  origi- 
nal leader.  After  he  does  that  he  maybe 
ungenerous  enough  to  lead  his  partner's 
declared  suit  before  paying  the  debt  he 
owes  to  the  adversary.  After  his  partner 
hastakena  few  tricks  himself  he  may  feel 
charitably  enough  disposed,  and  prubably 
is  devoutly  thankful  for  the  tricks  pre- 
sented, but  there  are  only  thirteen  cards 
in  a  hand  at  whist,  and  the  deal  is  over. — 
George  L.  Bunn  [L.A.],  St.  Paul  Globe, 
1897. 

That  there  are  hands  in  which  it  is 
most  disadvantageous  to  open  such  a  suit 
[a  long  suit]  the  expert  players  of  the 
day  agree  with  a  unanimity  which  the 
whist  writers  and  teachers,  who  are  fond 
of  asserting  the  doctrine  that  a  short  suit 
should  never  be  opened  originally,  can- 


not explain.  *  *  *  The  whist-players 
of  the  day  may  on  this  subject  be  divided 
into  three  classes,  viz.:  (a)  Those  who 
never  originally  open  a  short  suit. 
(b)  Those  who  do  so  with  four  trumps, 
and  either  no  long  plain  suit  or  one 
which  they  do  not  wish  to  open,  (c)  Those 
who  do  so,  regardless  of  the  number  of 
their  trumps,  whenever  they  do  not  desire 
to  open  a  long  suit.  The  position  taken 
by  class  (a)  is  as  antiquated  as  that  of 
class  (c)  is  unsound.  Class  (b)  unques- 
tionably stands  on  the  best  trick-taking1 
basis;  but,  like  every  other  good  play  at 
the  whist-table,  the  original  opening  of  a 
short  suit  with  trump  strength  may  be 
carried  to  an  absurd  extreme.  The  play 
should  only  be  made  when  both  the  com- 
binations favorable  to  it  exist,  viz.,  a 
short  suit  well  adapted  for  opening  pur- 
poses, and  either  no  long  plain  suit  or  one 
which  it  is  most  unquestionably  a  disad- 
vantage to  open.  To  those  who  desire  to 
have  an  absolute  rule  to  guide  in  each 
case  the  following  ideas  on  the  subject 
may  be  of  value.  It  is  obviously  impos- 
sible, however,  to  accurately  cover  every 
case,  the  make-up  of  the  entire  hand  hav- 
ing much  to  do  with  the  decision  to  be 
reached.  [Mr.  Work  then  divides  short 
suits  into  three  classes,  as  follows:]  (i) 
Those  well  adapted  for  an  original  open- 
ing, as  queen,  jack,  with  or  without  one 
other;  jack,  ten,  with  or  without  one 
other;  ten,  nine,  with  or  without  one 
other;  jack,  with  one  or  two  others. 
(2)  Those  which  may  be  opened  origi- 
nally, if  necessity  requires  a  short-suit 
opening,  as  ace  and  two  small  (lead 
smallest);  queen  and  one  other;  ten  and 
one  or  two  others;  nine  and  one  or  two 
others.  (3)  Those  which  should  never  be 
originally  opened,  embracing  all  other 
short  suits.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.A.H.], 
"Whist  of  To-day." 

Short-Suit  Leads,   Foster's. — 

While  R.  F.  Foster  is  the  acknowl- 
edged leader  of  the  short-suit  move- 
ment in  America,  he  has  not  given 
us  any  text-book  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  an  exposition  of  the  short- 
suit  philosophy,  such  as  Pole,  on 
the  opposite  side,  devoted  to  the 
theory  of  the  long-suit,  for  instance. 
Mr.  Foster's  short-suit  teachings 
are  mainly  embodied  in  his  trench- 
ant articles  published  in  the  New 
York  Sun  and  other  journals  of  the 
day.  They  are  also  reflected,  to  a 
certain  extent,  in  his  text-books  on 
whist.  In  his  "Whist  Strategy" 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


378 


SHORT- SUIT  LEADS 


(1894)  he  tells  us  that  "  the  short- 
suit  game  is  one  in  which  the  play- 
ers lead  supporting  cards  to  each 
other,  with  a  view  to  enabling  the 
leader's  partner  to  finesse  to  advan- 
tage in  suits  in  which  the  leader 
himself  is  weak.     Each  endeavors 
to  secure  the  best  results  from  any 
combinations  of  high  cards  he  may 
hold,    by  getting    tenaces  led  up 
to,  instead   of  leading  away  from 
them."     He  adds,  very   conserva- 
tively, "  It  is  usually  adopted  only 
when  the  hand  is  not  strong  enough 
for  the  long-suit  game."     In  the 
revised  edition  of  his  "  Whist  Man- 
ual "  (1896)  he  states  the  object  of 
the    short-suit    game    to    be    "to 
secure  for  certain  cards   in    your 
hand   a   trick-taking   value  which 
does  not  naturally  belong  to  them, 
by  taking  advantage  of  probable, 
known,  or  inferred  positions  of  the 
cards.    It  is  a  game,"  he  adds,  "in 
which  the  original  leader  tries  to 
strengthen  his  partner,  but  holds 
on  to  his  tenaces,  and  in  which 
the  partner  finesses  deeply,  leads 
strengthening    cards,    and     plays 
them  in  second  hand,  holding  his 
tenaces   and   watching   for  oppor- 
tunities."     In    "Whist    Tactics" 

(1895)  he  gives  the  following  con- 
cise directions   for    the   short-suit 
game: 

' '  Lead  the  best  card  of  your 
short  suit,  provided  it  is  above  an 
eight  and  not  higher  than  a  queen. 
Lead  a  strengthening  card  from 
your  long  suit,  if  you  are  too  weak 
to  play  the  long-suit  game.  Adopt 
either  of  the  two  foregoing  in 
preference  to  leading  away  from  a 
suit  in  which  you  hold  either  a 
major  or  a  minor  tenace.  Lead  a 
singleton  only  when  you  have  six 
trumps  and  your  partner  knows 
nothing  of  the  game." 

Thus,  according  to  his  mode  of 
play,  the  original  lead  of  any  card 
below  a  nine  shows  that  the  suit  is 


strong,  and  that  there  are  good 
chances  of  defending  and  bringing 
it  in — in  other  words,  it  indicates 
the  long-suit  game  for  that  particu- 
lar hand.  The  short-suit  system 
as  above  outlined,  he  holds,  has  a 
great  advantage  over  the  invariable 
lead  from  long  suits,  in  that  it 
shows  when  there  is  little  or  no 
chance  for  a  long-suit  game  to 
succeed.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
a  short-suit  player  leads  originally 
from  his  long  suit,  his  partner  has 
the  assurance  that  it  will  probably 
be  brought  in,  which  is  another 
decided  advantage.  Mr.  Foster 
says  he  does  not  lead  short  suits  in 
preference  to  long  suits,  but  as  a 
warning  to  partner  that  the  long 
suit  is  worthless  as  an  opening 
lead,  even  with  reasonable  assist- 
ance from  him. 

His  mode  of  play,  and  that  re- 
commended by  him  in  the  Sun, 
is  frequently  spoken  of  as  the 
"  common -sense  "  game.  Aside 
from  his  rejection  of  the  invariable 
long-suit  opening,  he  has  also,  as  is 
well  known,  rejected  American 
leads  and  all  other  conventional 
signals,  although  learning  them  in 
order  to  keep  watch  of  his  adver- 
saries who  employ  them.  His  most 
recent  definition  of  common-sense 
players  (Sun,  1897)  maybe  taken 
as  a  statement  of  his  own  position: 

"Common-sense  players  use  no 
number-showing  leads,  no  trump- 
signals,  no  echoes,  no  four-signals, 
no  calls  through  honors  turned,  no 
interior  leads,  no  directive  discards, 
nor  anything  of  that  kind.  They 
confine  themselves  to  the  very 
simple  principle  of  playing  strong 
suits  up  and  weak  suits  down. 
None  of  their  plays  have  any  occult 
meaning,  but  they  simply  indicate 
that  they  are  managing  their  hands 
according  to  their  lights.  Their 
partners  are  not  directed  by  any 
private  or  conventional  signals, 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


379 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


and  are  free  to  infer  what  they  can 
from  the  cards  played  by  their 
partners  and  the  apparent  designs 
of  their  adversaries." 

This  very  simple  and  unfettered 
game  differs  somewhat  from  other 
methods  of  short-suit  play,  espe- 
cially from  that  of  E.  C.  Howell 
(originally  a  disciple  of  Foster), 
which  the  latter  finds  almost  as  ob- 
jectionable as  the  long-suit  game 
and  American  leads.  He  says:  "It 
is  not  necessary  for  common-sense 
players  to  agree  beforehand  that 
certain  cards  shall  mean  certain 
things,  which  is  the  essential  prin- 
ciple of  the  Howell  game.  Such  a 
system  confines  the  player,  and 
keeps  him  in  constant  dread  of 
having  to  choose  between  two 
leads,  neither  of  which  expresses 
what  he  wants  his  partner  to  know, 
and  both  of  which  deceive  him  in 
some  degree.  Common-sense  play- 
ers make  leads  that  are  not  clear  to 
their  partners  sometimes,  but  they 
usually  set  them  right  about  their 
hands  before  any  damage  is  done." 

Foster  also  lays  down  the  general 
proposition  elsewhere  that  it  is 
better  for  a  player,  especially  with 
a  strong  hand,  to  play  with  the 
knowledge  that  his  partner  is 
weak,  than  under  the  mistaken 
impression  that  he  may  be  strong. 
Hence  the  uniform  adoption  of 
leads  from  short  suits  when  hold- 
ing weak  hands. 

In  this  connection  we  may  appro- 
priately give  three  illustrative 
hands,  with  comments,  which  Mr. 
Foster  published  in  the  Sun,  as 
showing  the  three  leading  princi- 
ples of  the  short-suit  game  as  taught 
by  him.  The  first  is  the  play  of  a 
strong  hand,  without  much  regard 
to  partner,  involving  a  free  use  of 
false  cards  and  underplay.  Hearts 
are  trumps.  A  leads;  the  under- 
scored card  wins  the  trick,  and  the 
card  below  is  the  next  one  led: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
1  1 
12 
13 

<9  K 

AO 

<y  2 

7  0 
V  4 
V  7 
80 
*  6 

QO 

5  * 

C?10 

<9  8 
2  0 
V  3 

<y  9 

100 
+  10 
3  0 
10  » 
5  0 
*  2 
4  4 
6  * 
7  * 

<9  A 

J  0 

<?  5 
<?  6 
6  0 
+  3 
90 
3  * 
+  4 
+  5 
8  + 
9  * 
4  8 

S>  Q 

<3  J 

4-0 
*  K 

KO 

2  * 

*  7 
*  A 

+  Q 
K* 

+  9 
*  J 

A  * 

Q  * 

J   * 

Score:  A-B,  n;  Y-Z,  2. 

Trick  2. — A  knows  that  his  partner 
must  have  several  of  the  small  diamonds 
which  are  missing,  and  that  the  jack  is 
Z's  best. 

Trick  5. — A  underplays  in  diamonds,  as 
it  is  an  even  chance  whether  Y  or  B  has 
the  queen.  If  Y  has  it,  he  will  naturally 
place  the  king  on  his  left,  on  account  of 
the  false  card  at  trick  2.  Even  if  Y  is 
suspicious  and  puts  on  the  queen,  if  he 
has  it,  he  must  lead  up  to  A.  If  B  can 
win  the  trick,  it  will  give  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  show  his  hand. 

Trick  6.— B  infers  that  his  partner's 
suit  must  be  clubs,  and  he  has  no  diffi- 
culty in  placing  the  diamond  king  in  A's 
hand. 

Trick  7. — A  cannot  place  the  diamond 
queen,  as  B  would  finesse  with  queen,  ten 
against  Z;  but  as  B  must  have  two  dia- 
monds, it  is  better  to  get  the  king  out  of 
his  way. 

Trick  8.— The  fall  of  the  diamonds 
marks  B  with  the  thirteenth,  and  in  order 
to  get  him  in  to  make  it,  A  leads  a  small 
spade.  This  is  one  of  the  principal  things 
about  this  style  of  play.  If  you  want  to 
give  your  partner  discards,  not  to  allow 
him  to  make  tricks,  lead  high  cards;  but 
if  you  want  to  get  him  into  the  lead  for 
any  purpose,  lead  low  ones.  This  strategy 
often  brings  about  very  interesting  situa- 
tions. 

The  onlv  tricks  made  by  Y-Z  in  this 
hand  are  the  ace  of  trumps' and  the  odd 
trump,  which  must  make  in  any  case,  no 
matter  how  the  hand  is  played. 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


380 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


The  second  hand  illustrates  what 
has  been  known  for  many  years  in 
Europe  as  the  "invite."  It  may 
be  played  either  in  trumps  or  in 
plain  suits.  The  invitation  in 
trumps  is  usually  made  when  they 
are  weak,  by  first  showing  the  com- 
mand of  your  long  suit,  or  of  a  re- 
entry suit,  and  then  leading  a 
trump.  It  practically  says  to  part- 
ner: "This  is  my  game,  but  my 
trumps  are  poor.  Can  you  help  me 
out?  If  not,  return  my  suit." 
Partner  is  not  bound  to  return  the 
trump  lead  unless  he  thinks  best, 
and  in  this  respect  the  invitation 
differs  from  an  original  lead  of 
trumps.  The  invitation  in  plain 
suits  is  made  by  beginning  with  a 
small  card  of  a  long  suit  containing 
neither  ace,  king,  nor  king,  queen, 
jack.  The  suit  led  must  be  accom- 
panied by  a  sure  card  of  re-entry  in 
another  suit.  Hearts  are  trumps,  as 
before: 


«' 

1 

H 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1  1 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

QO 
4  7 
<9  5 
V  Q 
V  Q 
4  8 
3  + 
*  J 
5  * 
6  * 
8   * 
100 
J   0 

2  O 
4Q 

40 
4  4 
<3  7 
<9  9 
<9IO 
4  * 
9  * 
7  * 
10* 
J   * 
6  0 
Q  * 
K  * 

_K_0_ 
4  2 
V  K 

V  2 

<3>  J 

V  8 
V  3 
4  3 
A  * 

<?  A 

*  K 

2  * 
3  0 
5  0 
7  0 
8  0 

9  o 

V  4- 

*  A 

410 

4  9 

4  6 
4  5 

AO 

Score:  A-B,  o;  Y-Z,  13. 

Trick  i. — Had  A  followed  the  teachings 
of_Pole,  and  opened  his  four-card  spade 
suit,  the  result  would  have  been  exactly 


the  same;  for  Z,  with  his  re-entry  cards  In 
diamonds,  would  still  have  invited  his 
partner  with  the  small  club,  and  Y  would 
have  been  certain  that  Z's  re-entry  suit 
was  diamonds,  and  not  spades. 

Trick  2.— Z  is  too  weak  to  risk  begin- 
ning with  the  trumps  with  an  unestab- 
lished  suit,  because  a  force  in  spades 
might  ruin  his  hand.  He  cannot  show 
any  card  of  re-entry  before  leading 
trumps,  so  he  invites  his  partner's  assist- 
ance in  making  his  clubs.  In  this  system 
of  play,  all  such  brain-saving  devices  as 
fourth-best  leads  are  utterly  disregarded; 
the  attention  of  the  players  is  concen- 
trated on  the  position  and  on  the  strategy 
to  be  employed,  not  wasted  in  counting 
spots. 

Trick  3. — Y  snaps  at  the  bait  offered  by 
Z,  and  leads  the  trumps  at  once,  knowing 
the  invitation  in  clubs  would  not  be  ex- 
tended without  an  accompanying  card  of 
re-entry  in  one  of  the  other  plain  suits. 

Trick  7. — If  Z's  card  of  re-entry  is  not 
in  spades.  Y  can  trump  the  second  round 
of  that  suit,  and  lead  the  diamonds. 

The  third  hand  illustrates  a  form 
of  play  in  which  you  sacrifice  your 
hand  to  partner  entirely,  having  no 
hope  of  accomplishing  anything 
yourself  except  taking  a  trick  pos- 
sibly in  a  weak  suit  or  making  a 
tenace  perhaps  in  a  short  one.  The 
theory  is  that  when  there  is  nothing 
to  lead  trumps  for,  no  long  suit  to 
play  for,  no  need  of  partner's  as- 
sistance in  anything,  it  is  better  to 
advise  your  partner  early  in  the 
game  not  to  waste  his  substance 
upon  you,  but  to  look  out  for  him- 
self. The  opening  leads  in  this 
form  of  strategy  are  easily  distin- 
guished, because  the  card  led  is 
neither  a  winning  one  nor  a  small 
one,  and  the  suit  to  which  it  be- 
longs is  never  the  trump.  Howell 
calls  this  the  supporting-card  game, 
in  which  a  player,  without  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  suit,  picks  up 
tricks  here  and  there  with  high 
cards,  and  leads  cards  worthless  in 
his  own  hand,  but  of  such  a  size 
that  they  may  help  partner.  High 
cards  and  tenace  strength  are  care- 
fully nursed.  Foster  calls  it  the 
tenace  game.  Hearts  are  trumps, 
and  A  leads,  as  before: 


SHORT- SUIT  LEADS 


381 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 
3 

4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
13 

4  9 

<?  2 

0  7 
C>10 
QO 

*10 

<3  5 
£>  4 
<9  J 
20 
7  * 
6  0 
8  + 
Q  + 
7  0 
90 
1O  0 
J  0 

*  2 
<?  3 
V  6 
V  Q 

4  J 

<9  K 

<?  A 

9?  9 
4  0 
K  * 

8  0 
10  * 
*  4 
J    * 

6  4 

*  6 

*  5 
4  * 
9  * 
KO 
4  8 
*  Q 
*  K 

5  * 
3  * 
A  0 

A  * 

5  0 
3  0 
*  A 

2  » 
*~3 

£>  8 

*  7 

Score  :  A-B,  9  ;  Y-Z,  4. 

Trick  i.— Having  nothing  to  hope  for 
but  the  tenace  in  diamonds,  A  leads 
his  best  supporting  card  to  partner. 
Although  Y  covers  the  nine  led,  B  sees 
no  reason  why  he  should  win  the  trick. 
He  is  fairly  warned  to  look  out  for  him- 
self, and  besides  the  disadvantage  of 
giving  up  the  entire  club  suit  to  the  ad- 
versaries, he  has  a  very  bad  hand  to  lead 
away  from.  Z  naturally  places  the  club 
ace  with  Y,  and  thinking  they  have  the 
entire  suit  between  them,  with  a  prob- 
able ruff  staring  them  in  the  face,  he 
wins  his  partner's  trick  to  lead  trumps, 
which  is  very  proper  -with  his  good  re- 
entry cards. 

Trick  4. — Z  cannot  tell  whether  his 
partner  has  three  trumps  or  four,  but  it 
is  better  to  go  on.  From  the  fall  of  the 
cards  no  one  but  the  holder  of  it  knows 
who  has  the  last  trump. 

Trick  6. — Partner  having  apparently 
nothing  in  clubs  or  diamonds,  A  natu- 
rally tries  the  spades,  which  B  must 
finesse. 

Trick  7.— Z's  idea  of  the  hand  now  is 
that  his  partner  must  have  the  club  ace 
and  an  honor  in  spades,  so  he  leads  a 
small  club  to  get  his  suit  unblocked.  A 
follows  the  invariable  short-suit  princi- 
ple of  second-hand  play,  "  cover  every- 
thing," and  afterward  plays  the  spade 
suit  "down,"  enabling  partner  to  mark 
him  absolutely  with  the  trey  and  deuce. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the 
last  seven  tricks  in  this  hand  were  eye- 
openers. 


Short-Suit  Leads,  Howeil's.— 
The  most  radical  of  the  short-suit 
advocates  is  probably  Edwin  C. 
Howell,  of  Boston,  whose  ideas 
were  at  first  imbibed  from  Foster, 
but  who  soon  started  out  upon  in- 
dependent lines  of  his  own.  He 
tells  us  that  a  few  years  ago,  while 
discussing  with  Foster  the  short- 
suit  ideas  promulgated  in  the 
latter's  "  Whist  Strategy,"  he  asked 
if  they  could  not  be  reduced  to 
a  system,  perhaps  the  same  as 
the  long-suit,  or  modern  scientific 
game.  Mr.  Foster  did  not  see  how 
such  a  thing  could  be  done;  in  fact, 
he  was  not  in  favor  of  laying  down 
any  hard-and-fast  rules.  He  be- 
lieved in  allowing  every  good 
player  to  use  his  judgment  in  re- 
gard to  the  opening  of  his  hand, 
and  above  all,  he  wished  to  avoid 
a  cut-and-dried,  wooden,  or  "  par- 
rotic"  style  of  play. 

' '  All  this, ' '  says  Mr.  Howell, 
' '  was  very  charming  and  inge- 
nious; but  I  held  then,  have  always 
maintained,  and  believe  now  more 
firmly  than  ever,  that  a  definite 
system  of  play,  founded  in  princi- 
ple and  developed  by  information- 
giving  conventions,  is  essential  to 
the  practice  of  whist,  however 
pleasing  the  go-as-you-please  tactics 
may  be  in  theory."  Hence,  Mr. 
Howeil's  book,  "Whist  Open- 
ings," which  appeared  in  1896,  and 
the  so-called  Howell  game  therein 
advocated.  This  may  be  briefly 
summarized  as  follows:  When  a 
player  holds  a  long  suit  which  is 
not  headed  by  a  sequence  of  two  or 
more  high  cards,  and  is  not  accom- 
panied by  such  strength  in  trumps 
and  other  plain  suits  that,  with 
reasonable  assistance  from  partner, 
it  may  be  established  and  brought 
in,  it  should  be  left  untouched,  for 
the  player  is  more  likely  to  make 
tricks  in  it  if  some  one  else  opens 
it.  Instead  of  leading  from  such  a 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


382 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


suit,  he  should  lead  from  one  in 
which  he  does  not  expect  to  make 
a  trick,  and  then  he  will  not  be 
disappointed.  Nor  will  he  com- 
promise partner's  hand  by  forcing 
him  to  make  a  probable  sacrifice 
that  can  do  neither  any  good.  On 
the  other  hand,  by  leading  a  fairly 
high  card  from  his  poor  suit,  the 
player  will  probably  strengthen 
partner's  hand,  and  if  he  leads 
from  a  very  short  suit  he  may  also 
win  a  trick  or  two  in  trumps,  just 
when  he  needs  them.  "Such," 
says  Mr.  Howell,  "are  the  distinct 
earmarks  of  the  short-suit  game — 
tender  nursing  of  strength  that 
cannot  take  care  of  itself,  support 
of  partner  without  sacrifice,  and 
cheerful  consent  to  a  '  force '  with 
weak  trumps  or  strong  if  you  see 
nothing  better." 

He  next  proposes  to  throw  aside 
the  whole  system  of  American 
leads  (with  the  exception  of  the 
trump  indications),  and  to  substi- 
tute therefor  his  plan  by  which  the 
general  character  of  the  whole 
hand,  instead  of  only  one  suit,  may 
be  shown  by  the  lead.  For  this 
purpose  he  defines  five  ways  in 
which  tricks  may  be  won,  each  de- 
pendent upon  the  cards  held  in 
hand,  as  follows:  (i)  The  long-suit 
game.  (2)  The  supporting  -  card 
game,  played  by  "preserving  your 
high  cards  and  tenace  strength,  and 
leading  cards  worthless  in  your 
hand,  but  of  such  a  size  that  they 
may  help  partner."  (3)  The  high- 
card  game,  "  having  several  high 
cards  in  sequence  in  a  plain  suit, 
you  may  endeavor  to  win  tricks 
with  them  as  early  as  possible, 
without  regard  for  the  rest  of  the 
hand."  (4)  The  ruffing  game, 
starting  in  with  the  lead  from  a 
very  short  suit,  in  order  to  win 
tricks  in  it  by  ruffing.  (5)  The 
trump  attack,  "having  length  and 
strength  in  trumps,  and  at  least  one 


good  plain  suit,  or  winning  cards 
scattered  among  the  three  plain 
suits."  He  advises  his  followers 
to  "  play  the  long-suit  game  if  you 
have  a  good  plain  suit,  fair  strength 
in  trumps,  and  at  least  one  reason- 
ably probable  card  of  re-entry  in 
another  suit,"  and  adds:  "You 
should  not  indicate  the  long-suit 
game  by  your  original  lead,  unless 
you  are  perfectly  willing  that 
partner  should  immediately  lead 
trumps,  from  stronger  weak  ones." 
As  for  the  manner  of  indicating  to 
partner  the  long-suit  or  any  other 
of  the  five  styles  of  game,  the  author 
gives  in  brief  the  meaning  of  the 
various  leads,  as  follows: 

A  ce—  followed  by  king,  indicates  the 
high-card  game,  generally  five  or  more 
in  suit,  with  little  or  no  strength  out- 
side of  the  suit  led;  followed  by  a  small 
card,  indicates  the  ruffing  game,  with 
probably  no  more  in  the  suit  led. 

King— followed  by  ace,  indicates  the 
high-card  game,  but  greater  accompany- 
ing strength  than  ace  followed  by  king; 
unaccompanied  by  ace,  indicates  the 
high-card  game,  with  probably  queen  and 
jack  and  others  of  the  suit  remaining. 

Queen — indicates  the  supporting-card 
game,  and  not  more  than  two  in  suit. 

Jack — followed  by  queen,  indicates  the 
high-card  game,  the  suit  led  being  queen, 
jack,  ten,  and  others;  followed  by  ace  or 
king,  or  a  small  card,  indicates  the  sup- 
porting-card game,  and  generally  not 
more  than  three  in  suit. 

Ten  or  nine— indicates  the  supporting- 
card  game;  followed  by  jack  or  ten,  re- 
spectively, indicates  a  suit  of  four  or 
more;  does  not  deny  higher  cards  in  the 
suit. 

Eight,  seven,  or  six — indicates  the  ruff- 
ing game,  with  generally  not  more  than 
two  in  suit;  generally  denies  any  higher 
card  in  suit. 

Five,  four,  three,  or  two— indicates  the 
long-suit  game,  with  probably  a  good 
suit,  and  certainly  trump  strength;  com- 
mands partner,  if  he  gets  in  early,  to  lead 
trumps. 

As  already  intimated,  only  in  the 
matter  of  trumps  does  Mr.  Howell 
retain  a  vestige  of  the  American 
leads.  He  says:  "  In  trumps  use 
the  American  leads  to  show  num- 
ber, including  the  fourth  best;  lead 


SHORT -SUIT  LEADS 


383 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


the  fourth  best  from  king,  jack, 
ten,  and  others,  and  ten  from  queen, 
jack,  and  others." 

Under  the  Howell  system,  every  card 
originally  led  must  have  a  certain  mean- 
ing, and  if  there  is  no  card  in  the  hand 
which  will  convey  the  meaning  intended 
the  partner  is  just  as  much  deceived  as  in 
the  long-suit  game.  Many  instances  occur 
in  which  the  leader  cannot  properly  show 
his  hand.  His  long  suit  has  no  card  be- 
low a  seven;  his  short  suit  has  none  above 
a  five;  he  has  no  supporting  cards,  his 
suits  being  headed  by  kings,  with  very 
small  trump-inviting  cards  with  them. 
Many  cases  arise  in  which  an  interme- 
diate or  ambiguous  card  must  be  selected, 
or  a  ruff  must  be  invited  in  a  suit  in  which 
the  leader  holds  three  cards. — R.  F.  Foster 
[5.  O.],  New  York  Sun,  1896. 

Short-Suit  Leads,  Keiley's. 
The  system  of  short-suit  leads  ad- 
vocated by  Charles  R.  Keiley,  in 
his  "  Common  Sense  in  Whist," 
(which  he  had  nearly  ready  for 
press  in  1898)  differs  radically  from 
that  of  Howell,  and  conforms  more 
closely  to  the  ideas  of  Foster. 

"  Whist,"  says  Mr.  Keiley  in  the 
introduction  to  his  book,  "has 
been  called  a  battle  royal  of  brains. 
The  players  are  the  generals,  and 
the  cards  the  forces.  The  forces 
are  sometimes  strong,  sometimes 
weak.  Strong  in  themselves,  as  in 
the  case  of  trumps;  strong  by  posi- 
tion, as  suits  with  tenaces;  or  strong 
by  development,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
good  long  suit,  a  re-entry  card,  and 
trumps  out.  The  forces  are  weak 
•when  the  opener  has  simply  to  play 
and  hope,  when  he  has  little  or 
nothing  himself,  but  hopes  for  a 
big  game  by  his  partner's  aid. 

"  A  general  needs  common  sense 
on  the  battlefield;  so  does  the  whist- 
player  at  the  table.  If,  when  study- 
ing military  tactics,  one  were  told 
to  follow  a  plan  which  proved 
abortive  nine  times  to  one  success, 
•what  would  be  thought  of  the  pro- 
fessor? This  is  what  the  long- 
suiters  urge  at  whist.  No  one  who 
claims  to  be  an  authority  on  the 


rigid  long-suit  game  will  aver  that 
a  suit  is  established  in  the  opener's 
hand  oftener  than  once  in  ten.  Does 
it  seem  reasonable  to  follow  such  a 
plan  exclusively?  The  fact  that 
there  is  a  success  occasionally  will 
prevent  the  long-suit  game  from 
being  abandoned,  but  that  does  not 
prevent  departures  from  it. 

"  Whist  should  be  considered 
from  the  standpoints  of  attack  and 
defense.  The  opener  should  not 
always  be  on  the  offensive,  for  ag- 
gressive methods  often  produce 
undesired  results  when  strength  is 
absent;  on  the  other  hand,  too 
much  defense  prevents  great  gains. 
Attack,  defend,  or  run.  Play  the 
long  suit  or  the  trump  attack,  play 
the  supporting-card  game,  or  take 
your  high  cards  in  before  a  cruel 
frost  blights  their  prospects." 

Mr.  Keiley's  method  is  some- 
times called  the  New  York  game, 
and  is  an  elaboration  of  the  tactics 
employed  by  the  team  from  the 
New  York  Whist  Club,  which,  un- 
der Mr.  Keiley's  captaincy,  won 
the  Challenge  Trophy  at  the  sixth 
congress  of  the  American  Whist 
League.  Mr.  Keiley  holds  that 
it  is  unadvisable  to  attempt  the 
long-suit  game  with  an  unestab- 
lished  suit,  unless  the  hand  con- 
tains, besides  the  long  suit,  three 
trumps  with  two  honors,  or  four 
trumps  with  an  honor,  or  five  me- 
dium trumps;  and  in  each  case  a 
card  of  re-entry  in  another  suit. 
Here  are  the  leads  advocated  by 
him  in  detail: 

The  lead  of  ace  shows  a  suit  of 
five  or  more  without  the  queen  or 
the  jack.  If  the  ace  be  followed 
by  king,  the  player  is  weak  and  is 
"running" — that  is,  trying  to  get 
what  tricks  he  can  before  the  high 
cards  sour  in  his  hand.  The  play- 
ers employing  this  system  rarely 
lead  the  ace  when  they  have  not 
the  king;  and  when  they  are  forced 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


384 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


to  lead  from  the  ace,  queen,  jack 
combination,  they  often  open  with 
a.  low  card. 

The  lead  of  the  king  shows  two 
tricks  in  the  suit;  accordingly  it  is 
led  originally  only  from  ace,  king, 
or  king,  queen,  jack  combinations. 
From  king,  queen,  and  small,  the 
lead  is  usually  a  small  card.  From 
king,  queen,  ten,  and  others,  the 
king  is  not  led  unless  the  suit  is 
very  long. 

The  queen-lead  shows  the  ability 
to  win  the  third  round  in  the  suit; 
accordingly  it  is  led  from  queen 
and  one  small;  from  queen,  jack, 
ten,  or  sometimes  from  queen,  jack, 
nine.  The  lead  from  queen  and 
one  small  is  avoided,  however, 
when  the  hand  presents  a  better 
opportunity. 

The  jack  is  always  the  top  of  the 
suit.  The  lead  of  the  jack  from 
jack  and  one  small  is  regarded  as 
an  ideal  one  in  this  game. 

The  ten  is  usually  led  as  the  top 
of  the  suit,  though  it  may  be  an 
intermediate.  A  suit  of  four  or  five 
cards,  headed  by  the  ten,  is  opened 
with  this  card. 

The  nine  is  never  led  as  a  fourth 
best,  or  as  an  intermediate;  only  as 
the  top  of  nothing. 

The  eight,  seven,  six,  five,  four, 
trey,  and  deuce  are  either  the  top 
of  short  weak  suits,  or  the  bottom 
of  long  and  moderately  well-sup- 
ported suits.  If  from  weak  suits, 
the  hand  is  "  played  down;"  that 
is,  if  the  eight  is  led  from  eight, 
six,  two,  the  six  is  played  on  the 
second  round.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  suit  is  moderately  strong  it  is 
"  played  up." 

Short-Suit  Leads,  Starnes'. — 

We  have  already  seen  that  Fos- 
ter's short-suit  observations  in  his 
"Whist  Strategy"  caused  E.  C. 
Howell  to  enter  the  field  as  an  ex- 
ponent of  exact  rules  for  short-suit 


play.  Foster's  "Whist  Strategy" 
is  likewise  responsible  for  another 
able  attempt,  upon  somewhat  dif- 
ferent lines,  to  reduce  the  short- 
suit  game  to  a  science.  We  allude 
to  Val.W.  Starnes'  book  on  "Short- 
Suit  Whist,"  published  in  1896. 

Mr.  Starnes  starts  out  by  saying, 
that  most  writers  on  whist  have  in 
the  past  merely  touched  upon  the 
original  lead  from  a  short  suit, 
which  they  regard  as  forced,  but 
he  can  see  no  reason  why  some 
one  should  not  undertake  for  the 
short-suit  game  what  so  many  have 
done  for  the  long,  that  is,  "to  dis- 
integrate and  analyze  its  require- 
ments, and  build  up  therefrom  a 
connected  system  of  play  that 
should  be  to  some  extent  at  least 
amenable  to  rule."  He  confesses 
that  the  short- suit  game  does  not 
as  readily  lend  itself  to  "rule  of 
thumb"  as  the  long-suit  game,  but 
is  of  the  opinion  that  it  can  be 
systematized  to  a  much  greater  ex- 
tent than  is  generally  supposed, 
and  that  many  definite  directions 
can  be  given,  which  will  enable 
the  partners  easily  to  read  each 
other's  hands.  When  both  part- 
ners have  some  acquaintance  with 
this  method  of  play,  Mr.  Starnes 
very  much  questions  the  wisdom  of 
the  original  lead  from  the  long 
suit  under  all  circumstances;  but  to 
go  to  the  other  extreme,  and  insist 
upon  the  universal  adoption  of  the 
short-suit  lead,  he  is  frank  to  ad- 
mit, "would  be  taking  a  still  bolder 
step,  and  would  be  almost  as  great 
a  mistake  as  the  invariable  lead 
from  the  long  suit." 

Like  Foster  he  eschews  American 
leads  and  remains  loyal  to  the  old 
system.  By  taking  the  conven- 
tional long-suit  leads  under  this 
system  as  a  standard,  he  says:  "  We 
are  enabled  to  detect  the  short- 
suit  leads  by  the  difference  between 
the  two.  If,"  he  continues,  "I 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


385 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


lead  a  card,  that  by  general  consent, 
is  led  only  when  accompanied  by  a 
certain  other  card,  and  you  know 
that  I  do  not  hold  that  other  card, 
you  also  know  that  I  have  not 
made  a  conventional  lead.  This  is 
negative  evidence  that  I  have  made 
a  short-suit  lead." 

If  forced  to  open  a  suit  from 
which  no  conventional  lead  can  be 
made,  he  advises  that  it  should 
be  treated  as  a  short  suit,  and  led 
from  as  such.  The  various  short- 
suit  leads  are  given  by  him  as 
follows,  the  two-card  suit  being 
considered  the  "short  suit  par  ex- 
cellence:" 

Ace,  king  alone.— "With  these  two  cards 
it  is  evident  that  nothing  would  be 
gained  by  leading  either  of  them.  *  *  * 
It  is  therefore  better  to  begin  with 
another  suit,  keeping  the  ace-king  suit 
for  purposes  of  re-entry.  *  *  * 

Ace,  queen  alone. — These  cards  forming 
the  major  tenace,  you  will,  of  course, 
lead  neither  of  them. 

Ace,  jack  alone. — These  cards,  and  ace, 
ten,  are  best  led  up  to;  so  that  with  such 
a  combination  you  should  select  some 
other  suit.  If  your  hand  is  so  constituted 
that  you  cannot  avoid  playing  one  of 
these,  as  when  you  hold  tenace  in  all 
three  of  the  other  suits,  lead  the  lower 
card,  the  jack  or  ten,  not  the  ace. 

Ace  and  one  small. — With  the  ace  and 
any  other  card  from  the  nine  to  the  two, 
always  lead  the  small  card,  if  you  must 
lead  the  suit  at  all.  As  already  stated,  it 
is  best  to  keep  commanding  cards.  *  *  * 

King,  queen  alone.— With  these  lead  the 
king,  for  with  the  royal  couple  you  can 
afford  to  force  out  the  ace  at  the  sacrifice 
of  his  majesty,  since  you  are  left  in  com- 
mand, with  the  queen  as  a  card  of  re- 
entry, and  at  the  same  time  have  thrown 
the  lead. 

King  and  one  small. — With  these  you 
should  lead  some  other  suit,  in  conform- 
ity with  the  principle  that  with  the 
second  best  only  once  guarded  it  is  safer 
to  let  some  one  else  lead  the  suit.  *  *  * 

In  all  other  cases  lead  the  higher  of  two 
cards. 

With  any  two  cards  lower  than  the 
nine  some  other  suit  should  be  selected 
for  the  opening  lead,  as  partner  will  find 
it  very  difficult  to  read  the  lead  correctly. 
In  desperate  cases  you  may  go  as  low  as  a 
seven,  or  perhaps  a  six,  provided  you  ad- 
here strictly  to  the  rule  of  leading  always 
the  higher  card. 

25 


If  a  singleton  is  to  be  led  at  all,  the 
denomination  of  it,  so  that  it  is  lower 
than  a  king,  does  not  matter. 

In  continuing  short-suit  leads, 
Mr.  Starnes  is  of  the  opinion  that  it 
is  always  desirable  to  follow  up  a 
strengthening  card  with  another 
card  of  the  same  suit.  For  instance, 
if  you  lead  a  queen,  and  it  wins,  he 
advises  going  on  with  the  suit;  so 
also  with  the  lead  of  jack,  but  if  a 
ten  or  nine  wins,  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances, it  should  generally  be 
followed  by  a  lead  of  trumps,  as 
partner  must  be  very  strong  in  the 
suit.  He  would  in  such  case  lead 
trumps  if  possessed  of  four  trumps 
with  one  honor,  or  three  trumps 
with  two  honors.  Of  trump  leads 
in  general  he  says:  "  Although 
short-suit  leads  are  never  made  in 
trumps,  the  system  of  leading 
trumps  should  be  thoroughly  un- 
derstood, as  it  varies  somewhat 
from  plain-suit  leads."  Much  space 
is  naturally  devoted  by  him  to  ten- 
ace, finesse,  and  cross-ruffing,  and 
he  lays  down  this  fundamental 
principle  and  ruling  motive  of  the 
short-suit  game,  which  he  considers 
the  essence  of  all  whist:  "  Every 
card,  individually,  is  more  valuable 
when  led  up  to  than  when  led." 
He  says  in  conclusion:  "The  long 
suit  is  admirably  adapted  to  a  fine 
hand,  but  such  hands  are  sadly  in 
the  minority.  The  short-suit  game 
provides  for  the  great  majority  of 
hands,  which  are  only  moderately 
strong  or  woefully  weak." 

The  following  illustrative  hands 
and  comments  are  from  the  book, 
and  show  Mr.  Starnes'  mode  of 
play  contrasted  with  that  of  strict 
long-suit  players.  Hearts  trumps. 
A  and  B  are  partners,  and  play  the 
long-suit  game,  against  Y  and  Z, 
who  are  short-suiters.  A  leads.  The 
underlined  card  wins  the  trick,  and 
the  card  below  it  is  the  one  which 
is  led  next: 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


386 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 

V  6 

<?  5 

<?  3 

<9  9 

2 

QO 

KO 

AO 

J  0 

3 

<?  2 

V  A 

V  4 

9?  10 

4 

40 

100 

30 

20 

5 

<2  7 

90 

50 

70 

6 

Q* 

A  * 

6  * 

5* 

7 

4  8 

*  2 

*  3 

*  J 

8 

<?  K 

4  * 

60 

V  Q 

9 

K* 

7* 

J   * 

8  * 

1O 

2  « 

A  4 

*  5 

10* 

11 

97  8 

4Q 

4  6 

V  J 

12 

3  A 

4  A 

*  7 

*  K 

13 

9  * 

80 

+  10 

*  9 

Score:  A-B,  4;  Y-Z,  9. 

Comments  by  Mr.  Starnes: 

Trick  i. — A  has  been  taught  al- 
ways to  lead  trumps  from  five;  so 
he  begins  with  his  fourth-best  heart. 

Trick  2. — Z  is  a  short-suit  player, 
and  wants  his  club  tenace  led  up  to 
if  possible.  Both  his  other  suits 
being  weak,  he  selects  the  one  with 
the  highest  card,  other  than  an  ace 
or  king,  and  leads  it  to  his  partner 
as  a  supporting  card.  A  properly 
covers  with  the  queen,  which  would 
gain  a  trick  if  the  positions  of  the 
ace  and  king  were  reversed. 

Trick  3. — B  has  been  taught  that 
only  sudden  illness  or  having  no 
trumps,  will  excuse  the  failure  to 
return  partner's  original  lead  of  the 
trump  suit. 

Trick  4. — Y  continues  the  estab- 
lished diamond  suit  to  force  the 
strong  trump  hand. 

Trick  6. — As  A  cannot  catch  both 
Z's  trumps,  he  must  proceed  to  the 
establishment  of  the  spades. 

Trick  7. — If  Y  continues  dia- 
monds, A  will  make  both  his 
trumps;  so  he  is  forced  to  open  the 


club  suit,  beginning  with  the 
smallest  card  so  as  not  to  promote 
the  minor  tenace  if  it  is  in  the  ad- 
versaries' hands.  Z  finesses  the 
jack,  as  Y's  lead  must  be  from  a 
strong  suit;  the  deuce  not  being  a 
supporting  card. 

Trick  8. — Z's  play  is  now  to  pre- 
vent A  from  making  both  his 
trumps. 

Now  let  us  examine  the  overplay, 
in  which  A  and  B  are  short-suit 
players,  while  their  adversaries,  Y 
and  Z,  follow  the  long-suit  system: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
IO 
11 
12 
13 

QO 
2  * 

40 
V  2 
V  6 

4  8 
9  7 

KO 
A  * 

AO 

2  0 
5  4 
J  0 
V  Q 

J  * 

3  0 

<?  3 

<y  4 

4  3 
5  0 
6  0 
6  * 
4  5 
4  6 
4  7 
410 

100 

V  5 
9  A 
*  2 
8  0 
4  * 
7  * 
4  4 
A  Q 
9  0 
4  A 

V  J 
4  K 

7  0 
<9  9 
8  * 
10* 

<?10 

<?  K 

K  » 

Q» 

9  * 
<?  8 

4  J 
4  9 

3  » 

Score  :  A-B,  7  ;  Y-Z,  6. 

Comments  by  Mr.  Starnes: 
Trick  i. — Having  no  reason  to 
lead  trumps,  even  with  five,  and  not 
having  three  honors  in  his  long 
suit,  A  prefers  the  good  short-suit 
lead  in  diamonds.  Although  Y  has 
not  the  fourchette,  the  cards  he 
holds  below  the  king  are  strong 
enough  to  warrant  him  in  forcing 
A-B  to  play  two  honors  to  win  this 
trick.  The  fall  of  the  cards  leaves 
the  jack  the  only  card  out  against 
Y's  diamonds. 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


387 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


Trick  2. — B  returns  the  support- 
ing spade,  which  A  finesses. 

Trick  3. — Y,  being  a  long-suit 
player,  proceeds  to  establish  the 
diamond  suit  by  leading  one  of  the 
second  and  third  best.  Z  wins  this 
trick  in  order  to  lead  trumps,  as  he 
knows  diamonds  must  be  Y's  suit, 
and  he  has  four  good  trumps  and  a 
card  of  re-entry  in  clubs. 

Trick  6. — Y  leads  a  small  club  as 
the  best  chance  to  get  his  partner 
into  the  lead  again  to  continue  the 
trumps.  Being  a  long-suit  player, 
Z  does  not  finesse  the  club  jack. 

Trick  7. — Z  cannot  risk  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  trumps,  but  pre- 
fers to  force  with  the  diamond  suit. 

Trick  8. — A  draws  one  of  Z's 
trumps,  and  forces  the  other  with 
the  established  spade  suit. 

The  rest  of  the  hand  plays  itself. 
The  result  is  a  distinct  gain  of  three 
tricks,  which  are  made  in  the  face  of 
the  best  defensive  play  possible  for 
Y-Z.  A  very  little  carelessness  on 
the  part  of  the  long-suit  players 
would  have  lost  them  three  tricks 
more,  making  the  gain  of  the  short- 
suit  play  six  tricks  instead  of  three. 
For  instance:  On  the  original  A 
might  have  played  the  king  of 
trumps  on  the  return  of  the  suit, 
which  would  have  made  it  possible 
for  Z  to  draw  both  his  trumps  after 
one  had  been  forced  out  by  Y's 
diamonds.  This  would  have  lost 
three  tricks.  Another  would  have 
been  lost  if  Y  had  not  covered  the 
diamond  queen  on  the  overplay. 

In  the  original,  Z's  short-suit  lead 
of  the  diamond  jack  enables  his 
partner  to  win  two  tricks  in  the 
suit;  while  the  long-suit  player 
with  the  same  cards  got  none.  In 
the  overplay  B's  short-suit  lead  of 
spade  jack  enabled  his  partner  to 
take  three  tricks  in  spades;  but  in 
the  original  the  player  who  led  this 
suit  got  none.  In  the  trump  suit 
the  short-suit  player  made  three 


tricks  by  not  leading  them;  while 
the  player  who  led  them  got  two 
only. 

Short-Suit   Leads,    Tormey's. 

— While  a  number  of  clever  writers 
on  whist  have  tried  to  develop  short- 
suit  play  after  the  manner  of  the 
long-suit  game,  by  extending  and 
forming  it  into  a  separate  system, 
and  have  paid  as  much  attention 
to  it  as  writers  on  the  other  side 
have  to  long  suits;  and  while  others, 
like  Charles  S.  Street,  have  pro- 
posed a  mixture  of  long  and  short- 
suit  ideas  for  expert  play  (see, 
"  Modified  Game"),  there  are  some 
long-suit  advocates  and  players 
who  believe  in  essentially  uphold- 
ing the  long-suit  game  as  the  stand- 
ard, and  providing  more  liberally 
than  heretofore  for  forced  leads  or 
short-suit  play  in  emergencies.  One 
of  these  is  P.  J.  Tormey,  of  San 
Francisco,  who  has  propounded 
and  answered  the  following  series 
of  questions: 

/.  You  hold,  say,  three  three-card 
suits,  and  four  trumps.  What 
then  ? 

Lead  the  top  of  a  three-card  suit 
headed  by  queen  or  jack,  or  the 
bottom  of  one  headed  by  ace  or 
king;  and,  if  you  hold  two  tenaces, 
lead  the  fourth-best  trump.  (See 
note  on  trump  lead,  case  4.) 

2.  Same    holding,   only    change 
the  four  trumps  to  plain  suit.  What 
then  f 

If  the  four-card  suit  is  headed  by 
the  eight  or  nine,  lead  the  top  (or 
highest),  never  the  bottom.  If  the 
suit  of  four  cards  is  headed  by  a 
ten  or  higher,  lead  fourth  best.  If 
the  highest  is  a  seven  or  under, 
don't  lead  from  it;  open  a  three- 
card  suit.  (See  case  i.) 

3 .  You  hold  five  or  six  cards  of  a 
plain  suit,  headed  by  an  eight,  two 
or  three   small  trumps,   no  suit. 
What  then  f 


SHORT-SUIT  LEADS 


388 


SHORT  WHIST 


If  you  hold  five  or  six  cards  of  a 
suit  headed  by  eight  or  lower,  treat 
it  as  worthless,  and  don't  open  it. 
Open  a  three-card  suit;  if  you  can- 
not do  so,  open  a  two-card  suit  from 
the  top,  if  not  higher  than  a  queen. 

4.  You   hold  four,  five,   or  six 
small  trumps  and  no  plain  suit. 

What  then  ? 

When  you  are  the  original 
leader,  and  hold  four,  five,  or  even 
six  small  trumps,  and  no  suit  worth 
trying  to  establish,  or  want  to  pro- 
tect a  high  card  or  tenace  in  one  of 
your  short  suits,  or  when  you  think 
a  lead  of  trumps  is  the  best  protec- 
tion for  your  hand,  lead  the  small- 
est from  four,  five,  or  even  six,  and 
have  the  lead  convey  this  informa- 
tion to  your  partner:  This  is  my 
lowest  trump.  I  have  four  or  five, 
or  possibly  six,  and  no  plain  suit  to 
establish,  and  you  should  not  re- 
turn trump  without  good  reasons 
of  your  own  for  doing  so.  If  my 
partner  does  return  trump  immedi- 
ately, he  should  say  by  so  doing 
that  he  has  a  suit  he  can  bring  in; 
not  a  suit  to  establish,  for  if  it  was 
not  established  he  should  lead  from 
it  first,  and  then  return  trump,  and 
not  until  then.  The  original  leader 
can  "high-low"  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  tell  number  of  trumps,  if 
he  wishes  to.  If  the  original  leader 
wants  an  immediate  or  quick  re- 
turn of  the  trump  suit,  then  lead 
any  trump  that  can  mark  a  lower 
one  in  hand;  number  can  be  shown 
later  by  the  "high-low"  play.  If 
the  trump  holding  is  headed  by  a 
card  no  higher  than  a  nine,  then 
lead  from  the  top  when  you  want 
trumps  immediately  returned. 

5.  You  hold  seven  small  trumps 
and  no  plain  suit.      What  then? 

If  you  hold  seven  or  more  small 
trumps  and  no  suit,  you  are  justified 
in  leading  from  a  two-card  suit  or 
singleton,  proclaiming  great  trump 
strength,  and  inviting  a  cross-ruff, 


or  any  other  use  of  your  trumps  that 
your  partner  wants  you  to  accept 

Short  Whist.— The  English  game 
of  five  points,  with  honors  count- 
ing. The  original  game,  as  taught 
by  Hoyle  and  his  immediate  suc- 
cessors, was  long  whist,  ten  points, 
with  honors  counting.  But  this 
was  shortened,  about  the  year  1810, 
to  five  points,  the  honors  being  still 
counted  as  before.  The  change  is 
said  to  have  been  due  to  heavy 
losses  at  the  table  on  the  part  of 
Lord  Peterborough  ( for  whist  was 
played  for  heavy  stakes  in  the  Eng- 
lish clubs  in  those  days),  and  a 
chivalrous  desire  on  the  part  of  his 
fellow-players  to  give  him  a  quicker 
opportunity  to  win  his  money  back 
— or  lose  more.  At  any  rate,  the 
game  was  cut  in  two  to  please  the 
gamblers.  The  retention  of  the 
count  of  the  honors  at  the  old 
value  greatly  increased  the  element 
of  chance,  for  a  side  now  holding 
all  four  honors  (ace,  king,  queen, 
jack)  counts  four  by  honors,  and 
thus  has  only  one  point  to  make  by 
cards  in  order  to  go  out.  If  the 
players  on  a  side  hold  three  honors 
they  count  two,  as  heretofore,  and 
if  each  side  holds  two  honors  are 
not  counted,  of  course.  When  the 
game  was  ten  points  the  chance  of 
turning  the  honors  did  not  exercise 
so  great  an  influence  on  the  game. 
In  order  to  bring  the  laws  of  whist 
into  harmony  with  the  shortened 
form  of  the  game,  a  committee  of 
the  Arlington  (now  Turf)  Club,  in 
London,  co-operated  with  John 
Loraine  Baldwin  in  revising  the 
same,  and  in  1864  Mr.  Baldwin 
published  "The  Laws  of  Short 
Whist,"  together  with  an  essay  on 
the  game,  by  James  Clay.  The 
English  code  as  then  adopted  by 
the  Arlington,  Portland,  and  other 
whist  clubs,  remains  in  authority 
in  England  to-day. 


SHORT  WHIST 


389 


SHUFFLING 


Whist  under  the  English  code  is 
largely  played  for  stakes.  The 
leading  English  whist  authorities 
admit  that  the  counting  of  hon- 
ors, with  only  five  points  to  the 
game,  is  a  serious  objection,  as  one 
hand  may  contain  four  out  of  the 
five  points  necessary  to  win,  and 
consequently  the  element  of  chance 
may  amount  to  four-fifths  of  the 
entire  game,  leaving  only  one-fifth 
to  skill.  This  gives  the  poor  play- 
ers, as  the  saying  goes,  a  chance  for 
their  money,  and  is  one  reason  why 
playing  for  stakes  is  so  firmly  rooted 
in  England. 

To  divide  the  game  into  two  parts  does 
not  divest  it  of  any  of  its  essential  quali- 
ties; it  is  still  treble,  double,  or  single,  and 
is  quite  as  amusing  as  before. — Descha- 
pelles  [O.],  "Laws." 

Had  the  honors  been  cut  in  two  when 
the  game  was  divided,  leaving  three  out 
of  the  five  points  to  be  obtained  by  skill, 
the  gambling  element  in  the  composition 
of  the  game  would  have  been  diminished. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  short  whist, with- 
out honors,  is  preferred.—  A.  Trump, Jr. 
[L.  O.],  "Short  Whist,"  1880. 

One  of  the  most  radical  changes  in  the 
game  itself  has  been  cutting  down  the 
points  from  ten  to  five,  which  occurred 
about  1810.  Mathews  mentions  it  in  1813 
as  having  occurred  since  the  publication 
of  his  first  edition  in  1804,  and  Lord  Peter- 
borough, the  unlucky  gambler  for  whose 
benefit  the  change  was  introduced,  died 
in  1814.— /?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Complete 
Hoyle." 

Short  whist  [is]  a  game  of  five  points, 
•with  a  possibility  of  winning  four  by 
honors,  and  an  average  of  about  two, 
leaving  but  three  points  to  be  won  by 
play;  while  the  confessedlv  more  scien- 
tific game  of  long  whist,  with  its  average 
of  four  points  by  honors  and  six  by 
tricks,  bears  a  much  closer  analogy  to  the 
American  game  of  seven  points,  no  hon- 
ors, which  is  more  scientific  still.— Emery 
Boardman  [L+A  ],  "Winning  Whist." 

In  "My  Novel"  [by  Bulwer-Lytton] 
there  is  depicted,  with  the  touch  of  a  mas- 
ter, the  state  of  mind  of  the  players  of 
the  two  schools.  Short  whist  had  been 
introduced  at  Squire  Hazeldean's.  Cap- 
tain Barnabas,  who  played  at  Graham's 
with  honor  and  profit,  and  who  there,  no 
doubt,  imbibed  his  new-fangled  style  of 
play,  is  partner  with  Parson  Dale.  The 
Parson  plays  a  capital  rubber;  he  is  one 


of  the  old  school,  careful  to  a  degree. 
The  Captain  happens,  at  a  doubtful  point, 
to  leaa  a  trump  (we  stop  to  say  that, 
whatever  our  opinion  may  be  worth,  we 
should  have  done  the  same),  and  he  loses 
the  game.  He  is  soundly  rated  by  the 
Parson  for  his  trump  lead. — "Cavendish" 
[L.  A.\,  "The  Whist  Table." 

S  h  u  f f  I  i  n  g.  — The  art  of  mixing  or 
intermingling  the  cards  before  they 
are  dealt  out  to  the  players.  Each 
trick  taken  up  being  of  the  same 
suit,  it  is  desirable  that  their  order 
should  be  disarranged.  In  some 
games  the  cards  are  also  shuffled  to 
prevent  their  being  stacked  or  fixed 
up  by  an  opponent.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  dealer's  partner,  at  whist,  to 
shuffle  the  cards  for  the  following 
deal,  when  two  packs  are  used  at  a 
table.  To  shuffle  is  also  called  to 
"make"  or  to  "make  up"  the 
cards,  especially  in  England. 

The  right  of  shuffling  the  cards  is  a 
guarantee  which  belongs  equally  to  each 
player. — Deschapelles  [<?.]. 

Clay  was  fond  of  shuffling  the  cards 
very  thoroughly  after  each  deal.  Having 
suggested  to  him  that  so  much  shuffling 
was  likely  to  produce  wild  hands,  which 
are  disadvantageous  to  good  players,  he 
said:  "  I  do  not  agree  with  you  at  all.  1 
should  like  to  have  the  cards  thrown  out 
of  a  volcano  after  every  deal." — "Caven- 
dish" [L.A.],  "Card-Table  Talk." 

There  is  a  variety  of  methods  for  shuf- 
fling. The  cards  "should  be  thoroughly 
mixed.  An  artistic  shuffle  can  be  ac- 
quired in  a  short  time,  and  is  a  desirable 
feature  of  the  game.  *  *  *  An  expert 
once  told  me  that  he  predetermines  the 
play  of  a  new  partner  by  the  manner  in 
which  he  handles  the  cards. — Mrs.  M.  S. 
Jenks  [L.  A.~\,  Whist,  January,  1896. 

Before  every  deal,  the  cards  must  be 
shuffled.  When  two  packs  are  used,  the 
dealer's  partner  must  collect  and  shuffle 
the  cards  for  the  ensuing  deal  and  place 
them  at  his  right  hand.  In  all  cases,  the 
dealer  mav  shuffle  last.  A  pack  must 
not  be  shuffled  during  theplay  of  a  hand, 
nor  so  as  to  expose  the  face  of  any  card. 
— Laws  of  Whist  (American  Code),  Sec- 
tions 8  and  9. 

The  pack  must  neither  be  shuffled  be- 
low the  table,  nor  so  that  the  face  of  any 
card  can  be  seen.  The  pack  must  not  be 
shuffled  during  the  play  of  a  hand.  A 
pack,  having  been  played  with,  must 


SHUFFLING 


390 


SIGNAL 


neither  be  shuffled  by  dealing  it  into 
packets  nor  across  the  table.  Each  player 
has  a  right  to  shuffle,  once  only,  except 
as  provided  by  rule  32,  prior  to  a  deal, 
after  a  false  cut,  or  when  a  new  deal  has 
occurred.  The  dealer's  partner  must 
collect  the  cards  for  the  ensuing  deal, 
and  has  the  first  right  to  shuffle  the  pack. 
Each  player,  after  shuffling,  must  place 
the  cards,  properly  collected  and  face 
downwards,  to  the  left  of  the  player  about 
to  deal.  The  dealer  has  always  the  right 
to  shuffle  last;  but  should  a  card  or  cards 
be  seen  during  his  shuffling,  or  while 
giving  the  pack  to  be  cut,  he  may  be  com- 
pelled to  re-shuffle. — Laws  of  Whist 
(English  Code),  Sections  26-32. 

Has  every  player  at  a  table  where  two 
packs  are  used  the  right  to  shuffle  the 
cards  before  they  are  shuffled  by  the 
player  whose  duty  it  is  to  prepare  the 
pack  for  the  dealer  ?  Has  every  player 
the  right  to  shuffle  the  cards  before  they 
go  the  dealer  ?  To  arrive  at  a  correct  con- 
clusion in  this  matter,  it  seems  necessary 
to  review  the  old  English  code  in  connec- 
tion with  pur  present  code,  to  enable  one 
to  determine  the  legislative  intent  of  our 
congress  at  the  time  the  American  code 
was  framed.  We  think  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  at  the  time  our  present  cpde  was 
under  consideration,  the  committee  on 
laws  of  our  whist  congress  had  before 
them  all  the  codes  on  the  game,  and  that 
these  were  critically  examined  for  all 
possible  suggestions.  We  think  it  is  also 
fair  to  assume  that  in  coming  to  a  con- 
clusion, the  committee  retained  all  the 
good  features  of  the  different  codes  and 
rejected  as  bad  or  nseless  all  of  those 
which  do  not  find  a  place  in  our  present 
excellent  code.  An  inspection  of  laws  29 
to  32  of  the  Portland  Club  code,  shows 
that  the  English  laws  permit  each  player 
to  shuffle  once  only,  but  provide  that  the 
dealer's  partner  must  gather  and  shuffle 
the  cards  first,  and  extend  to  the  dealer 
the  right  to  shuffle  them  last.  Our  law  8 
reads:  "  The  dealer's  partner  must  collect 
and  shuffle  thecards  for  the  ensuing  deal, 
and  place  them  at  his  right  hand.  In  all 
cases  the  dealer  may  shuffle  last."  As 
our  code  leaves  out  the  English  law  per- 
mitting each  player  to  shuffle  the  cards, 
•we  think  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  it  was  the 
deliberate  intention  of  the  framers  of  our 
code  to  do  away  with  the  practice  of  pro- 
miscuous shuffling. 

It  now  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the 
manner  in  which  they  worded  our  law  8 
is  sufficiently  strong  to  preclude  any 
other  construction  of  the  same.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  rule  was  evidently  to  regulate 
the  practice  of  shuffling,  and  it  clearly 
defines  how  and  by  whom  this  shall  be 
done.  The  language  used  is  very  strong; 
in  fact,  mandatory  in  terms.  It  reads: 


"  The  dealer's  partner  must,"  etc.  The 
rule  then  goes  on  and  permits  one  excep- 
tion to  this  very  strongly  and  accurately 
worded  general  rule,  by  extending  to  the 
next  dealer  the  privilege  of  shuffling  the 
cards  last,  if  he  sees  fit  to  do  so.  We 
think  that  the  legal  maxim,  "  exprtssio 
unius  est  exclusio  alterius,"  should  apply 
with  full  force,  aud  that  the  very  fact  that 
our  legislators  permitted  one  exception  to 
the  rule  necessarily  implies  that  they  in- 
tended to  exclude  all  others. 

If  every  one  was  permitted  to  shuffle 
the  cards,  it  would  nullify  the  very  terms 
of  the  law  itself,  which  limits  this  right 
to  two  of  the  players  only.  This  con- 
struction of  the  law  will  prevent  the 
confusion  incident  to  promiscuous  shuf- 
fling. We  also  think  it  is  the  only  correct 
construction,  for  any  other  would  not 
only  nullify  the  very  plain  terms  of  the 
law,  but  would  also  subvert  the  very  pur- 
pose for  which  it  was  evidently  enacted. 
We  are  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  the 
other  two  players,  not  named  in  the  rule, 
have  no  right  whatever  to  shuffle  the 
cards. — fisher  Ames  [L.  A.],  Whist,  Au- 
gust, 1893. 

Sign. — A  mark  used  in  indicating 
the  small  cards  in  illustrative  play 
or  descriptions  in  whist  books. 
Thus,  the  plus  sign  (+)  is  generally 
used  to  indicate  one  or  more  small 
cards  whose  face  value  is  unimpor- 
tant; as,  K,  Q+,  which  means 
king,  queen,  and  one  or  more  small 
cards.  In  this  work  the  plus  sign 
is  used  in  the  classification  marks 
after  the  names  of  quoted  authori- 
ties to  indicate  liberal  tendencies. 

The  letter  x  is  used  in  whist 
books  and  journals  to  indicate  an 
exact  number  of  small  cards;  as, 
Axxx,  meaning  ace  and  three  small 
cards.  Miss  Kate  Wheelock,  in 
her  book,  employs  ciphers  (o)  to 
indicate  the  small  cards,  and  places 
a  cross  (x)  over  the  name  of  a  card 
to  indicate  the  second  lead.  (See, 
also,  "Signs.") 

Signal. — A  conventional  play  by 
which  information  is  conveyed  be- 
tween partners,  and  which  may 
also  be  noted  by,  and  have  an  effect 
upon  the  play  of,  the  adversaries; 
more  specifically,  the  signal  or  call 


SIGNAL  AFTER  A  LEAD       391      SIGNALING  GAME,  THE 


(See,   "Trump    Sig- 


for  trumps, 
nal.") 

Modern  whist  in  a  nutshell — signs,  and 
signals,  and  a  short  supply  of  brains. — 
Westminster  ftipers[L+O.]. 

Whist  abounds  in  signals,  and  each  card 
that  falls,  from  the  first  to  the  last,  is  to 
some  extent  a  signal.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton 
[L.  A.}. 

The  writer  thinks  it  right  to  signal  in 
any  hand  from  which  you  would  lead, 
provided  the  trump  suit  is  headed  by  one 
of  the  three  highest  honors  — Milton  C. 
Work  [L.  A.  H.],  "  Whist  of  To-day." 

Signal  After  a  Lead.— This  is 
one  of  the  multitude  of  signals 
which  have  sprung  up  in  America, 
and  gained  more  or  less  currency. 
It  is  described  thus  by  Milton  C. 
Work,  in  his  "Whist  of  To-day:" 
"When  a  player  has  led  trumps, 
and  an  adversary  has  won  the  trick, 
a  signal  subsequently  made  by  the 
original  leader  is  considered  by 
some  players  to  mean  six  trumps, 
by  others  to  mean  a  command  for 
the  partner  to  continue  the  trump 
lead.  The  writer  believes  it  wiser 
to  have  it  mean  neither  of  these, 
but  rather  weakness  or  strength  in 
the  suit  then  being  led." 

Signal  for  Trumps.  —  See, 
"  Trump  Signal." 

Signal,   Mistaking  the. — It  is 

highly  important  to  read  the  trump 
signal  aright,  and  to  wait  until  it  is 
completed  before  acting  upon  it. 
To  mistake  the  signal  is  sometimes 
a  very  costly  error. 

There  is  no  play  more  fatal  than  a 
trump  lead  made  because  you  think  your 
partner  has  started  a  signal,  when  in 
reality  he  has  not.  It  therefore  goes 
without  saying,  that  a  guess  should  only 
be  made  when  there  is  little  doubt  of  the 
start  of  the  signal.— Milton  C.  Work  [L. 
A.  H.} ,  "  Whist  of  To-Day." 

Signaling  Game,  The. — A  game 
in  which  signals  are  employed ;  the 
modern  scientific  game,  and  es- 
pecially the  game  of  "  Cavendish," 


Trist,  and  those  players  who  em- 
ploy American  leads  and  other 
modern  conventions.  Whist,  in  a 
certain  sense,  is  a  signaling  game 
whenever  intelligently  played,  even 
without  other  conventions  than  the 
simple  language  of  the  cards  and 
inferences  drawn  from  the  play  of 
partner  or  adversaries.  The  old 
style  of  play,  or  Hoyle  game,  con- 
fined itself  to  this  line  of  natural 
inferences.  With  the  invention  of 
the  signal  for  trumps,  in  1834,  came 
the  signaling  game  proper,  and 
from  that  day  it  has  been  con- 
stantly added  to  until  to-day  a 
player  of  the  days  of  Hoyle  would 
be  sorely  puzzled  to  understand  it. 
He  would  be  like  a  child  at  his 
alphabet  while  those  around  him 
were  engaged  in  reading  fluently. 
Whist  has  been  greatly  elaborated 
by  the  addition  of  signals,  and 
these  are  still  bitterly  opposed  by 
those  who  prefer  the  game  in  its 
old-time  simplicity,  which  they 
claim  is  better  whist,  giving  the 
individual  player  better  opportu- 
nities to  exercise  his  own  judgment, 
and  to  make  more  out  of  his  hand, 
than  if  tied  down  by  rules  for  every 
move  which  he  makes.  Neverthe- 
less the  signaling  game  is  firmly 
established,  and  has  many  advan- 
tages which  are  not  appreciated  by 
the  followers  of  the  old  school  . 

These  refinements  of  artifice  [penulti- 
mate, etc.]  are  utterly  opposed  to  the 
essence  of  scientific  whist,  viz.,  the  neces- 
sity of  rational  deduction.  To  substitute 
signals  which  convey  information,  with- 
out troubling  the  brains,  must  tend  to 
spoil  the  game.  —  Westminster  Papers 


The  signal  game  comprises  all  the  vari- 
ous methods  of  signaling  up  hands  be- 
tween partners,  according  to  certain 
arbitrary  and  prearranged  systems  of 
play.  Many  players  object  to  these 
methods  as  unfair,  but  they  are  now  too 
deeply  rooted  to  yield  to  protest.  —  R.  F. 
Foster  [S.  O.],  "Complete  Hoyle.'" 

Whist  is  a  game  of  signals;  and  the 
main  secret  is  that  the  novice,  in  his 


SIGNALING  GAME,  THE      392 


SILENCE 


anxiety  about  the  trumpsignal  for  which 
he  watches  so  closely,  or  which  he  may 
be  so  anxious  to  give,  fails  to  see  by  the 
fall  of  the  cards  the  many  real  signals 
that  to  a  good  player  are  of  much  greater 
worth.— G.  IV.  Pettes  [L.A.  P.},  "American 
lChist  Illustrated." 

If  there  is  any  truth  in  the  argument 
against  whist-signaling,  it  goes  top  far; 
much  farther  than  those  who  bring  it 
forward  probably  intend.  Almost  every 
card  played  in  the  game  is  a  signal;  that 
is  to  say,  a  skillful  partner  •will  draw 
s-me  inference  as  to  the  number  or  value 
of  th"e  cards  remaining  in  the  hand  of  the 
player.  And  this  is  inevitable. — "Modern 
Whist,"  Temple  Bar,  Vol.  79, 1887. 

As  the  one  quality  which  gives  whist 
its  greatest  charm  and  favorably  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  chess  and  double- 
dummy  is  the  exercise  it  affords  of  the 
faculty  of  reasoning  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown,  the  introduction  into  the 
game  of  signals,  which  convey  positive 
knowledge  without  exercising  the  rea- 
son, cannot  but  be  regarded  as  a  great 
blot  on,  and  as  tending  to  lower  the  char- 
acter of  the  game,  and  to  make  it  less 
scientific.  *  *  *  No  wonder  that  "  Pem- 
bridge,"  in  his  last  amusing  and  instruct- 
ive brochure,  "The  Decline  and  Fall  of 
Whist,"  calls  all  the  signals  "  wooden 
nrrangements." —  "Mogul"  \L  +  O.], 
Knowledge,  1885. 

If  he  [a  player]  asked  an  opponent, 
"Why  did  you  cough  twice  just  before 
playing?"  and  the  opponent  said,  "In 
pur  club  that  means  the  card  I  am  play- 
ing is  my  last  in  the  suit;  but  two  coughs, 
followed  by  a  sneeze,  imply  that  trumps 
are  to  be  led  inslanter,"  he  would  prob- 
ably say,  "I  would  rather  not  play  in 
your  company."  But  really  there  is  not 
much  to  choose  between  the  two  methods 
of  signaling.  And  I  think,  with  "  Mo- 
gul," there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  choose 
between  the  "  peter"  and  a  system  (gen- 
erally admitted,  if  that  makes  any  differ- 
ence) by  which  opening  a  suit  of  a 
different  color  from  trumps  should  be  un- 
derstood to  mean  all-round  strength.— A*. 
A.  Proctor  [L.  O.],  "Is  Whist  Signaling 
Honest  f" 

With  regard  to  the  system  of  signaling, 
I  sympathize  with  the  objections  which 
have  been  urged  against  it  by  many  fine 
players,  but  the  system  must  be  learned 
by  all  who  wish  to  play  whist  success- 
fully. It  must  be  learned  for  defense,  if 
not  for  attack.  A  player  is  not  much 
worse  off  than  his  fellows  if  he  deter- 
mines, and  lets  the  table  know  he  has  de- 
termined, never  to  play  the  call  far 
trumps,  the  echo,  or  the  penultimate.  He 
may  even  safely  determine  never  to 
respond  to  the  signal— indeed,  with  too 


many  partners  this  is  a  necessary  precau- 
tion. Yet  he  can  never  escape  the  duty 
of  noticing'  the  signal.  If  he  fails  to  do  so 
he  will  ere  long  find  himself  forcing  the 
enemy's  weak  trump  hand,  and  omitting 
to  force  the  strong  (mistaking  a  response 
to  the  signal  for  an  original  trump-lead), 
or  committing  some  other  whist  enor- 
mity.—R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.}. 

Signs. — There  is  a  marked  dif- 
ference between  signals  and  signs 
in  whist.  A  signal  is  a  legitimate 
convention  known  and  understood 
by  all.  A  sign  is  an  attempt  to 
convey  information  by  illegitimate 
means.  It  is  communicating  with 
partner  in  some  secret,  unfair  man- 
ner, either  by  word,  look,  or  ges- 
ture, or  by  the  prearranged  play  of 
certain  cards  in  a  certain  manner. 
Signs  are  used  by  card  sharpers,  and 
those  who  employ  them  should  be 
expelled  from  the  whist-table. 
(See,  also,  "Mannerisms,"  "Pecu- 
liarities of  Players,"  and  "  Private 
Conventions.") 

If  you,  by  look  or  gesture,  endeavor  to 
draw  special  attention  to  your  play,  you 
have  not  only  cast  an  imputation  upon 
the  whist  perception  of  your  partner,  but 
you  have  made  an  effort  to  take  an  unfair 
advantage  of  your  opponent — you  have 
made  a  sign,  not  a  signal. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist," 

Silence. — Whist  has  been  called 
the  silent  game  because  it  can  be 
played  without  any  other  conversa- 
tion than  that  spoken  by  the  cards. 
Its  very  name  is  by  some  authorities 
held  to  mean  silence.  (See,  "  Con- 
versation.") 

The  best  whist  and  silence  are  insepa- 
rable —C  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Mod- 
ern Scientific  Whist." 

We  would  repeat  our  earnest  advice 
that  all  discussion  be  discontinued  from 
the  moment  the  deal  commences. — Dei- 
cftapelles  [O.]. 

The  element  of  silence  I  find  to  be  gov- 
erned entirely  by  appreciation  of  and 
consequent  interest  in  whist,  and  that  it 
is  in  no  wise  a  matter  of  sex.—  Adelaide  B. 
Hyde  [L.  A .],  Home  Magazine,  July,  1895. 


SINGLE 


393 


SINGLETON 


Single. — In  English  whist  par- 
lance, a  game  of  one  point,  made 
by  one  side  scoring  five  while  their 
adversaries  have  scored  three  or 
four.  (See,  also,  "Double,"  and 
"Treble.") 

Single  Discard  Call  For 
Trumps. — The  discard  of  an  eight 
or  higher  card  of  a  suit  not  yet  in 
play,  as  a  request  for  partner  to 
lead  trumps.  This  convention  orig- 
inated with  George  W.  Pettes. 
"Cavendish"  does  not  approve  of 
the  play;  at  least,  he  does  not  be- 
lieve it  should  be  treated  as  a  com- 
mand, but  rather  as  a  suggestion, 
to  lead  trumps. 

There  is  still  another  one-card  signal, 
•which  may  be  called  the  Pettes  discard. 
This  is  a  signal  for  trumps  by  throwing 
off  an  eight  or  any  higher  card.  Ordi- 
narily, if  your  partner  discarded  a  card 
as  high  as  an  eight,  you  would  suspect 
that  he  was  commencing  a  signal,  but  if 
you  are  pla3'ing  the  Pettes  discard  you 
must  consider  that  he  has  already  sig- 
naled, and  lead  trumps  as  soon  as  you 
get  in.  This  prevents  discarding  from 
•weak  suits  which  have  no  cards  below 
the  eight,  but  players  who  use  this  dis- 
card claim  that  it  is  seldom  they  cannot 
throw  away  a  low  card  of  their  long  suit 
•when  they  do  not  want  trumps.— -John  T. 
Mitchell  [L.  A.],  "Duplicate  Whist." 

Single-Table  Duplicate. — See, 
"  Duplicate  Whist,  Schedules  for 
Playing." 

Singleton. — A  single  card,  or 
one  card  only,  in  a  suit  dealt  to 
a  player;  the  shortest  short  suit. 
The  original  lead  of  a  singleton  is 
considered  very  bad  play  by  long- 
suit  advocates,  but  it  is  made  a 
very  effective  part  of  whist  strategy 
by  some  short-suit  players.  There 
are  other  short-suit  players  who 
agree  that  singletons  should  not  be 
led  if  such  a  lead  can  be  avoided. 
(See,  "Sneak  Leads.") 

In  plain  suits,  the  original  lead  of  a 
single  card  is  in  no  case  defensible. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.}. 


The  only  excuse  for  leading  from  a 
singleton  is  the  chance  of  establishing  a 
cross-ruff.—^.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

I,ead  a  singleton  only  when  you  have 
six  trumps,  and  your  partner  knows 
nothing  of  the  game.— #.  F.  Foster  \S.  O.], 
"  Whist  Strategy." 

Mathews,  with  considerable  limita- 
tions, advocates  leading  singletons;  now- 
a-days  the  practice  is  decried,  but  I  re- 
gret to  say  that,  as  far  as  my  experience 
goes,  the  principal  obstacle  to  leading  a 
singleton  is  not  having  a  singleton  to 
lead.— "Pembridge"  [L  +  O.]. 

The  slight  advantage  you  might  gain 
by  the  lead  of  a  singleton  is  more  than 
balanced  by  your  having  deceived  your 
partner,  and,  probably,  assisted  your  op- 
ponent to  establish  his  long  suit.—  Kate 
Wheelock  [L.  A.~\,  "The  fundamental 
Principles  and  Rules  of  Modern  American 
Whist,"  1887. 

Trumping  a  short  suit,  if  desired,  gen- 
erally comes  about  of  itself  more  advan- 
tageously than  by  leading  a  single  card, 
which  of  itself  is,  on  independent 
grounds,  a  disadvantageous  lead;  it  may 
kill  a  good  card  of  your  partner's  with- 
out any  compensating  benefit  to  him  or 
to  you,  and  it  may  tend  to  establish  an 
adversary's  suit,  which  is  playing  their 
game.  —  William  Pole  [L.  A+\,  "Philoso- 
phy of  Whist." 

I  cannot  see  how  the  lead  of  a  singleton 
can  work  damage  in  the  long  run,  if  it 
is  always  accompanied  by  moderate 
strength  in  trumps,  such  as  four  fairly 
good  ones.  In  making  this  assertion,  I 
do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  cham- 
pioning the  haphazard  leading  of  single- 
tons merely  to  make  one  or  two  little 
trumps.  I  urge  it  only  when  you  have 
strength  in  trumps,  or  see  a  clear  chance 
for  a  cross-ruff,  or  in  preference  to  lead- 
ing from  suits  of  not  more  than  four 
cards,  headed  by  a  tenace — Val.  W. 
Starnes  [S.  O.],  "Short-Suit  Whist." 

This  [short-suit  system]  is  the  only  sys- 
tem ever  discovered  that  removes  the 
time-honored  objection  to  the  singleton 
lead— its  being  misunderstood  by  the 
partner.  All  writers  since  Hoyle  have 
contended  that  there  were  many  hands  in 
which  the  lead  of  a  singleton  would  un- 
doubtedly be  the  best  play,  but  for  the 
danger  that  the  partner  might  misunder- 
stand it,  and  exhaust  the  trumps  under 
the  impression  that  the  card  was  led  from 
along  suit.  The  possibility  of  partner's 
misunderstanding  the  lead  once  removed, 
all  the  objections  to  the  singleton  disap- 
pear, and  one  of  the  most  powerful  en- 
gines at  whist  is  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  player  who  has  no  better  use  for  his 
trumps  than  a  possible  cross-ruff.  Here 
is  an  example  of  this  system  in  actual 


SITTING 


394 


SKILL 


play. 
eight: 


.     Z    dealt   and   turned   the   heart 


0) 

J4 

_o 
*u 
H 

1 
2 

3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
1  1 
12 
13 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

5  * 
*  A 

3  + 
*  3 

*  5 
7  * 
4  9 
9  * 
4  K 
V  K 

A  * 

6  * 
*  J 
*  7 
10* 
*Q 
8  + 

<?  A 

S>  6 
<?  7 

*  4 
V  9 

+  2 
<5>  2 

2  * 
^10 
4  * 
V  Q 
2  0 
40 
Q  * 
6  0 
9  0 
KO 

*  6 
V  3 

*10 
V  5 
*  8 
3  0 
5  0 
7  0 
100 

tf  4 
8  0 
J  0 
QO 
AO 

K  * 

J    * 

<?  J 

<2  8 

The  three  falling  from  Y,  and  holding 
the  deuce  and  four  himself,  B  knows  the 
five  must  be  a  singleton,  so  he  does  not 
finesse.  Neither  does  he  return  the  suit, 
but  plays  his  own  singleton  first,  so  as  to 
establish  the  cross-ruff— .#.  f.  foster  [S. 
O.],  Monthly  Illustrator,  March,  1897. 

Sitting. — A  sitting  at  whist  is  a 
coming  together  at  the  table  for 
play.  The  sitting  may  be  long  or 
short,  according  to  the  rules  gov- 
erning (as  in  clubs),  or  the  incliija- 
tions  of  the  players,  as  an  the  social 
or  family  circle. 

Six-Spot. — The  ninth  card  in 
value  or  rank,  counting  from  the 
ace  down;  one  of  the  low  cards. 

In  the  system  of  American  leads 
it  figures  only  as  a  fourth-best  lead. 
In  the  old  leads  it  is  a  penultimate 
or  antepenultimate  (or  fourth-best) 
lead.  In  the  Howell  (short-suit) 
system,  it  indicates  the  ruffing 
game,  generally  not  more  than  two 
in  suit  and  no  higher.  In  the  New 
York,  or  Keiley,  system  of  short- 
suit  leads,  the  six  is  one  of  seven 
small  cards  which  are  led  either  at 


the  top  of  short  weak  suits  or  at  the 
bottom  of  long  and  moderately 
well-supported  suits.  Starues  does 
not  advise  a  lead  from  two  cards 
lower  than  a  nine,  except  in  des- 
perate cases,  when  you  may  go  as 
low  as  a  seven,  or  perhaps  a  six, 
leading  always  the  higher  card. 

Skill. — The  element  in  whist 
controlled  by  the  player,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  element  of  luck, 
which  is  beyond  control  except  in 
so  far  as  it  may  be  eliminated  from 
the  game  to  a  certain  extent  by  the 
employment  of  special  methods, 
such  as  duplicate  pray,  for  instance. 
At  first,  chance  or  luck  largely  pre- 
dominated in  whist;  but  the  im- 
provements, beginning  with  the 
introduction  of  the  trump  signal 
and  culminating  in  duplicate  whist, 
have  thrown  the  balance  very 
largely  in  favor  of  skill.  The  suc- 
cessful players  to-day  must  depend 
more  upon  their  skill  than  upon 
their  luck.  (See,  "  Duplicate 
Whist") 

Aces  and  kings  will  make  tricks,  and 
no  amount  of  skill  can  make  a  ten  win  a 
knave. —  Thomas  Matheivs  \L.  O.]. 

Personal  skill  is  the  skill  of  the  player 
himself  as  distinguished  from  any  advan- 
tage which  he  may  derive  from  luck  or 
from  the  mistakes  of  others. — A  non. 

And  here  come  into  requisition  your 
own  personal  and  individual  mental  pow- 
ers; your  acuteness  of  observation;  your 
readiness  in  drawing  logical  inferences; 
your  power  of  memory;  vour  promptness 
in  decision  of  action;  aud  your  soundness 
in  judgment.  All  this  is  comprised  in 
what  is  known  as  personal  skill. —  Wil- 
liam Pole  [L.  A+]. 

It  has  been  urged  that  if  whist  became 
more  a  game  of  skill,  and  less  a  game  of 
chance,  bad  or  indifferent  players  would 
not  join  in  it  as  freely  as  they  do  now.  I 
reply,  so  much  the  better:  there  is  noth- 
ing so  trying  to  the  patience  and  temper 
as  when  there  are  three  good  players  and 
one  very  bad. — A.  IV.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
'•'Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Decisions." 

A  constantly  varying  demand  is  made 
on  the  attention  and  the  skill  of  a  player. 
Deschapelles.  the  great  French  writer, 
has  a  fanciful  way  of  illustrating  this:  he 


SKILL 


395 


SLAM 


likens  the  progress  of  a  hand  at  whist  to 
the  parabolic  path  of  a  shell  thrown  from 
a  mortar,  the  seventh  trick  forming  the 
apex  of  the  curve.  During  the  first  half, 
corresponding  to  the  rise  of  the  projec- 
tile, the  play  is  tentative,  and  the  player 
is  acquiring  information,  which  in  the 
latter,  or  descending  portion,  he  has  to 
apply.—  William  Pole  \L.  A+],  "Philoso- 
phy of  Whist." 

Dr.  Pole  writes  in  the  Field,  June  16, 
1866:  "It  is  very  desirable  to  ascertain 
the  value  of  skill  at  whist.  The  voluntary 
power  we  have  over  results  at  whist  is  com- 
pounded of:  (i)  The  system  of  play.  (2) 
The  personal  skill  employed."  The  mod- 
ern system,  which  combines  the  hands  of 
two  partners  as  against  no  system  (the 
personal  skill  of  all  being  pretty  equal)  is 
worth,  Dr.  Pole  thinks,  about  half  a  point 
a  rubber,  or  rather  more.  About  nine 
hundred  rubbers  played  by  systematic  as 
against  old-fashioned  players  gave  a  bal- 
ance of  nearly  five  hundred  points  in 
favor  of  system.  The  personal  skill  will 
vary  with  each  individual,  and  is  difficult 
to  estimate;  but,  looking  at  published 
statistics,  in  which  Dr.  Pole  had  confi- 
dence, he  puts  the  advantage  of  a  very 
superior  player  (all  using  system)  at 
about  a  quarter  of  a  point  a  rubber;  con- 
sequently the  advantage  due  to  combined 
personal  skill  (z4.  e.,  two  very  skillful 
against  two  very  unskillful  players,  all 
using  system)  would  be  more  than  half  a 
point  a  rubber.  The  conclusion  arrived 
at  by  Dr.  Pole  is  that  "  the  total  advantage 
of  both  elements  of  power  over  results  at 
whist  may,  under  very  favorable  circum- 
stances, be  expected  to  amount  to  as 
much  as  one  point  per  rubber."  Now, 
at  play-clubs,  nearly  all  the  players  ad- 
here more  or  less  closely  to  ^system,  and 
the  great  majority  have  considerable  per- 
sonal skill.  Consequently  only  the  very 
skillful  player  can  expect  to  win  any- 
thing, and  he  will  only  have  the  best 
player  at  a  table  for  a  partner,  on  an  av- 
erage, once  in  three  times.  It  follows 
from  this  that  the  expectation  of  a  very 
skillful  player  at  a  play-club  will  only 
average,  at  the  most,  say  a  fifth  or  a  sixth 
of  a  point  a  rubber. — Richard  A.  Proctor 
[L  O.],  "How  to  Play  Whist." 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  of  1857, 
during  an  after-dinner  table  conversa- 
tion, it  was  remarked  by  some  of  the 
party  that  whist  is  a  mere  matter  of 
chance,  since  no  amount  of  ingenuity  can 
make  a  king  win  an  ace,  and  so  on.  This 
produced  an  argument  as  to  the  merits  of 
the  game;  and,  as  two  of  the  disputants 
obstinately  maintained  their  original  po- 
sition, it  was  proposed  to  test  their  powers 
by  matching  them  against  two  excellent 
players  in  the  room.  To  this  match, 
strange  to  say,  the  bad  players  agreed, 


and  a  date  was  fixed.  Before  the  day  ar- 
rived it  was  proposed  to  play  the  match 
in  double,  another  rubber  of  two  good 
against  two  bad  players  being  formed  in 
an  adjoining  room,  and  the  hands  being 
played  over  again,  the  good  players  hav- 
ing the  cards  previously  held  by  the  bad 
players,  and  vice  versa,  the  order  of  play 
being,  of  course,  in  every  other  respect 

E  reserved.  The  difficulty  now  was  to 
nd  two  players  sufficiently  bad  for  this 
purpose;  but  two  men  were  found  on 
condition  of  having  odds  laid  them  at 
starting,  which  was  accordingly  done. 
On  the  appointed  day  a  table  was  formed 
in  room  A,  and  as  soon  as  the  first  hand 
was  played  the  cards  were  re-sorted  and 
conveyed  into  room  B.  There  the  hand 
was  played  over  again,  the  good  players 
in  room  B  having  the  cards  that  the  bad 
players  had  in  room  A.  At  the  end  of  the 
hand  the  result  was  noted  for  compari- 
son, independently  of  the  score,  which 
was  conducted  in  the  usual  way.  Thirty- 
three  hands  were  played  in  each  room. 
In  room  A  the  good  players  held  very 
good  cards,  and  won  four  rubbers  out  of 
the  six;  in  points,  a  balance  of  eighteen. 
In  room  B  the  good  players  had,  of  course, 
the  bad  cards.  They  played  seven  rub- 
bers with  the  same  number  of  hands  that 
in  the  other  room  had  played  six,  and 
they  won  three  out  of  the  seven,  losing 
seven  points  on  the  balance.  The  differ- 
ence, therefore,  was  eleven  points,  or 
nearly  one  point  a  rubber,  in  favor  of 
skill.  A  comparison  of  tricks  showed 
some  curious  results.  In  seven  of  the 
hands  the  score  by  cards  in  each  room 
was  the  same.  In  eighteen  hands  the 
balance  of  the  score  by  cards  was  in  favor 
of  the  superior  players;  in  eight  hands  in 
favor  of  the  inferior.  In  one  of  these 
hands  the  bad  players  won  two  by  cards 
at  one  table,  and  three  by  cards  at  the 
other.  The  most  important  result  is  that 
at  both  tables  the  superior  players  gained 
a  majority  of  tricks.  In  room  A  they  won 
on  the  balance  nineteen  by  tricks;  in 
room  B  they  won  two  by  tricks.  It  will 
be  observed  that  this  experiment  does 
not  altogether  eliminate  luck,  as  bad  play 
sometimes  succeeds.  But  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  luck,  viz.,  that  due  to  the 
superiority  of  the  winning  cards,  is,  by 
the  plan  "described,  quite  got  rid  of. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.A.],  "Card-Table  Talk." 

Slam. — The  winning  of  all  the 
tricks  in  one  hand  at  whist  is 
called  a  slam.  The  term  is  derived 
from  the  Icelandic  word  slamra 
(Norwegian,  slemba),  to  bang.  Slam 
in  the  North  of  England  meant  to 
beat  or  cuff  one,  to  push  violently; 


SMALL  CARDS 


396 


SNEAK  LEAD 


and  it  was  gradually  applied  to 
winning  or  beating  at  cards,  an  old 
game  somewhat  resembling  whist 
being  called  ' '  slam. ' ' 

A  slam  counts  seven  points  (the 
number  over  the  first  six,  or  book) 
for  the  winners,  and  this  is  enough 
to  give  them  the  game  at  any  time, 
in  American  as  well  as  English 
whist  Slams  are  not  at  all  fre- 
quent, however,  in  whist  proper. 
In  dummy,  and  other  so-called 
varieties  of  whist,  the  slam  is 
more  frequently  made,  and  enters 
largely  into  the  elements  of  play 
to  be  taken  into  consideration.  In 
French  dummy,  or  "  mort,"  for 
instance,  a  slam  counts  twenty 
extra  points  for  the  side  making  it, 
although  it  does  not  affect  the 
game  score,  the  game  being  con- 
tinued as  if  no  slam  had  been 
made.  In  "bridge,"  the  little 
slam  ( taking  twelve  of  the  thirteen 
tricks)  counts  twenty  points,  and 
the  grand  slam  (taking  all  thirteen 
tricks)  counts  forty  points. 

Owing  to  the  possibility  of  planning 
the  general  scheme  of  the  hand  in 
advance,  slams  are  more  common  at 
dummy  than  at  whist. — R.  F.  Foster  [S. 
O.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

The  slam  is  considered  of  the  same 
value  as  a  full  rubber,  011  condition  that 
it  shall  not  count  in  the  game.  This  cus- 
tom we  have  adopted,  at  the  same  time 
that  we  are  aware  of  the  varieties  intro- 
duced at  different  places.  —  DeschapelUs 
[O.],  "Laws,"  Section 53. 

Small  Cards. — All  the  cards  in 
the  pack  from  deuce  to  nine,  in- 
clusive. George  W.  Pettes,  and 
some  other  authorities,  however, 
treat  the  nine  as  a  high  card. 
(See,  "Low  Cards.") 

Smoking  While    Playing.— One 

of  the  main  objections  which 
players  who  do  not  smoke  find  to 
playing  whist  at  clubs,  is  that  they 
are  obliged  to  endure  the  almost 


intolerable  nuisance  of  tobacco 
smoke,  which  is  ever  present  in 
places  where  men  congregate  by 
themselves.  The  mixture  of  va- 
rious kinds  of  combustions  of  the 
weed  is,  at  times,  overpowering  to 
those  who  are  at  all  sensitive,  and 
this  is  especially  so  when  they  are, 
perhaps,  innocently  and  uncon- 
sciously made  the  target  of  a  bom- 
bardment of  clouds,  from  friend 
and  foes  alike,  at  the  same  table. 
And  not  only  is  the  unpleasantness 
felt  at  the  club,  but  it  is  carried 
home  to  wife  and  children,  where 
for  days,  even  after  an  airing,  the 
best  suit  exhibits  signs  of  mephitic 
infection.  Non-smoking  players 
will  always  be  found  to  welcome 
ladies  at  the  whist-table. 

There  is  one  very  common  breach,  per- 
haps more  of  good  manners  than  of  eti- 
quette, from  which  I  have  frequently 
suffered.  I  am  not  a  smoker,  but  when  I 
have  joined  a  rubber,  a  looker-on  would 
sit  on  each  side  of  me  and  smoke  pipes, 
while  another  stood  behind  me,  all  puff- 
ing their  smoke  over  me.  I  have  fre- 
quently had  to  cease  playing  in  conse- 
quence of  this  annoyance,  as  one  does  not 
like  to  complain  repeatedly  of  such  pro- 
ceedings. —  A.  W.  Drayson 


Sneak  Lead.  —  The  lead  of  a  sin- 
gleton for  the  purpose  of  trumping 
on  the  next  round;  inelegantly 
but  expressively  called  a  sneak 
lead,  or  sneak,  because  it  is  a  pro- 
ceeding which  is  somewhat  akin  to 
the  foe  sneaking  along  from  tree  to 
tree  and  shooting  at  you  from  am- 
bush. Although  not  relished  by 
the  opponents,  especially  long-suit 
players,  who  never  employ  it,  un- 
less in  most  exceptional  cases,  the 
sneak  lead  is  not  objected  to  by 
any  authority  as  a  lead  in  itself,  but 
solely  and  only  because  of  the  mis- 
chief which  it  may  do  in  deceiving 
partner.  The  latter  may  make  the 
mistake  of  thinking  the  lead  is 
from  a  good  long  suit,  and  lead  and 
get  trumps  out  of  the  way. 


aaiM 


SMALL  CARDS 


and    it   was   gradually   at-p'w 
winning  or  beating  ar  »w5*.  r, 
game  somewhat    rewnJ-  --ix 
being  called  "  siam. 

A  slam  count*  wvcr-.-   ;  ,  --j 
number  over  thi*  &f»"  «i 
for  the  wv-rw   vi  : 
to  give  th-::-:  »t-j 
ift   AuK-nr.-.rt    .,- 


intolerable    nuisance    of    tobacco 
».ii-.-ke,  which   is  ever  present  in 
;       places  where  men  congregate  by 
i, selves.      The  mixture  of  va- 
ri»>o»  kinds  of  combustions  of  the 
N**e*i  is,  at  times,  overpowering  to 

m*r«.  vj-:  r»'«e  who  are  at  all  sensitive,  and 

s  especially  so  when  they  are, 
;>*».    innocently    and    uncon- 
;*.--..  v  made  the  target  of  a  bom- 

tent   of   clouds,    from   friend 

fa-it*       *a*J  -  «  ••  alike,  at   the  same  table 

'n"  i/niv  is  the  uupleasantness 

•-*>    4«    th«-  club,  but  it  is  carried 

to  wife  and  children,  where 

'•*    rtvtvM,  rv*n  after  an  airing,  the 

Women  Who  Write  About  Whist, 


»ith-..\..>          .      •--  -    .-\> 

Miss  Annie  B.  Shelby. 

Mrs. 
Mrs.  F.  H.  Atwater. 


»»•-"  .«!i*ay*  be   found   to  welcome 
la*Jir*  a  the  w hi :;t- table. 

Mrs.  M.  .cTinviUiers  Leviete  -ch.  per- 
haps mure  of  goo.1  m&nncrf!  than  of  eti- 
quette,   from    which    1    have    frequently 
p     \X/allitr«i'  ain  no*  a  srao^er,  but  when  I 
"•  lW**Wfiftl  a  rubber,  a  looker-on  would 
sit  on  each  si<ie  of  me  and  smoke  pipes, 
while  a  uother  stood  behind  me  all  puff- 
iiv-'i!*..,     f~     <i/ Ht-.Ji 


Small  Card*. — Ail  the  oaruf-  m 
the  pack  from  deuce  to  ninu,  in- 
clusive. George  W.  Pettes,  and 
some  otlu-r  authorities,  however, 
tr*-Ht  the  nine-  as  a  high  card. 
(vSee,  "Low  Cards.") 

Smoking  While    Playing.  — O«e 

of  the  main  objections  which 
]>!'*vers  -who  do  not  sti>->ke  find  t°> 
]>'avint{  whist  at  clubs,  i*  thnt  thry 
ur._>  obii^e'l  to  endtirr-  the  almost 


cj'ieuceot  this  annoyance,  as  one  does  not 
Itke  to  Complain  repeatedlj-  <•(  such  pro- 
ceeding*.— A.  W.  Drayson  [L~rA  -(-]. 

Sneak  Lead. — The  lead  of  a  sin- 
gleton for  the  purpose  of  trumping 
crti  the  next  round,  inel'.-g  uitlv 
bnt  expressively  calktl  H  sncjtk 
Sk»<i,  or  sneak,  because  it  is  a  pro- 
ttfding  wliirh  is  somewhat  akin  to 
rH»  fo«-  sneaking  along  from  ta-e  to 
•.r**  »nd  shooting  at  you  from  -mi- 
litj*r-  «t  relished  by 

long-suit 
•iploy  it,  tm- 
)'.  case?,  the 
ectetl  to  by 
in  itself,  but 
of  the  mis- 
in  drrci\  ing 
iv  make-  the 
the  lead  is 
Tmi  le.ad  and 


'lo    Of VI 

!•.•«»  in  most  exre( 
??!«»&  lead  is  m<i 
any  authority  a.--  a 
aolely  and  on1,  v  K- 
cbi«S  which  it  n. 
partner.     The  In 
mistake  of    th!;;i 
from  a  g',Kxl  long  > 
get  truini«  out  of 


SNEAK  LEAD 


397 


"  SOLO  WHIST 


So  strong  is  the  aversion  to  sneak 
leads  among  long-suit  players,  that 
some  are  under  the  impression  that 
a  sneak-leader  is  violating  some  law 
or  rule  of  whist  which  would  make 
him  subject  to  a  penalty.  One  of 
these,  signing  himself  "  H.,"  writes 
as  follows  to  the  secretary  of  the 
American  Whist  League  (see 
Whist,  June,  1896),  and  his  query 
is  treated  in  a  humorous  fashion: 
"  Is  there  any  law  against  a  player 
leading  the  only  card  he  has  of  a 
suit,  making  the  so-called  sneak 
lead  ?  That  question  came  up  last 
night,  and  I  questioned  it,  and  ap- 
ply to  you  for  advice. ' ' 

Under  the  short-suit  systems  of 
play,  the  lead  of  the  singleton  is 
not  as  objectionable,  because  it  is 
better  understood  and  recognized. 
Sneak  leads  from  short-suiters,  who 
employ  them  systematically,  are 
not  nearly  as  offensive  as  when  led 
by  an  ignorant  player,  who  has  a 
good  hand  from  which  he  could 
easily  lead  something  else  to  better 
advantage. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  certain  cases 
a  "  sneak  "  lead  will  make  more  tricks 
than  the  regular  lead,  provided  that  it 
works  as  the  leader  intended;  but  the 
trouble  is  that  in  a  majority  of  cases  it 
does  not  so  work.  *  *  *  A  "sneak" 
lead  occasionally  proves  very  fortunate, 
but  when  it  fails  the  result  is,  as  a  rule, 
very  disastrous. —  Whist  \L.  A.],  August, 
1894. 

You  have  a  perfect  right  to  lead  a 
"sneak,"  as  you  call  it,  if  5-ou  want  to,  as 
original  leader.  There  is  no  |aw  against 
a  man  playing  his  cards  just  as  he 
pleases.  But  before  you  do  such  a  thing 
you  ought  to  have  it  understood  with 
your  partner;  and  if  you  succeed  inffind- 
ing  one  that  will  play  with  you  if  you  do, 
send  us  his  photograph,  and  we  will  re- 
produce it  as  a  whist  curiosity. — P.  J. 
Tormev  [L.  A.],  San  Francisco  Call,  April 
24,  1897- 

I  am  well  aware  that  this  advice  to 
lead  singletons,  even  with  a  cross-ruff  in 
view,  is  apt  to  meet  with  emphatic  pro- 
test from  staunch  long-suiters;  but  I  do 
not  believe  such  strong  objections  would 
be  made  if  they  gave  the  subject  more 
attention.  I  think  this  attention  might 


be  granted  but  for  the  odium  that  at- 
taches to  leading  a  "  stieak."  The  name 
has  killed  the  play,  like  the  dog  that  was 
hung.— Fa/.  W.  Starnes  [S.  O],  "Short- 
Suit  Whist." 

"Solo  Whist." —Another  so- 
called  form  of  whist,  greatly  al- 
tered, and  used  chiefly  for  gam- 
bling purposes.  It  originated  in 
the  United  States,  being  evolved 
from  "boston"  whist,  and  was 
introduced  into  England,  about 
1856,  by  Dutch  Jews.  An  ordinary 
pack  of  fifty-two  cards  is  used,  and 
these  are  dealt  out  three  at  a  time 
to  each  of  the  four  players  at  the 
table.  When  forty  -  eight  cards 
have  been  dealt,  the  remaining  four 
are  dealt  singly,  the  last  one  of  all 
being  turned  up  to  indicate  the 
trump  suit.  A  game  consists  of 
one  hand  or  deal,  and  each  game  is 
played  with  a  distinct  object, 
which  is  declared  in  advance. 
There  are  six  objects,  or  calls,  of 
varying  importance  and  risk,  as 
follows:  (i)  Proposition  (or  pro- 
posal) and  acceptance:  two  declar- 
ing players  in  partnership  propose 
to  make  eight  or  more  tricks  be- 
tween them.  (2)  Solo:  a  player 
must  make  not  less  than  five  tricks, 
the  other  three  players  being  op- 
posed to  him.  (3)  Misere:  the 
player  must  make  no  tricks,  the 
other  players  all  playing  against 
him,  there  being  no  trump  suit. 
(4)  The  abondance:  the  single 
player  to  take  nine  tricks,  naming 
his'  own  trump.  (5)  Misere  ou- 
verte:  the  same  as  a  misere,  except 
that  after  the  first  trick  the  caller 
must  expose  his  remaining  twelve 
cards.  ( In  a  variation  of  the  game 
the  caller  wins  nine  of  the  thirteen 
tricks  against  the  three  other  play- 
ers, with  the  trump  suit  that  is 
turned  up.  In  this  game  the  misere 
ouverte,  as  first  given,  is  called 
misere  sur  table,  being  an  addi- 
tional object  or  call.)  (6)  Abon- 


SORTING  CARDS 


398       SPECIAL  TRUMP  LEAD 


dance  de'clare'e:  this  is  the  highest 
call,  and  the  caller  must  take  all 
the  tricks,  or,  in  other  words,  make 
a  slam.  In  the  Kimberly  game, 
proposals  and  acceptances  are  ex- 
cluded. Solo  whist  is  also  played 
by  two,  three,  or  five  persons.  The 
stakes  risked  on  the  game  vary  in 
different  countries  and  among  dif- 
ferent players.  A  popular  arrange- 
ment in  England  is  as  follows:  Six- 
pence proposals  and  solos,  one 
shilling  rmseres,  and  so  on,  with 
one  penny  for  every  trick  made 
over  eight.  In  the  one,  two,  and 
three  shilling  game,  the  stakes  are 
much  higher.  In  this  country, 
counters  or  chips  are  used,  as  in 
poker,  and  the  losses  or  winnings 
range  from  a  red  counter  for  a  pro- 
posal and  acceptance  to  eight  red 
counters  for  a  slam.  Each  over- 
trick  or  undertrick  wins  or  loses  a 
white  counter. 

"  Solo  whist"  is  an  attempt  to  simplify 
"boston"  by  reducing  the  number  of 
proposals  and  the  complications  of  pay- 
ments, and  eliminating  the  features  of 
spreads.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Complete 
Hoyle." 

Two  objections  are  usually  raised  to 
solo  whist.  *  «  *  The  first  is  that  it  is 
a  gambling  game.  *  *  »  The  second  is 
that  whist  is  silence  and  that  the  conver- 
sation entailed  by  the  calls  js  liable  to  be 
abused.— /I.  5.  Wllks,  "Solo  leftist." 

When  players  wish  to  enhance  the 
gambling  attractions  of  the  game,  a  pool 
is  introduced.  For  this  purpose  a  recep- 
tacle is  placed  upon  the  table,  in  which 
each  player  puts  a  red  counter  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  game.  *  *  *  In  some 
places  it  is  the  custom  for  each  player  to 
contribute  a  red  counter  when  he  deals. 
— K.  F.  Foster  [5.  O.],  "Complete  Hoyle." 

Sorting  Cards.— See,  "Cards, 
Arrangement  of." 

Sound  Play. — Play  which  is  in 
accordance  with  the  rules  of  the 
game,  and  in  harmony  with  the  ad- 
vice and  practiceof  the  best  authori- 
ties; correct  play. 


Do  not  be  discouraged  when  sound  play 
fails  of  success,  which  must  often  occur. 
—  William  Pole  [L.  A  +J. 

The  player  who,  having  something  good 
to  do,  does  it,  and  having  nothing  good  to 
do,  does  no  harm,  plays  sound  whist. — 
Charles  S.  Street  [L+A.],  "Whist  Up  to 
Date." 

South. — The  player  who,  with 
north,  plays  against  east  and  west, 
a  designation  specially  used  in  du- 
plicate whist.  South  corresponds 
to  B  in  the  A-B  vs.  Y-Z  mode  of 
designating  the  players,  and  on  the 
first  round  of  the  opening  play  he 
is  the  third  hand. 

Spades. — One  of  the  four  suite 
into  which  a  pack  of  cards  is  divi- 
ded; one  of  the  two  black  suits. 
In  the  original  Spanish  cards,  from 
which  modern  cards  are  derived, 
the  symbol  was  swords,  and  the 
name  spades  is  derived  from  the 
Spanish  espadas,  and  the  Italian 
spade,  both  of  which  mean  swords. 
The  French  card-makers  favored 
spear-heads  (piques]  for  this  suit, 
and  that  is  really  what  the  symbol 
on  our  cards  is,  but  we  have  re- 
tained the  Spanish,  or  still  more 
literally,  the  Italian  name,  while 
discarding  the  symbol  of  the  latter. 
On  German  cards  this  suit  was  first 
indicated  by  a  representation  of 
leaves. 

Special  Trump  Lead. — The  lead 
of  a  trump  for  a  special  purpose, 
such  as  stopping  a  ruff,  or  a  cross- 
ruff,  or  to  save  the  game. 

The  situation  often  demands  a  special 
trump  lead.  If  a  ruff  or  see-saw  is  immi- 
nent, or  for  any  special  reason  you  desire 
two  or  more  rounds  of  trumps  at  all  haz- 
ard, you  will  lead  a  winning  high  trump 
when  you  otherwise  would  not.  The 
score  may  affect  your  play  of  trumps. 
Suppose  the  score  stands  six  against  you, 
and  the  opponents  have  four,  five,  or  six 
tricks  home;  you  see  the  game  is  gone, 
unless  a  strengthening  trump  will  save 
it.  and  you  lead  accordingly. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  \L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 


SPECIAL  TRUMP- SUIT        399 


SPOTS 


Special  Trump-Suit   Leads. — 

In  the  system  of  American  leads, 
trumps  are  led  the  same  as  plain 
suits  with  five  exceptions,  and 
these  exceptions  are  known  as 
special  trump-suit  leads.  They  are 
as  follows: 


TRUMP 

SUITS. 

Cards  at 
head  of 
suit. 

NUMBER  OF  CARDS  IN 
SUIT. 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

A  K  J 

A  A" 

A  A- 

A  K 

K.A 

K.A 

AK 

A  K 

F  K 

FAT 

F  A" 

K.A 

A 

A  F 

FA 

VA 

V  A 

I*  A 

K  QT 

ft1 

Cl1 

0,1 

1C* 

K£ 

KQ 

Q.1 

F  Q 

F  Q 

FA" 

K0 

JIf  Q,  wins,  lead  F  remaining,  other- 
wise K. 

*If  K  wins,  lead  original  F,  other- 
wise Q. 

Speech  at  a  Whist  Dinner.— At 

a  club  in  India  the  whist-players 
tendered  one  of  their  number,  who 
was  about  to  leave  them,  a  farewell 
dinner,  and  the  organizer  of  the 
feast  proposed  the  health  of  the 
guest  in  a  happy  manner.  In  order 
to  explain  certain  allusions  in  the 
remarks  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
the  guest  was  an  officer  on  the 
staff  of  the  district,  from  which  he 
was  necessarily  moved  upon  hav- 
ing been  promoted  to  higher  rank. 
The  headquarters  of  the  district  are 
not  very  far  from  Golconda,  where 
the  diamonds  used  to  "grow." 
None  are  found  there  now,  how- 
ever— hence  the  speaker's  touch 
of  irony.  The  allusion  to  glee 
singers  was  appropriate,  because 
the  parting  guest  was  conductor  of 
the  local  amateur  musical  society. 
Said  the  speaker: 

"  Gentlemen:  I  rise  to  propose 
the  health  of  our  guest,  who,  in 
whist  language,  is  '  discarding'  us 


in  order  to  '  cut  in'  at  some  other 
'  table.'  Where  that  may  be  we  do 
not  know,  but  whatever  the  place 
we  can  only  hope  that  it  will  '  suit 

his  hand.'      Since  has  been 

here  we  have  all  learnt  to  prize 
him.  We  consider  his  '  points  very 
high,'  for  not  only  at  whist,  but  in 
his  private  life,  he  'plays  a  good, 
straight  game' — no  'tricks,'  no 
'shuffling,'  no  'double-dealing,' 
or  'misleading,'  and,  as  a  natural 
'  sequence, '  he  has  gained  a  strong 
'  tenace'  over  our  '  hearts.'  All  we 
hope  for  is  that,  having  given  so 
good  a  'lead,'  his  successor  will 
'follow  suit.'  Now,  gentlemen, 
what  sort  of  a  '  hand'  shall  we  wish 
our  guest  at  his  new  table  ?  As 
regards  'diamonds,'  why  he  has 
been  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gol- 
conda, and  if  he  has  not  got  his 
pockets  full,  like  the  rest  of  us,  it 
must  be  his  fault;  as  for  '  clubs,'  I 
do  not  think  he  will  want  any  to 
break  other  people's  heads  with, 
and  I  feel  sure  he  will  not  be  in 
any  danger  of  getting  his  own  bro- 
ken ;  as  for  '  hearts, '  he  is  sure  to 
win  those  wherever  he  goes;  and 
lastly,  the  'spades,'  I  suppose, 
point  to  a  rural  retreat  and  a  circle 
of  glee-singers  amongst  whom  to 
spend  the  evening  of  his  days. 

"Gentlemen,  I  ask  you  to  drink 
his  health  in  a  'bumper,'  as  a  real 
good  'trump,'  and  the  'deuce'  is 
in  it  if  you  do  not  respond  to  this 
'  call'  with  the  '  highest  honors' — 
not  only  a  'single,'  but  a  'double,' 
'treble,'  and  the  '  rub' !" 

Spots. — The  pips  or  marks  on 
the  cards,  from  the  two  to  the  ten 
inclusive,  are  called  spots;  and  these 
cards  are  designated  by  the  number 
of  spots  they  bear;  as,  the  two-spot, 
the  three-spot,  the  eight-spot.  They 
are  also  called  by  other  names,  such 
as  the  deuce,  the  trey,  the  eight, 
etc. 


SPREAD 


400 


STAKES 


'What  are  called  in  America  the  "spots" 
on  cards  are  in  England  termed  "  pips," 
or  "  singles."  They  have  also  been  called 
"points,"  and,  in  Seymour's  time, 
"drops."—/?.  H.  Rheinhardt. 

Spread. — To  spread  the  pack 
means  to  distribute  the  cards,  backs 
uppermost,  upon  the  table,  so  that 
cards  may  be  drawn  from  any  part 
of  the  pack.  It  is  sometimes  used 
in  cutting  for  partners,  etc. 

Stakes. — Money  played  for  at 
whist,  especially  in  the  English 
five  -  point  game,  with  honors. 
Stakes  are  supposed  to  lend  an  ad- 
ditional interest  to  the  game,  but 
to  us  it  seems  that  it  must  be  pretty 
poor  whist  which  needs  such  an  in- 
centive. The  real  truth  of  the 
matter  is  that  stakes  are  a  mild 
form  of  gambling,  and  have  been 
handed  down  from  the  time  when 
the  game  was  used  solely  for  gam- 
bling purposes  in  taverns  and  other 
low  resorts.  In  England  and  other 
countries  where  stakes  are  an  ad- 
junct of  whist,  especially  at  the 
clubs,  this  supposed  interest  is  en- 
hanced by  bets  in  addition  to  the 
stakes,  and  the  English  etiquette 
of  whist  has  found  it  necessary  to 
protect  the  players  at  a  table  in 
their  privilege  of  first  placing  their 
money  before  bystanders,  eager  to 
bet  also,  shall  be  allowed  to  do  so. 
This,  however,  is  the  only  reference 
that  we  find  to  betting  in  the  Eng- 
lish code.  It  says  nothing  what- 
ever about  stakes,  and  this  itself  is 
proof  that  they  are  not  a  necessary 
part  of  the  game,  but  an  addition 
made  by  custom.  The  popular 
English  stake  at  whist  is  half-a- 
crown,  not  a  large  sum  in  itself, 
aside  from  the  bets  which  may  add 
to  it,  yet  players  who  are  unlucky 
at  the  table  (the  five-point  game, 
with  honors,  being  greatly  a  game 
of  chance)  sometimes  find  that 
they  can  ill  afford  the  expensive 


pleasure.  Foster  tells  how  ' '  Pern- 
bridge"  was  so  unfortunate  at 
whist  that  for  years  he  frequented 
a  small  club  where  they  played 
threepenny  points,  just  one-tenth 
the  popular  stake  (rather  an  ironi- 
cal commentary  on  the  old-style 
game  which  he  so  ably  defended 
against  modern  innovations). 

In  America  whist  has  been 
purged  of  the  objectionable  feature 
of  stakes,  along  with  the  counting 
of  honors  and  other  modes  of  play 
conducive  to  play  for  money.  The 
first  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  which  met  at  Mil- 
waukee in  1891,  declared  in  favor 
of  whist  for  its  own  sake,  and 
against  stakes.  This  has  been  so 
satisfactory  and  gratifying  to  the 
American  people  that  thousands 
take  an  interest  in  the  game  who 
would  otherwise  have  found  it  ob- 
jectionable, or  at  least  refused  it 
admission  to  the  home  circle.  The 
general  opinion  in  this  country 
seems  to  be  that  if  whist  is  not 
worth  playing  without  stakes  or 
bets,  those  who  are  dissatisfied  with 
it  can  easily  find  some  other  more 
congenial  card  game.  The  fact 
that  better  whist  is  played  in 
America  than  in  any  other  country 
in  the  world  (a  fact  testified  to  by 
"  Cavendish"  and  other  eminent 
authorities  who  have  visited  this 
country)  must  be  ascribed,  in  some 
measure  at  least,  to  this  very  idea 
of  playing  the  game  for  its  own 
sake.  (See,  also,  "Gambling.") 

In  all  clubs  and  coteries  where  whist  is 
played  for  its  own  sake,  "duplicate"  is 
now  the  only  game  played,  "straight" 
being  confined  to  those  clubs  that  allow 
play  for  stakes,  where  a  game  is  required 
which  gives  the  mediocre  player  a  show 
for  his  money.— John  T.  Mitchell  [L.  A.], 
"Duplicate  tl'hist,"  1897. 

There  is  another  consideration  peculiar 
to  England,  namely,  that  here  whist  is 
always  played  for  money^  for  the  zeal 
which  has  1e<1  Americans,  in  their  gr'-nt 
whist  festivals,  to  abolish  stakes  and  to 


STAKES 


401 


STAKES 


play  for  the  mere  love  of  the  game,  has 
not  yet  spread  to  this  side  of  the  ocean. — 
William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

It  is  only  when  the  stakes  are  large 
enough  to  be  more  than  the  player  can 
afford  that  any  excitement  can  be  added 
to  the  pleasure  which  a  good  game  like 
whist  affords  in  itself.  And  when  once 
the  stakes  are  allowed  to  attain  such  an 
amount  the  play  becomes  gambling. — 
Richard  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.],  Echo,  London, 
July  17,  1878. 

It  should  require  no  argument  to  prove 
that  a  man  who  loves  whist  for  its  own 
sake,  and  struggles  to  win  the  game  for 
the  satisfaction  derived  from  mental 
supremacy,  is  more  likely  to  make  a  good 
whist-player  than  one  who  finds  no  in- 
ducement in  the  game  without  the  stimu- 
lus of  a  stake. — Cassias  M.  Paine  \L.  A.], 
Whist,  February,  1893. 

At  the  first  whist  congress  the  League 
took  strong  ground  in  opposition  to  play 
for  stakes,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  this 
edict  is  strictly  enforced  by  the  League 
clubs.  We  know  positively  that  in  the 
leading  clubs,  such  as  the  Milwaukee, 
Chicago,  Hamilton,  and  Minneapolis 
Clubs,  no  betting  of  any  kind  is  permit- 
ted.— Whist  [L.  A .] ,  September,  1893. 

Money  stakes  are  no  inducement  to  the 
play  for  whist,  for  the  reason  that  the 
game  is  too  slow  for  the  gambler,  while 
men  of  the  highest  intelligence  are  not 
to  be  tempted  by  such  bait.  The  pleasure 
of  vanquishing  their  opponents  in  a 
purely  mental  contest  is,  to  men  of  such 
intelligence,  of  more  value  than  any 
money  consideration. — Eugene  S.  Elliott 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  December,  i8oj. 

Whist  cannot  be  properly  played  unless 
something  depends  upon  the  result.  The 
object  of  playing  well  is  to  win;  but  I 
think  it  is  obvious  that  if  nothing  de- 
pended upon  winning  or  losing,  the  play 
would  not  be  good,  bui  simply  eccentric, 
and  players  would  make  the  most  mar- 
velous finesses,  and  play  the  most  extra- 
ordinary cards,  just  to  see  what  would 
happen,  and  to  gain  ignorant  applause 
when  anything  more  than  usually  out- 
rageous came  off.—//.  M.  Phillips,  West- 
minster Papers,  October  i,  1878. 

[Mr.  Safford's  resolution,  adopted  by  the 
first  congress  of  the  American  Whist 
League]  voiced  the  sentiment  of  the 
whist  world  to  a  main  extent,  namely, 
that  whist  is  a  game  containing  within 
itself  resources  of  intellectual  recreation 
that  are  not  dependent  upon  stakes  or 
wagers  to  add  zest  to  it.  Outside  of  the 
moral  phase  of  the  question,  this  is  the 
fact,  and  real  lovers  of  the  game  do  not 
require  a  stake,  however  insignificant  or 
otherwise,  to  increase  the  stimulus.— C. 
26 


S.  Soutcher  [L.  A.},  "Whist  Sketches," 
1892. 

The  English  game  is  invariably 
played  for  so  much  a  rubber  point;  some- 
times with  an  extra  stake  upon  the  rub- 
ber itself.  In  America  [in  exceptional 
cases  where  stakes  are  played  for],  it  is 
usual  to  play  for  so  much  a  game;  but  in 
some  cases  the  tricks  are  the  unit,  de- 
ducting the  loser's  score  from  seven,  or 
playing  the  last  hand  out  and  then  de- 
ducting the  loser's  score.  A  very  popular 
method  is  to  play  for  a  triple  stake:  so 
much  a  trick,  playing  each  hand  out;  so 
much  a  game;  and  so  much  a  rubber. — /?. 
F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  " Complete Hoyle." 

The  good  sense  of  the  community 
generally  fixes  the  stakes  at  a  reasonable 
sum.  *  *  *  Thus,  at  whist,  the  do- 
mestic rubber  may  be  played  for  postage 
stamps  or  for  silver  three-pennies;  in 
general  society,  shillings,  with  perhaps 
an  extra  half-crown  on  the  rubber,  are 
common  enough;  while  at  the  clubs, 
where  money  flows  more  easily,  half- 
crown  or  crown  points  are  the  ruling 
prices.  At  crack  clubs,  where  many  of 
the  members  are  men  of  wealth,  higher 
points  are,  of  course,  to  be  met  with. — 
"Cavendish"  [/,.  A.],  "Card  Essays." 

Whist-players  in  America  do  not  regard 
stakes  as  in  any  wise  adding  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  game,  while,  on  moral  grounds, 
they  find  strong  reasons  for  opposing 
them.  The  reason  urged  in  favor  of  the 
stake  is  that  it  makes  players  more 
careful;  while,  it  is  claimed,  the  wager  is 
not  gamoling  unless  so  considerable  as  to 
be  a  matter  of  importance.  Whist  con- 
siders neither  of  these  grounds  supported 
by  the  best  argument.  If  the  stake  is  so 
small  that  a  player  cares  nothing  whether 
he  wins  or  loses,  it  is  too  small  to  induce 
a  careless  plaver  to  mend  his  ways. — C. 
M.  Paine  (L.  A.],  Whist,  December,  1892. 

One  of  the  prevailing  faults  of  all  play- 
ers—good, bad,  and  indifferent— is  a 
readiness  to  find  fault  with  one's  partner. 
This  is  much  more  noticeable  among 
those  who  play  for  stakes,  whether  large 
or  small.  There  seems  to  be  something 
in  the  fact  of  having  some  pecuniary  gain 
or  loss  depending  on  the  result  which 
renders  one  irritable  and  suspicious. 
Perhaps  it  is  necessarily  so.  Gambling, 
or  even  playing  for  stakes  small  enough 
to  merely  "  define  the  interest,"  as  "  Cav- 
endish" euphoniously  phrases  it,  can  be 
based  only  on  selfish  motives.  The  play, 
no  matter  how  small  the  stakes,  must 
be  based  on  that  selfish  motive,  or 
"interest,"  to  get  your  neighbor's  six- 
pences or  guineas  (as  may  be)  away  from 
him;  and,  mark  it  well,  not  by  skill,  but 
as  the  result  of  chance — for  the  stake- 

E layer  as  a  rule  does  not  care  a  particle 
>r  skill — and  only  prays  for  good  luck, 


STARNES,  VAL.  W. 


402 


STARNES,  VAL.  W. 


and  exults  in  it  when  it  comes.— Fisher 
Ames[L.  A.],  Whist,  September,  1895. 

Starnes,  Val.  W.— A  bright  and 
promising  young  Southern  whist 
author,  whose  advocacy  of  short- 
suit  leads,  while  pronounced,  is 
based  upon  a  desire  to  harmonize 
long  and  short-suit  play  rather  than 
to  destroy  the  former.  Mr.  Starnes 
is  the  youngest  son  of  the  late 
Judge  E.  Starnes,  one  of  the  jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Georgia,  and  was  born  at  Augusta, 
in  that  State,  on  August  30,  1860. 
By  profession  he  is  a  journalist  and 
magazine  writer. 

He  was  taught  to  play  whist  by 
his  mother  when  he  was  ten  years  of 
age,  and  when  duplicate  whist  was 
introduced,  he  took  part  in  occa- 
sional games  merely  as  a  social 
duty,  but  cared  little  for  the  result, 
until  it  was  forced  upon  his  notice 
that  whenever  he  was  pitted  against 
a  certain  opponent  he  invariably 
lost.  As  a  matter  of  course  this 
piqued  him,  and,  procuring  the 
leading  works  on  the  game,  he 
studied  them  faithfully  until  he 
became  proficient  enough  to  turn 
the  tables  on  his  former  adversary. 

As  he  began  to  have  a  thorough 
understanding  of  the  theory  and 
practice  of  the  game,  Mr.  Starnes 
was  impressed  with  this  considera- 
tion: That  since  the  long-suit  game 
was  so  beautifully  adapted  to  hands 
containing  long  strong  suits,  and 
the  additional  cards  necessary  to 
bring  them  in  when  established,  it 
could  not  possibly  be  equally  well 
suited  to  those  other  hands  in 
which  either  the  long  suit  itself,  or 
the  requisite  cards  for  utilizing  it, 
were  wanting.  It  seemed  to  him, 
therefore,  that  some  scheme  of  play 
was  needed  for  making  the  most 
of  the  latter  class  of  hands,  "and 
just  then,"  he  says  in  a  recent  let- 
ter, "  I  came  in  my  reading,  to  the 


chapter  on  the  short-suit  game  in 
Foster's  'Whist  Strategy,'  and  I 
felt  that  therein  lay  the  solution  of 
the  problem. 

"  A  little  solitaire,"  he  continues, 
"served  to  strengthen  this  belief, 
and  then  I  determined  to  put  the 
matter  to  a  practical  test  by  simply 
instructing  my  partner  before  sit- 
ting down  to  the  table  never  to  re- 
turn my  lead  unless  it  was  abso- 
lutely evident  that  I  had  led  from 
strength.  I  won  the  next  thirteen 
games,  and  after  losing  the  four- 
teenth, twelve  more  before  drop- 
ping a  second.  Before  that  I  had 
considered  three  consecutive  victo- 
ries quite  a  feat.  It  was  then — in 
the  spring  of  1895 — that  the  idea 
occurred  to  me  to  try  to  do  for  the 
short-suit  game  what  so  many  had 
done  for  the  long,  namely,  to 
analyze  and  expound  its  principles, 
and  give  such  directions  for  play- 
ing it  that  even  beginners  might 
attempt  doing  so  without  any  ex- 
cessive preliminary  expenditure  of 
time  and  study.  It  was  an  alto- 
gether untrodden  field,  and  there- 
fore inviting.  I  began  to  write, 
and  the  result  was  '  Short-Suit 
Whist.'" 

When  asked  by  us  what  he 
thought  of  the  present  status  of  the 
short-suit  game,  Mr.  Starnes  re- 
plied: "  I  think  that  public  opinion 
can  be  depended  upon  sooner  or 
later  to  decide  the  matter,  and  its 
approbation  or  condemnation  is, 
after  all,  the  true  test  of  any  novel- 
ty. Still,  as  a  simple  straw  indic- 
ative of  the  wind's  direction,  I 
would  like  to  mention  the  follow- 
ing: In  his  replies  to  the  queries  of 
subscribers,  a  prominent  whist  jour- 
nalist recently  advised  the  short- 
suit  lead  from  two  submitted  hands 
which  might  have  been  taken,  al- 
most card  for  card,  from  corre- 
sponding illustrative  hands  in  my 
book.  A  year  ago  the  same  gen- 


STILL  PACK 


403 


STOW,  BOND 


tleman,  who  is  still  an  upholder  of 
the  long-suit  doctrine,  would  never 
have  dreamed  of  suggesting  a  lead 
from  any  but  the  longest  suit,  no 
matter  how  weak  it  might  be,  or 
what  the  complexion  of  the  rest  of 
the  hand." 

It  is  a  mistake,  in  his  opinion,  to 
speak  of  playing  whist  by  any 
"system."  Its  infinite  kaleido- 
scopic variety  precludes  it.  In  his 
book  he  makes  no  attempt  to  for- 
mulate any  fixed  line  of  play,  but 
simply  advises  the  short-suit  lead, 
from  such  hands  as  do  not  seem  to 
be  adapted  to  the  long-suit  game; 
and  then,  by  an  explanation  of  the 
points  involved  and  numerous  il- 
lustrations, he  endeavors  to  supply 
the  student  with  some  standard  to 
go  by  in  deciding  for  himself. 
After  this  he  demonstrates  the 
course  of  play  which  common 
sense  would  suggest  in  regard  to 
the  contingencies  that  are  most 
likely  to  arise.  In  other  words, 
from  his  point  of  view,  the  chief 
difference  between  the  long  and 
short-suit  game  is  in  the  original 
lead;  after  that  the  development, 
and  not  system,  directs  the  play. 

Still  Pack. — The  pack  of  cards 
not  in  play,  when  two  packs  are' 
used  at  a  table,  as  in  the  clubs; 
sometimes  also  called  a  dormant 
pack.  In  some  varieties  of  the 
game,  such  as  "  Prussian  whist," 
for  instance,  the  trump  is  cut  from 
the  still  pack. 

Robert  Southey,  in  his  "Letters 
of  Espriella,"  tells  of  an  old  Welsh 
baronet  who  attempted  to  reform 
the  old-style  game  of  whist  by  low- 
ering the  number  of  points  from  ten 
to  six,  allowing  no  honors  to  be 
counted,  and  providing  that  the 
trump  should  be  decided  by  draw- 
ing from  a  second  or  still  pack,  so 
that  the  dealer  should  have  no  ad- 
vantage, and  all  chance  be,  as  far 


as  possible,  precluded.  But  the 
new  system  attracted  but  little 
attention  in  that  slowly-moving 
age,  and  was  soon  lost  sight  of 
upon  the  death  of  its  inventor. 
(See,  also,  "  Declared  Trump,"  and 
"  National  Trump.") 

Stow,  Bond. — An  advocate  of 
advanced  ideas  in  whist,  and  an 
analyst  of  great  ability.  He  was 
born  November  18,  1865,  at  Beloit, 
Wisconsin,  and  started  on  his  edu- 
cational career  at  the  age  of  five, 
he.  tells  us,  when  his  father  made 
for  him  a  little  stool  with  a  drawer 
under  the  seat,  and  gave  him  a  bat, 
a  rubber  ball,  a  primer,  and  a  slate, 
and  bade  him  "go  it."  In  due 
time  he  was  graduated  from  the 
Evanston  High  School  (classical 
course);  the  Northwestern  Univer- 
sity, in  which  he  received  the  de- 
grees of  A.  B.  and  A.  M. ;  and  the 
Chicago  Medical  College  (medi- 
cal department  of  the  Northwestern 
University),  which  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  M.  D.  He  also 
received  honorable  mention  for 
special  work  in  pathology  and  in- 
ternal medicine,  in  the  clinics  of 
the  general  hospitals  of  Vienna, 
Berlin,  Dresden,  and  Munich.  He 
was  a  staff  physician  in  the  medical 
department  of  the  Michael  Reese 
Hospital  Dispensary,  and  demon- 
strator and  quiz-master  in  path- 
ology in  the  Chicago  Medical  Col- 
lege. Also,  for  one  year,  professor 
of  general  pathology  at  the  dental 
school  of  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity. He  is  now  (1897)  resident 
physician  of  the  Glenwood  Hot 
Springs  Company,  at  Glenwood 
Springs,  Colorado.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Chicago  Medical  Society, 
the  Colorado  State  Medical  Society, 
and  of  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. 

Dr.  Stow's  parents  were  staunch 
Methodists,  and  his  father  holding 


STOW,  BOND 


404 


STOW,  BOND 


prominent  positions  in  the  church, 
card  games  were  a  forbidden  amuse- 
ment. Therefore  the  lad's  early 
card-playing  had  to  be  done  sub 
rosa.  At  first  it  was  cassino;  then 
euchre.  It  was  not  until  1885  that 
he  received  his  first  introduction  to 
whist,  and  he  tells  the  story  as 
follows:  "  One  cold,  drizzling  after- 
noon in  November,  I  found  myself 
with  three  old  college  friends,  Mr. 
David  Bloom,  Mr.  Samuel  Boddy, 
and  Mr.  F.  C.  Cook.  A  game  of 
whist  was  proposed.  I  protested 
my  entire  ignorance  of  the  game, 
but  was  overruled  and  told  to  sit 
down  and  follow  suit.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  whirl  my  head  was 
in  when  the  game  was  concluded. 
It  was  then  and  there  that  I  realized 
what  a  rich  field  whist  was  in  which 
to  exercise  one's  powers  of  analysis, 
and  I  determined  to  start  in  and 
learn  the  game.  I  am  still  plod- 
ding that  road,  which  seems  as 
though  it  had  no  terminus;  and 
nowadays,  when  the  by-paths  of 
fads  are  made  so  alluring,  it  is  with 
difficulty  that  some  can  find  the 
old,  original  turnpike.  But  I  find 
myself  still  on  the  old  long-suit 
road." 

In  college  Dr.  Stow's  favorite 
studies  were  mathematics  and  phil- 
osophy. He  found  an  indescriba- 
ble fascination  in  analyzing  and 
philosophizing  over  hard  problems, 
and  for  this  reason,  as  already  inti- 
mated, whist  proved  a  fresh  delight 
to  him  when  found.  He  feels 
deeply  indebted  to  it  for  the  part  it 
has  played  in  strengthening  his 
powers  of  observation,  analysis, 
judgment,  and  in  developing  what, 
for  want  of  a  better  term,  is  some- 
times called  the  sixth  sense. 

His  chief  writings  on  the  game 
have  appeared  in  Whist,  and  are  all 
of  an  analytical  character.  Among 
the  topics  treated  by  him  are  the 
following:  (i)  Unblocking  to  the 


king-lead;  (2)  the  lead  of  the  ten- 
spot  from  queen,  jack,  ten;  (3)  to 
discard  always  from  the  suit  you 
do  not  wish  your  partner  to 
lead  to  you  (see  Whist,  January, 
1896);  (4)  the  lead  of  queen  from 
ace,  king,  queen,  jack,  and  others, 
thus  forcing  the  jack-lead  always 
to  deny  the  presence  of  the  ace, 
being  the  only  lead  from  king, 
queen,  jack,  and  others,  or  at  the 
top  of  a  short  suit.  These  four 
topics  were  ably  and  exhaustively 
treated,  and  commanded  universal 
attention.  Concerning  his  position 
on  all  of  them  he  says,  under  date 
of  October  22,  1897:  "I  think  the 
ten-lead  from  queen,  jack,  ten,  is 
now  pretty  generally  accepted." 
(See,  "Hamilton  Leads.")  "The 
discard  is  to-day,  as  I  suspect  it 
always  will  be,  a  question  of  much 
dispute.  I  am  to-day,  as  at  the 
time  when  I  wrote  my  plea  for  my 
form  of  the  discard,  a  firm  believer 
in  it.  It  is  a  discard  which  comes 
as  near  the  natural  idea  of  the  dis- 
card (namely,  the  throwing  away 
of  that  which  you  do  not  want)  as 
anything  can  come;  at  the  same 
time  I  am  positively  commanding 
my  partner  not  to  lead  me  the  suit  I 
discard  from.  Mark  you,  that  does 
not  necessarily  mean  that  I  am 
weak  in  the  suit  I  discard.  I  may 
be  very  strong.  All  partner  needs 
to  know  is  that  he  is  not  to  lead  me 
the  suit  I  discard.  I  have  excellent 
reasons  why,  at  that  particular 
stage  of  the  game,  he  should  not 
lead  it.  Of  course,  if  I  discard  the 
command  of  a  suit,  he  conies  with 
that  suit;  or  if  I  discard  a  high 
and  then  a  lower  card  of  a  suit, 
I  show  strength  in  it,  and  wish  it 
led." 

Dr.  Stow  also  originated  the  rules 
for  detecting  forced  leads,  as  found 
in  Foster's  "Whist  Manual,"  third 
edition,  page  169,  where  due  credit 
is  given  him. 


STRAIGHT  WHIST 


405 


STRANGERS 


Straight  Whist.— Ordinary  whist 
as  distinguished  from  duplicate. 
In  straight  whist  the  hands  are 
played  but  once,  and  at  the  con- 
clusion of  each  hand  the  cards  are 
immediately  shuffled  for  another 
deal.  Straight  whist  is  the  original 
whist;  duplicate,  a  comparatively 
recent  invention. 

Straight  whist  has  been  largely 
superseded  by  duplicate  whist  in 
America,  both  at  the  clubs  and  in 
private.  In  countries  where  stakes 
are  played  for,  duplicate  makes  less 
progress,  as  stakes,  the  counting  of 
honors,  and  all  matters  favoring 
chance  instead  of  skill,  are  foreign 
to  it.  Many  older  players  also  pre- 
fer straight  whist  because  they  are 
strongly  wedded  to  it,  and  some  of 
them  do  not  care  to  risk  their  repu- 
tations to  its  unerring  test.  Others 
there  are,  like  "  Cavendish,"  who 
play  both,  but  like  duplicate  better 
for  match-play  and  straight  whist 
for  social  enjoyment. 

"  Cavendish"  *  *  *  thinks  that,  on  the 
whole,  the  straight  whist  of  seven  up, 
without  honors  [the  American  game],  is 
the  most  perfect  mode  of  scoring  for  in- 
tellectual players  that  has  yet  been  de- 
vised.— William  Pole  [L.  A+\. 

For  purposes  of  social  enjoyment  I  give 
a  distinct  preference  to  straight  whist. 
Moreover,  in  the  straight  game  there  is 
the  feature  of  playing  to  the  score,  which 
is  almost  altogether  wanting  in  the  dupli- 
cate game.  The  straight  game  also  takes 
less  time  to  play  than  a  series  of  duplicate 
hands  which  are  to  amount  to  anything, 
and  it  admits  of  variety  of  partners,  and 
occasional  rest,  when  cutting  in  and  out. 
For  purposes  of  match  play  I  give  my  ad- 
hesion to  duplicate.  At  this  game  the 
object  of  the  play  is  not  one  of  rest  and 
recreation;  the  intention  is  to  bring  to 
the  front  the  best  players  by  eliminating 
luck  as  far  as  possible". — "Cavendish"  [L. 
A.],  Whist,  September,  1893. 

Strain  of  Whist,  The.— As  in  all 

other  trials  of  skill  (not  to  mention 
those  of  endurance),  there  is  a 
heavy  strain  connected  with  the 
whist  matches  which  are  frequently 


played  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  especially  with  those  contests 
which  occur  at  the  annual  congress 
of  the  American  Whist  League. 
Those  who  have  charge  of  contests 
of  this  kind  should  see  to  it  that 
the  players  are  not  subjected  to 
conditions  and  modes  of  play  that 
may  impair  health,  and  turn  a 
healthful  and  beneficial  recreation 
of  the  mind  into  an  injurious  task. 

Turning  a  relaxation  and  a  pleasure 
into  a  business  and  a  toil  is  to  be  depre- 
cated, not  recommended;  and  a  wise  man 
would  rather  give  up  whist  altogether 
than  be  compelled  to  play  it  upon  the  im- 
plied condition  that  he  was  to  keep  his 
mind  eternally  upon  the  strain. — A.  Hay- 
ward  [O.]. 

Those  who  have  never  attended  a  con- 
gress can  form  no  idea  of  the  physical 
and  mental  strain  which  has  to  be  borne 
by  the  teams  which  are  called  upon  to 
play  in  the  tournaments  day  after  day. 
In  addition  to  this,  it  is  the  one  annual 
opportunity  for  us  to  meet  our  brethren 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  an  opportu- 
nity that  we  most  eagerly  look  forward  to 
from  the  adjournment  of  one  congress 
until  the  beginning  of  the  next,  and  that 
we  embrace  to  the  very  fullest  extent.  I 
do,  and  I  expect  to  continue  doing  so 
while  life  and  health  permit.  Like 
many  others  at  Minneapolis,  I  always 
saw  the  rosy  dawn  before  retiring.  I 
sought  repose  anywhere  from  12  p.  m.  to 
8  a.  m.  (generally  nearer  to  8  than  to  12), 
and  rose  anywhere  from  8  to  12.  Try  a 
week  of  this  and  then  try  to  play  whist. 
On  the  last  day  all  the  players  were  tired, 
very  tired.  One  of  them  fainted  twice 
after  the  last  hand  had  been  played.  No 
man  was  more  physically  unfit  than  I 
was.  As  President  Elliott  said  at  Phila- 
delphia, "the  thinker  didn't  think."  Ex- 
ample: During  one  deal  I  involuntarily 
went  to  sleep — phvsically  or  mentally — 
perhaps  both.  When  I  awoke,  or  was 
awakened,  I  had  a  number  of  cards  in  my 
hand,  but  what  had  been  done  was  all  a 
blank  to  me.  Finally  I  remembered  that 
my  first  lead  had  been  a  trump,  and  hav- 
ing two  trumps  still  in  my  hand,  and  the 
three  other  players  gazing  at  me  in  a 
state  of  awful  expectancy,  I  blindly  led  a 
trumponly  to  find  the  major  tenace  at  my 
right,  and  so  I  generously  contributed 
two  or  more  tricks  to  my  courteous  ad- 
versaries.— Anon,  Whist,  1896. 

Strangers,  Playing  With. — "  If 

I    am   thrown  among    players   of 


STRATEGY 


406 


STRATEGY 


whom  I  know  nothing,"  says 
James  Clay,  "  I  feel  that  I  play  to 
a  great  disadvantage.  I  am  like  a 
boy  on  the  first  day  of  going  to  a 
new  school,  not  knowing  whom  to 
like,  whom  to  trust,  and  whom  to 
distrust."  In  these  latter  days 
there  is  not  only  this  natural  feel- 
ing of  newness  and  groping  in  the 
dark,  but  there  is  the  additional 
wonder  as  to  which  of  the  numer- 
ous systems  and  special  plays  the 
stranger  may  employ.  Few  play- 
ers but  feel  at  a  disadvantage  under 
these  circumstances,  and  yet,  pro- 
vided the  man  be  not  a  bumblepup- 
pist,  it  is  not  difficult,  with  a  little 
patience,  to  become  acquainted 
with  and  interested  in  his  play. 
One  great  aid  in  establishing  mu- 
tually pleasant  relations  is  to  ex- 
ercise true  politeness  and  courtesy, 
and  to  treat  the  stranger  as  if  he 
were  a  master  at  the  game.  He 
may  turn  out  to  be  such,  or  at 
least  a  much  better  player  than 
yourself. 

Strategy. — The  higher  form  of 
whist-play  which  rises  above  the 
mere  observance  of  rules  and  fol- 
lowing out  of  conventional  usages. 
Strategy  is  the  play  of  the  advanced 
player  who  has  learned  the  rules, 
and  when  to  break  them;  who  has 
the  ability  to  judge  correctly  the 
various  situations  which  arise  in  the 
progress  of  the  game,  and  to  ap- 
ply the  mode  of  play  best  suited  to 
each. 

To  a  certain  extent  strategy  is 
employed  by  every  player  whose 
game  is  not  entirely  devoid  of  aim. 
If  he  decides  to  open  his  long  suit, 
there  is  a  certain  form  of  strategy 
involved  to  bring  it  in.  If  he  de- 
cides to  sacrifice  a  worthless  hand 
for  the  benefit  of  partner,  there  is 
also  a  certain  line  of  strategy 
necessary.  The  strategy  of  the 
game  differs  also  with  the  style  of 


whist  which  is  played.  In  the 
English  five-point  game,  with 
honors  counting,  an  important  ob- 
ject is  playing  to  the  score,  and 
strategy  varies  in  accordance  with 
your  chances  of  going  out,  or  your 
opponents  making  game  before 
you.  At  the  opening  of  the  game 
a  bold  dash  is  generally  made  for 
the  first  point,  so  that  your  oppo- 
nents, even  if  they  score  four  by 
honors,  cannot  go  out  that  hand. 
There  is  necessity,  also,  to  play  so 
as  to  make  the  losses  as  small  as 
possible,  even  if  you  cannot  win, 
for  there  are  the  rubber  points  to  be 
taken  into  consideration.  In  the 
American  seven-point  game,  hon- 
ors not  counting,  where  all  the 
points  made  are  by  cards,  and  every 
game  is  complete  in  itself,  with  no 
doubles,  trebles,  nor  anything  of 
that  kind  to  fear,  a  more  conserva- 
tive form  of  game  may  be  played. 
In  duplicate  whist,  conservative 
strategy  is  still  more  important,  as 
losses  must  be  kept  down  as  much 
as  possible. 

Whist  strategy  consists  in  making  spe- 
cial plays,  contrary  to  the  conventional 
rules,  under  certain  conditions  of  the 
hand  and  state  of  the  score,  when,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  player,  the  game  may 
be  saved  or  won  by  so  doing. — C.  E.  Coffin 
[L.  A.],  "Gist of  Whist." 

In  my  opinion ,  the  best  strategy  is  a 
combination  of  all  the  systems,  which  re- 
quires that  a  player  shall  take  into  ac- 
count not  only  the  possibility  of  the 
hand  he  holds,  and  the  state  of  the  score, 
but  the  much  more  important  factor,  the 
personal  equations  of  his  partner  and 
opponents.— .ff.  F.  Foster  [5.  O.],  "Whist 
Strategy." 

The  conventionalities  of  whist  are  sim- 
ply a  sort  of  musket  and  bayonet  drill, 
which  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the 
higher  art  of  strategv.  an  art  which  must 
be  studied  by  itself,out  which  would  be 
incomprehensible  to  one  who  was  not 
familiar  with  the  simpler  conventionali- 
ties of  the  game.— K.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.], 
"Duplicate  Whist,"  1894. 

Whist — the  real  game  of  whist,  I  mean 
— derives  its  interest  entirely  from  strate- 
gy, by  which  either  tricks  are  made  by 
cards  which  would  not,  but  for  such 


STREET,  CHARLES  S.         407         STREET,  CHARLES  S. 


strategy,  have  power  to  take  those  tricks, 
or  by  which  the  plans  of  the  adversaries 
to  achieve  such  ends  are  detected  and 
foiled.  Tricks  may  be  made  by  high 
cards,  but  there  is  no  interest  in  that. 
Any  one  can  take  a  trick  with  the  ace  of 
trumps.  Tricks  may  be  made  by  finesse 
— that  is,  by  playing,  instead  of  the  best 
card,  a  lower  card,  which  may  or  may 
not  take  the  trick  according  as  the  inter- 
mediate card  or  cards  lie  to  the  right  or 
left.  This  is  better;  but  the  finesse  pure 
and  simple  is  a  matter  of  mere  chance, 
and  so  far  as  the  actual  gain  of  a  trick  is 
concerned,  there  is  no  more  scientific  joy 
in  the  success  of  a  finesse  than  in  the  cap- 
ture of  a  trick  by  a  high  card.  There  is 
science  in  the  finesse;  but  the  scientific 
interest  does  not  depend  on  the  direct 
success  or  failure  of  the  finesse  at  the 
moment,  but  on  its  bearing  upon  the 
general  play  of  the  hand.  Again,  tricks 
may  be  made  by  trumping  winning  cards 
of  plain  suits.  There  is  often  good  sci- 
ence in  bringing  this  about  properly,  not 
by  the  coarse  lead  of  a  single  card  or  from 
a  two-card  suit,  but  by  so  arranging  mat- 
ters that  the  ruff,  when  made,  shall  not 
impair,  but  utilize,  the  trump  strength 
which  lies  between  you  and  your  partner. 
Special  pleasure  is  there  in  a  cross-ruff 
when  ingeniously  secured  and  properly 
employed;  still  more  pleasure  in  tempt- 
ing the  enemy  to  a  cross-ruff,  which, 
while  not  lasting  long  enough  to  give 
them  more  than  three  or  four  tricks,  just 
destroys  their  superior  trump  strength. 
But  the  great  delight  of  whist  strategy 
lies  in  the  manosuvres  by  which  small 
cards  are  made  to  conquer  large  ones,  as 
when  a  long  suit  is  successfully  brought 
in  or  the  enemy  forced  by  skillful  strategy 
to  lead  up  to  a,tenace.  Nor  is  there  less 
pleasure  in  noting  and  foiling  the  plans 
of  the  adversary  for  achieving  these  same 
ends.  Nay,  to  the  true  player  there  ought 
to  be  pleasure  even  in  noting  the  skill 
by  which  the  enemy  achieves  success;  but 
I  fear  me  this  is  more  than  most  players 
of  whist  attain  to,  however  earnest  may 
be  their  whist  enthusiasm. — R.  A.  Proc- 
tor [L.  O.] . 

Street,  Charles  Stuart. — A  suc- 
cessful whist  author  and  teacher; 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  June 
18,  1864.  He  is  a  lawyer  by  pro- 
fession, having  been  educated  for 
the  bar  and  regularly  admitted  to 
practice,  but  his  real  forte  seems  to 
be  that  of  an  instructor,  and  he  is 
at  present  principal  of  the  Hale 
School  for  Boys,  at  Boston.  He 
also  devotes  some  of  his  time  regu- 


larly to  the  teaching  of  whist,  and 
has  done  so  ever  since  1890.  Two 
years  before  that  his  real  interest  in 
the  game  first  began. 

In  teaching  he  early  realized  that 
pupils  could  not  remember  without 
notes,  and  to  save  time  he  issued  a 
series  of  lesson  cards,  and  these 
cards  gradually  grew  into  a  book, 
so  that  in  1896  "  Whist  Up  to  Date" 
was  published.  Previous  to  this, 
in  1890,  he  had  published  his 
"  Concise  Whist;  the  Principles  of 
Modern  Whist  as  Modified  by 
American  Leads,  Presented  in  a 
Simple  and  Practical  Form;"  of 
which  W.  P.  Courtney,  in  his 
"  English  Whist  and  Whist-Play- 
ers," expressed  the  opinion  that  it 
"was  the  condensed  wisdom  of 
more  than  one  student  of  the 
game. ' ' 

While  Mr.  Street  is  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  long-suit  game  and 
American  leads  for  general  players, 
he  has  nevertheless  evolved,  in  the 
second  part  or  his  ' '  Whist  Up  to 
Date,"  a  scheme  or  system  for  ad- 
vanced players  in  which  he  en- 
deavors to  embody  the  good  points 
of  both  long  and  short-suit  play, 
and  to  remedy  the  weaknesses  of 
both.  This  system  he  terms  the 
modified  game  (q.  zf.).  One  of  its 
leading  features  is  contrasted  with 
a  portion  of  the  Howell  game, 
as  follows,  by  R.  F.  Foster,  in  the 
New  York  Sun,  December  5,  1897: 
"  This  system  of  leading  interior 
cards  from  unsupported  long  suits 
is  the  distinguishing  mark  between 
the  game  advocated  by  Howell  and 
that  outlined  by  Street.  Howell's 
idea  was  to  use  the  six,  seven,  and 
eight  as  leads  from  short  suits,  pre- 
ferably singletons,  to  invite  a  force. 
Street  uses  the  same  cards  as  inte- 
rior leads  from  long  suits,  inviting 
partner  to  play  for  the  suit  if  he  is 
strong  enough,  but  warning  him 
that  the  original  leader  has  neither 


STREET  ATTACHMENT       408 


STUDY  WHIST 


trump  strength  nor  re-entry  cards." 
More  correctly  speaking,  it  denies 
both  trump  strength  and  re-entry 
cards;  but  either  one  or  the  other 
may  be  present. 

Street     Attachment,     The. — A 

conventional  play  used  by  Charles 
S.  Street  in  his  system  of  the 
"modified  game"  (q.  v.)  for  experts. 
In  this  system  players  do  not  call 
for  trumps  on  the  adversaries'  suits, 
and  Mr.  Street  uses  the  trump  sig- 
nal instead,  to  show  no  more  of  the 
suit  in  which  it  is  made.  Similar 
signals  are  arranged  to  show  three, 
but  no  honor,  and  three  with  an 
honor. 

Streeter   Diamond    Medal. — A 

diamond  medal  offered  by  Allton 
Streeter,  of  the  Milwaukee  Whist 
Club,  for  the  highest  individual 
score  at  duplicate  whist,  and  played 
for  at  the  first  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  at  Mil- 
waukee, 1891.  Fifty-six  contest- 
ants participated  in  the  match,  and 
the  medal  was  won  by  E.  Price 
Townsend,  of  the  Hamilton  Club, 
Philadelphia. 

Strength. — High  cards,  or  more 
than  the  average  number,  or  both, 
in  a  suit.  Strength  in  a  hand  jus- 
tifies the  holder  in  playing  an  ag- 
gressive game,  leading  trumps,  at- 
tempting to  bring  in  the  long  suit, 
etc.  Strength  may  consist  in  good 
plain  suits,  or  in  an  abundance  of 
trumps;  the  ideal  hand  combines 
both.  With  strength  in  trumps 
(having  four  or  five  or  more)  the 
player  usually  passes  a  doubtful 
trick,  saving  his  ammunition  for  a 
trump  attack. 

Strengthening  Cards.  —  Cards 
•which  are  led  by  a  player  whose 
hand  is  very  poor,  in  the  hope  that 
they  may  benefit  and  strengthen 


his  partner's  hand;  usually  the  in- 
termediate cards,  queen,  jack,  ten, 
or  nine.  Much  used  by  advocates 
of  the  short-suit  game. 

On  partner's  lead  of  a  strengthening 
card  in  your  suit,  generally  finesse — that 
is,  do  not  cover — so  that  his  card  may  be  of 
value  to  you.—  Kate  Wheelock  \L.  A.], 
"  Whist  Rules." 

Among  long-suit  players  the  lead  of  a 
strengtheuing  card  is  infallible  evidence 
of  weakness,  and  is  generally  regarded 
as  the  highest  card  in  the  leader's  hand. 
It  usually  leaves  him  open  to  merciless 
finesse  by  the  player  on  his  right,  a  lib- 
erty which  cannot  be  taken  with  a  short- 
suit  player,  whose  game  is  to  hold  over 
his  right-hand  opponent. — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.},"  Whist  Tactics." 

A  strengthening  lead  is  the  play  of  a 
queen,  jack,  ten,  or  nine,  which  is  not  led 
from  any  regular  high-card  combination. 
The  hope  is  that  the  fourth  hand  may  be 
forced  to  play  a  much  higher  card  in 
order  to  win  the  trick,  and  that  any  inter- 
mediate or  lower  cards  in  the  hands  of 
the  leader's  partner  may  be  strengthened. 
This  strengthening  play  is  one  of  the 
principal  features  of  the  short-suit  game. 
—  Val.  IV.  Starnes  [S.  O.],  "Short-Suit 
Whist." 

Strength  Signal.— See,  "Plain- 
Suit  Signal." 

Strong  Suit. — A  suit  of  four 
cards  or  more  containing  more 
than  the  average  number  of  high 
cards;  one  in  which  tricks  are  as- 
sured after  the  adverse  trumps 
have  been  drawn. 

Lead  from  your  strong  suit  only  when 
you  are  sufficiently  strong  to  bring  in 
that  suit  with  the  aid  of  reasonable 
strength  on  the  part  of  your  partner. — 
"Pembridge"  [L+O.],  "Decline  and  fall 
of  Whist." 

When  you  have  sorted  your  hand,  you 
can  at  once  tell  which  is  your  longest 
suit.  You  must  have  at  least  one  suit 
containing  four  cards.  Probably  you  may 
have  one  suit  with  five  or  even  six  cards; 
this  is  called  your  strongest  suit. — A. 
W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of  Prac- 
tical W'hisl." 

Study  Whist.— Whist  played  for 
the  purpose  of  study  and  practice. 
The  idea  of  studying  whist  by 


STUDY  WHIST 


409 


SUB-ECHO 


means  of  actual  play  of  the  cards 
is  an  old  one.  Thomas  Mathews, 
in  his  "Advice  to  the  Young  Whist- 
Player,"  1804,  said:  "Study  all 
maxims  with  the  cards  placed  be- 
fore you  in  the  situations  men- 
tioned." This  can  be  done  by  any 
player,  who  may  thus  improve  his 
whist  all  by  himself.  The  advice 
to  place  the  cards  on  the  table  in 
accordance  with  the  play  recom- 
mended in  books  was  sometimes 
not  heeded  because,  as  "  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel B."  tells  us,  persons 
were  often  sensitive  about  being 
found  "learning  to  play  cards." 
He,  therefore,  proposed  to  place  the 
cards  for  them,  not  on  the  table, 
but  in  his  little  book,  by  means  of 
printed  diagrams.  (See,  "  Illustra- 
tive Hands.")  An  old  and  favorite 
mode  of  study  whist  is  dummy,  or 
double-dummy,  from  which  begin- 
ners may  derive  great  benefit. 

The  latest  and  perhaps  most  sci- 
entific and  exacting  form  of  study 
whist  is  that  which  several  New 
England  clubs  began  practicing  in 
1895,  being  undoubtedly  inspired 
by  the  perception  problems  of 
Charles  M.  Clay.  In  the  Septem- 
ber, 1895,  number  of  Whist,  a  cor- 
respondent tells  of  the  players  of 
the  Boston  Press  Club  engaging  in 
this  serious  pastime,  which,  he  says, 
is  also  called  "nightmare  whist" 
(q.  v.}.  "  They  play  a  deal  to  the 
eighth  trick,"  says  he,  "  then  stop 
and  try  to  locate  the  remaining 
cards,  writing  down  their  estimates 
prepared  for  this  purpose.  After 
playing  the  last  five  tricks,  they 
pass  the  blanks  around  and  have 
them  corrected.  Finally,  they  dis- 
cuss from  top  to  bottom  the  play 
of  the  deal,  and  in  a  doomsday 
book  put  down  a  big  black  mark 
opposite  the  name  of  anybody  who 
loses  a  trick."  The  best  record 
after  thirty  deals  was  held  by  C.  L. 
Becker,  who  lost  but  four  tricks  as 


compared  with  the  very  best  play 
of  his  hand,  and  placed  correctly 
an  average  of  13.6  cards  on  a  hand 
out  of  a  possible  15.  The  American 
Whist  Club,  of  Boston ,  also  took  up 
this  form  of  study  whist,  and  passed 
a  resolution  to  allow  the  formation 
of  ' '  study  tables, ' '  to  which  any 
player  was  admitted  who  first 
agreed  to  play  the  long-suit  part- 
nership game  with  American  leads; 
to  lead  originally  from  a  short  suit 
only  as  an  indication  of  trump 
strength  with  no  good  plain  suit  of 
four  or  more  in  hand;  to  play  no 
false  cards;  and  to  stop  at  the 
eighth  trick  and  write  down  his 
estimate  of  the  other  players'  hold- 
ings, in  which  exercise  it  was 
necessary  to  place  the  command  of 
every  suit,  but  not  to  name  exactly 
the  indifferent  small  cards.  A 
study  table  consists  of  four  players, 
but  any  number  may  play  by  over- 
looking the  four  at  the  table,  only 
each  must  confine  his  attention  to 
one  man's  hand,  and  watch  the 
cards  as  they  fall  on  the  table, 
being  careful  not  to  overlook  two 
hands.  (See,  also,  "  Perception," 
and  "Perception  Problems.") 

We  have  usually  played  study  whist 
with  players  playing  the  straightforward 
long-suit  game,  without  false  cards,  but 
as  the  players  become  more  expert,  they 
can  play  it  short  suit,  or  play  it  long  suit 
and  allow  all  the  false  cards  they  care  to 
make.  Even  the  best  players  will  find 
this  practice  of  great  benefit  in  what  we 
call  reading  the  cards  in  the  end  game. — 
Lander  M.  BOUV&  [L.  A.],  Boston  Tran- 
script, 1896. 

Sub-  Echo. — A  signal  to  show  not 
more  than  three  trumps;  it  is  only 
made  when  partner  has  either  sig- 
naled for  or  led  trumps,  under 
which  circumstances  the  informa- 
tion is  of  more  benefit  to  him  than 
to  the  adversaries.  The  sub-echo  is 
the  invention  of  N.  B.  Trist,  but  has 
been  greatly  varied  since  he  first 
announced  it  in  1885,  and  is  now 


SUB-ECHO 


410 


SUIT  PLACING 


made  in  many  ways.  Among  these 
are  the  following:  (i)  by  playing  a 
two-spot  on  your  partner's  lead  of 
trumps,  showing  conclusively  that 
you  are  not  going  to  echo;  (2)  by 
the  ordinary  echo,  after  you  have 
shown  by  your  lead  or  return  that 
you  did  not  hold  four  trumps;  (3) 
by  echoing  on  the  second  and  third 
rounds  of  a  plain  suit,  instead  of 
the  first  and  second;  or  (4)  by  not 
echoing  on  the  first  plain  suit  led, 
but  echoing  instead  on  the  second 
one.  (See,  also,  "  Three-Echo.") 

The  sub-echo  is  an  attempt  to  show  less 
than  four  trumps.  It  is  very  little  used, 
and  is  usually  too  long  in  completion. — 
R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist  Tactics." 

When  a  player  has  declined  to  echo,  a 
signal  made  by  him  the  next  time  the 
opportunity  offers,  shows  that  he  was 
dealt  three  trumps.  A  refusal  to  make 
such  a  signal  shows  that  his  hand  did  not 
originally  contain  more  than  two. — Mil- 
ton C.  Work  [L.  A.  H.],  "Whist  of  To- 
day." 

The  student  •will  understand  that  when 
A  calls  or  leads  trumps,  B  is  supposed  to 
echo— if  he  hoi  as  four  trumps^-at  the/irst 
opportunity,  and  sub-echo — if  he  holds 
three  trumps — after  he  has  had  the  op- 
portunity to  echo  and  did  not. — C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  \L.  A.],  "Modern  Scientific 
Whist." 

The  sub-echo  shows  the  original  pos- 
session of  three  trumps,  when  you  have 
already  shown  you  could  not  hold  four 
by  the  value  of  the  cards  you  lead  or  play 
after  your  partner's  trump-lead  or  call. 
Thus,  you  play  the  two  to  his  first  lead  of 
trumps,  or  lead  or  return  a  strengthen- 
ing trump,  in  each  case  showing  you 
could  not  hold  four.  If  you  afterwards 
echo  in  a  plain  suit,  you  declare  three 
originally.  Or,  if  you  refuse  to  echo  in 
the  plain  suit  first  led  after  your  part- 
ner's call  or  lead,  and  echo  in  the  second; 
or,  if  you  defer  the  completion  of  an  echo 
to  the  third  round  of  a  plain  suit,  you 
have  sub-echoed,  and  had  three  trumps 
originally. — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.],  "Laws 
and  Principles  of  Whist." 

In  1885  the  sub-echo,  or  showing  three 
trumps,  was  suggested  by  me  to  our  whist 
circle.  It  was  pronounced  to  be  sound  in 
theory,  being  an  instance  of  progressive- 
ness  of  whist  language,  and  after  some 
months'  trial  was  adopted  as  a  useful  de- 
vice. It  is  merely  echoing  after  showing 
that  you  have  not  four  trumps.  There 
are  several  ways  of  sub-echoing;  the  sim- 


plest case  is  this:  Your  partner  leads  a 
trump,  on  which  you  play  the  two — you 
cannot  therefore  have  four.  A  plain  suit 
is  opened;  vou  echo,  and  you  thus  tell 
him  you  held  three  trumps  originally.  I 
am  bound  to  say  "Cavendish"  does  not 
approve  of  the  sub-echo,  which  was  ex- 
plained in  a  Field  article,  November  zi, 
1885.— N.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.],  Harper' s Maga- 
zine, March,  1891. 

Subordinate  Leagues.  —  See, 
"  Auxiliary  Associations." 

Sub-Sneak. — A  term  invented 
by  R.  F.  Foster  to  designate  a  lead 
from  a  two-card  suit,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  a  ruff  on  the  third 
round.  (See,  ' '  Sneak. ' ') 

West. — Mr.  South,  your  lead  was  utterly 
unjustifiable.  I  thought  you  never  led 
from  a  sneak! 

South  (meekly). — It  wasn't  a  sneak;  I 
had  two  cards  of  the  suit. 

West  (irascibly).— Well,  then,  it  was  a 
sub-sneak!—  W. hist  [L.  A.],  May,  1896. 

Suit. — One  of  the  four  series  or 
sets  of  cards  into  which  a  pack  is 
divided;  as,  spades,  hearts,  clubs, 
diamonds.  There  are  three  plain 
suits  and  one  trump  suit.  The 
trump  suit  is  the  one  in  which  the 
dealer  turns  up  the  last  card  dealt 
by  him.  A  long  suit  is  one  con- 
taining four  or  more  cards;  a  short 
suit,  one  containing  three  or  less. 
A  strong  suit  is  one  containing 
more  than  the  average  number, 
and  especially  more  than  the  aver- 
age number  of  high  cards.  A  weak 
suit  is  the  reverse. 

Suit  Echo.  —  See,  "  Plain-Suit 
Echo." 

Suit  Placing. — A  form  of  exer- 
cise in  whist  perception  whereby 
the  players  at  a  table,  after  playing 
a  round  or  two  from  a  suit,  try  to 
place  or  locate  the  rest  of  the  cards 
in  the  suit.  'Cavendish,"  with 
whom  the  idea  originated,  gives 
several  examples  in  Whist  for 


SUIT  PLACING 


411 


SUIT  PLACING 


December,  1894,  one  being  as  fol- 
lows: 

K,  9,  3- 


Q,  J,  8. 


io,  7,  4. 


A,  6,  5, 


First  trick.  —  South  leads  two; 
west  plays  jack;  north  plays  king; 
east  plays  four. 

Second  trick.  —  North  returns 
nine;  east  plays  seven;  south  plays 
ace;  west  plays  eight. 

South  announces  that  he  can 
place  the  remainder  of  the  suit, 
both  as  to  rank  and  number.  The 
nine  being  returned,  north  can 
only  hold  one  more,  and  that  must 
be  the  three,  as  west  and  east  have 
played  the  eight  and  seven.  West 
has  one  more,  viz.,  queen  single, 
as  he  would  only  play  jack  to  the 
first  trick  with  queen,  jack,  and  one 
small.  This  leaves  the  ten  single 
for  east's  hand. 

North  announces  that  he  can 
place  as  to  rank  and  number. 
South  led  from  four  exactly,  as  he 
started  with  the  two,  and  as  west 
and  east  have  played  eight  and 
seven,  south  must  hold  six  and 
five.  Queen  single  is  evidently  in 
west's  hand.  This  leaves  one  card 
for  east,  and  as  he  played  the  seven 
his  other  card  must  be  the  ten. 

West  announces  that  he  can 
place  as  to  number,  but  not  as  to 
rank,  viz.,  two  more  in  south  's 
hand,  and  (as  east  played  the 
seven)  one  more,  the  ten,  in  east's 
hand,  and  one  small  card  in  north's 
hand.  Of  the  three  small  cards, 
six,  five,  and  three,  he  can  place 
two  in  south's  hand,  and  one  in 
north's,  but  cannot  determine  the 
rank. 


East  makes  a  similar  statement, 
placing  queen  single  in  west's 
hand  and  two  of  the  remaining 
small  cards  in  south's  hand. 

It  so  happened  at  a  later  period 
of  the  hand,  trumps  being  out, 
that  west  remained  with  losing 
cards  in  other  plain  suits,  and  dis- 
carded the  queen  of  this  suit,  as  he 
could  place  the  ten  with  his  part- 
ner. 

"Cavendish"  also  gave  a  prob- 
lem in  suit-placing,  as  follows: 
"  Original  lead  of  a  plain  suit. 
South  leads  six  of  hearts;  west 
plays  eight;  north  plays  nine;  east 
plays  knave.  King,  ace  of  an- 
other plain  suit  are  now  led.  There 
is  no  call  for  trumps.  East  holds 
seven  and  three  of  hearts.  He 
announces  that  he  can  place  the 
remainder  of  the  heart  suit  as  to 
rank  and  number." 

The  prize  was  awarded  to  George 
C.  Hetzel,  of  Chester,  Pa.,  for  the 
best  solution,  which  was  published 
as  follows  in  Whist  for  February, 
1895  = 

(9),  5,  4,  2- 


K,  (8). 


(J),  7,  3- 


A,  Q,  10,  (6). 

Six  from  eleven,  and  five  are  over — 
'Gad,  says  east,  but  south's  in  clover! 
For  I've  the  seven,  and  th'  only  thing 
That's  out  against  him  is  the  king. 
And  that's  with  west — a  lonely  hermit — 
For  if  with  north,  he  would  have  played 

it. 

But  ace,  queen,  ten  with  south  remain 
That  could  his  lead  of  fourth  sustain. 
And  having  ace  shows  futhermore 
He  opened  up  a  suit  of  four. 
Thus,  with  my  trey,  as  I'm  alive, 
'Tis  clear  that  north  has  deuce,  four,  five. 

Whist,  in  commenting  upon  the 
result,  said:     "  This  problem  seems 


SUIT  SIGNAL 


412 


SUPERSTITION 


to  have  been  a  very  easy  one,  if 
results  count  for  anything,  as  ninety 
out  of  the  ninety-five  solutions  re- 
ceived were  correct."  It  also  de- 
monstrated that  suit-placing  in 
general  was  much  easier  exercise 
for  American  whist-players  than 
the  more  complicated  ' '  perception 
problems"  (q.  v.). 

Two  or  three  years  ago  I  proposed  to 
some  friends  desirous  of  improving  their 
whist  that,  as  an  exercise  in  drawing  in- 
ferences, they  should  announce  their 
ability  to  place  the  remainder  of  the  suit 
after  the  first  or  second  round.  *  *  * 
The  players  not  able  to  announce  to  be 
upon  honor  not  to  take  advantage  of  in- 
ferences they  could  not  draw,  but  to  play 
on  as  though  no  remark  had  been  made. 
No  guessing  to  be  allowed — i.  e.,  the 
player  announcing  to  give  his  reasons  for 
placing  either  ranker  number.  I  found 
this  plan  very  improving. — "Cavendish" 
[L.  A.},  Whist,  December,  1894. 

Suit  Signal. — The  trump  signal 
becomes  a  suit  signal  if  made  at  any 
time  when  it  is  evident  that  trumps 
are  not  called  for.  It  is  a  request 
for  partner  to  lead  from  some  other 
suit.  (See,  "  Plain -Suit  Signal.") 

Sumner,  Charles,  at  Whist. — 

Charles  Sumner  played  a  good 
game  of  whist,  but  playing  for 
stakes  was  very  distasteful  to  him, 
as  is  shown  by  his  letters  from 
England,  to  be  found  in  his  pub- 
lished correspondence.  He  speaks 
of  the  universal  rule  in  England  of 
playing  for  money,  limited  "among 
sober  persons"  to  the  merest  trifle, 
"such  as  sixpence  a  point — a  term," 
he  adds,  "  which  I  do  not  under- 
stand, although  I  have  gained  sev- 
eral points,  as  I  have  been  told." 
One  evening  Lord  Fitzwilliam  was 
his  partner,  and  their  joint  win- 
nings came  to  a  pound,  "which 
was  duly  paid  and  received."  On 
another  occasion  two  peers,  Scar- 
borough and  De  Mauley,  and  a 
clergyman,  made  up  the  set.  Mr. 
Sumner  again  proved  the  winner, 
and  the  dominie  paid  him  five  shil- 


lings. This  was  very  uncongenial 
to  him,  although  he  said  nothing, 
knowing  that  it  was  the  custom 
among  English  players.  "Cards, 
when  allied  to  gaming,  were  un- 
lovely in  his  eyes,"  says  Courtney, 
in  commenting  upon  the  incident. 

Superstition. — There  has  always 
been  more  or  less  superstition  con- 
nected with  games,  and  whist  is  no 
exception.  Many  people  are  natu- 
rally superstitious  in  everything 
they  do,  and  when  they  play  whist 
they  cannot  help  showing  their 
weakness  in  many  little  traits  or 
peculiarities,  such  as  choosing  a 
certain  seat  at  table,  carrying  a  bit 
of  metal  or  other  mascot,  touching 
certain  spots  on  certain  cards  first, 
etc.  It  is  a  hard  matter  to  argue 
them  out  of  their  delusion,  for  su- 
perstition is  not  founded  on  reason. 
That  many  amusing  stories  con- 
cerning its  influence  in  the  game 
might  be  told  appears  from  the  fol- 
lowing passage  from  The  Adven- 
turer, an  English  journal,  issue  of 
March  6,  1753: 

"On  Sunday  last  a  terrible  fire 
broke  out  at  Lady  Brag's,  occa- 
sioned by  the  following  accident: 
Mrs.  Overall,  the  housekeeper, 
having  lost  three  rubbers  at  whist 
running,  without  holding  a  swabber 
(notwithstanding  she  had  changed 
chairs,  furzed  the  cards,  and  ordered 
Jemmy,  the  foot-boy,  to  sit  cross- 
legged  for  good  luck),  grew  out  of 
all  patience;  and,  taking  up  the 
devil's  books,  as  she  called  them, 
flung  them  into  the  fire,  and  the 
flames  spread  to  the  steward's 
room." 

Notes  and  Queries,  in  reprinting 
the  story,  explains:  "Swabbers  are 
the  ace  of  hearts,  the  knave  of 
clubs,  and  the  ace  and  the  deuce  of 
trumps,  at  whist.  Tofurz  or  fuzz 
is  to  shuffle  the  cards  very  care- 
fully, or  to  change  the  pack." 


SUPERSTITION 


413 


SUPERSTITION 


In  England,  the  four  of  clubs  is 
universally  known  as  the  devil's 
bed-posts.  The  deuce  of  spades, 
when  turned  up  as  the  trump  card, 
is  to  be  tapped  for  luck,  and  the 
deuce  of  clubs  is  a  sign  of  five 
trumps  in  the  dealer's  hand. 
Wherever  cards  are  known  the 
nine  of  diamonds  is  called  "the 
curse  of  Scotland,"  and  many  in- 
genious explanations  (none  of them 
satisfactory)  have  been  offered  as 
to  the  origin  of  this  phrase,  which 
dates  back  as  far  at  least  as  1745. 
In  October  of  that  year  a  caricature 
•was  published  which  represents  the 
young  Chevalier  trying  to  lead  a 
herd  of  bulls,  laden  with  curses, 
etc.,  across  the  Tweed,  with  the 
nine  of  diamonds  lying  before  them. 

R.  F.  Foster,  in  his  "Duplicate 
Whist  and  Whist  Strategy"  (page 
211),  devotes  some  space  to  the 
subject  of  superstitions  in  the  fol- 
lowing playful  fashion:  "In  choos- 
ing seats,  it  is  well  to  consider  how 
the  previous  games  have  run.  If 
the  seats  have  been  winning  turn- 
about, choose  those  whose  turn  it  is 
to  win  next.  *  *  *  In  choosing 
cards,  the  same  principles  apply. 
*  *  *  If  a  black  deuce  is  turned, 
knock  it  with  your  knuckles  be- 
fore anyone  else  touches  it.  Six 
times  out  of  ten  you  will  secure 
four  or  more  trumps  by  so  doing 
(585  times  out  of  1000,  to  be  exact). 
If  you  turn  che  nine  of  diamonds, 
play  a  forward  game  with  every 
hand.  The  curse  of  Scotland 
never  lost  a  rubber.  If  you  turn 
the  four  of  clubs,  play  to  save  the 
game.  The  devil's  bed-posts  are 
very  unlucky.  Saltpetre  will  not 
save  you.  When  you  have  a  run 
of  bad  luck,  consider  a  moment 
whether  it  is  owing  to  bad  play  on 
your  part,  bad  cards,  or  a  bad  part- 
ner. If  the  first,  change  your 
game,  and  try  ruffing  or  short 
suits;  if  the  second,  walk  around 


your  chair  three  times,  but  be  care- 
ful to  walk  around  in  the  proper 
direction;  if  the  third,  next  time 
you  cut  for  partners  wait  until  your 
Jonah  has  drawn  his  card,  and  then 
take  the  second  one  from  it  in 
either  direction.  If  your  own  and 
your  partner's  hands  never  seem  to 
fit  each  other,  examine  the  grain 
of  the  table,  and  next  time  you 
have  the  choice  of  seats,  sit  with 
the  grain." 

An  amusing  incident  showing 
that  superstition  is  by  no  means  in 
danger  of  becoming  extinct,  even 
in  the  New  World,  is  related  in 
connection  with  the  play  for  the 
Challenge  Trophy,  at  the  seventh 
congress  of  the  American  Whist 
League  (Put-in-Bay,  1897):  One  of 
the  gentlemen  comprising  the  win- 
ning team  from  the  Philadelphia 
Whist  Club  was  somewhat  down- 
cast, but  when  Mrs.  Henriques,  of 
New  York,  gave  him  a  four-leaf 
clover  and  predicted  his  success  he 
had  new  courage.  It  appears  one 
of  the  juniors  met  him  usually  be- 
fore going  into  a  fresh  conflict,  and 
greeted  him  thus: 

"  Go  in  and  smash  them." 
This  advice  was  given  thrice 
daily,  and  as  many  times  carried 
into  execution,  but  once  the  word 
was  missing,  and  Captain  Hart  was 
defeated.  Somehow  he  felt  that 
the  omission  was  a  forerunner  of 
failure.  He  lost  courage,  feeling 
the  boy  was  losing  faith  in  his 
team.  So  he  left  the  table,  walked 
out  in  the  hall  where  the  boy  stood, 
and  as  he  passed  the  junior  wag 
called  out: 

"Go  in  and  knock  them  out." 
It  was  all  he  needed.     He  had 
found  his  lost  courage.     He  went 
in  and  pulled  his  team  on  to  a  vic- 
tory. 

It  is  very  rarely  that  we  find  any  person 
who  has  played  whist  during  many  years 
who  is  entirely  devoid  of  superstition. 


SUPPORTING-CARD  GAME    414 


'SWEDISH  WHIST' 


Some  players  will  not  admit  that  they 
have  any  superstition,  but  by  their  acts 
they  demonstrate  that  they  are  supersti- 
tious. *  *  *  The  thoroughly  supersti- 
tious player  is  rarely  a  strong  player. — 
A.  W.  Dray  son  [£+,4+]. 

The  superstitions  of  the  whist-player 
are  beyond  enumeration.  They  acquire 
a  mysterious  hold  over  his  imagination, 
and  "baffle  every  attempt  to  secure  their 
expulsion.  Some  of  them  are  to  be  found 
in  every  district  of  England,  from  the 
clubs  of  London  to  the  remotest  ends  of 
local  life  in  the  provinces;  others  are  con- 
fined to  particular  towns  or  counties. — 
W.P.  Courtney  [L+O.],  "English.  Whist." 

The  most  powerful  intellect,  the  most 
profound  science,  is  not  proof  against  su- 

Eerstition;  and  it  is  curious  to  see  how 
istidious  even  the  .best  players  will  be 
about  the  choice  of  seats,  or  cards,  or 
counters,  or  about  other  things  which 
can  have  as  little  influence  on  their  for- 
tunes as  the  changes  of  the  moon.  Some 
will  insist  on  being  the  first  to  touch  a 
black  deuce  turned  up,  some  attach  good 
omens  to  the  hinges  of  the  table,  some 
think  it  advantageous  to  sit  north  and 
south,  and  so  on.  One  cannot  believe 
that  any  other  than  a.  born  fool  (and  he 
could  not  be  a  whist-player)  seriously 
thinks  such  things  are  of  real  importance, 
and  the  persons  doing  them  are  often  un- 
mercifully bantered  for  their  folly;  but 
still  they  persevere,  and  it  has  often  been 
a  great  puzzle  how  such  an  anomaly  can 
be  explained.  We  believe  the  explana- 
tion lies  in  a  simple  application  of  expe- 
rience in  chance  results.  Toss  up  a  penny 
a  great  number  of  times  and  record  the 
results;  you  will  find  that  you  do  not  get 
heads  and  tails  alternately,  but  that  there 
is  an  almost  constant  tendency  to  produce 
runs  on  one  particular  chance.  *  *  * 
Now,  as  the  tossing  of  a  penny  is  an  an- 
alogous case  to  the  winning  or  losing  of  a 
rubber  at  whist  (which  is  very  nearly  an 
even  chance),  people  lay  hold  of  the 
salient  fact  of  the  tendency  to  a  run  and 
apply  it  to  this  case.  They  argue  that  as 
the  heads,  after  coming  once,  may  be  re- 
peated several  times,  so  the  seats  or  cards 
which  have  won  once  may  win  several 
times  running.  Of  course  the  reasoning 
is  fallacious,  as  the  reasoners  know  full 
well,  but  it  is  their  only  justification,  and 
as  the  practices  are  very  harmless,  and 
are  indeed  expressly  provided  for  by  the 
laws,  one  need  not  be  angry  with  them. — 
Willtam  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 


Supporting  -  Card    Game. — A 

style  of  short-suit  play  at  whist  in 
•which  supporting,  or  strengthen- 
ing, cards  are  freely  led  to  partner, 


the  player  himself  haying  little  or 
nothing  to  hope  for  in  his  hand. 
The  Howell  (short-suit)  system 
makes  use  of  the  supporting-card 
game  as  in  many  respects  the  most 
important  division  of  whist  strategy, 
1 '  because  it  is  the  most  generally 
available,  and  the  most  frequently 
adopted."  Mr.  Howell  regards  it 
as  "  the  essence  of  short-suit  play, 
the  theme,  of  which  the  other 
forms  of  strategy  are  but  varia- 
tions." A  supporting  card  is  led 
by  him  if  the  hand  does  not  con- 
tain the  elements  of  strength  neces- 
sary for  an  attempt  to  play  the 
long-suit  form  of  strategy,  nor  a 
plain  suit  so  very  strong  as  to  jus- 
tify the  high-card  opening,  nor 
trumps  sufficient  to  warrant  the 
trump  attack,  or  if  the  conditions 
are  not  favorable  for  the  ruffing 
lead,  which  is  really  but  a  modifica- 
tion or  special  instance  of  the  sup- 
porting-card game.  For  the  sup- 
porting-card opening  four  cards  are 
used — queen,  jack,  ten,  or  nine — 
and  these  are  generally  led  as  the 
highest  of  short,  weak  suits,  but 
they  do  not  absolutely  deny  better 
cards  in  the  suit  opened,  and  are 
also  sometimes  used  as  interior 
leads.  The  general  rule  for  lead- 
ing under  the  Howell  system  is:  Of 
two  supporting  cards  in  sequence, 
lead  the  higher  from  a  short  suit, 
and  the  lower  from  a  long  suit. 

Swabbers.— See,  "  Whisk  and 
Swabbers." 

"Swedish  Whist."— Preference, 
a  modification  of  whist,  is  said  to 
have  superseded  English  whist  in 
Sweden,  and  is  therefore  called 
"Swedish  whist."  In  this  game 
there  are  partners,  as  usual,  but 
they  change  after  each  rubber. 
The  trump  is  determined  by  bid- 
ding, the  leader  having  the  first  bid. 
Each  must  bid  a  higher  suit  or 


SYSTEM 


415 


SYSTEM 


pass.  The  suits  rank  as  follows: 
clubs,  spades,  diamonds,  hearts, 
the  latter  being  the  highest.  Still 
higher  than  these  is  preference,  in 
which  no  trump  is  employed — the 
intrinsic  value  of  the  cards  deter- 
mining the  issue.  If  the  side  that 
makes  the  trump  or  demands  pref- 
erence loses,  the  adversaries  count 
double  for  each  trick  they  obtain 
above  six.  The  game  is  twenty 
points,  and  each  trick  above  six 
counts,  for  a  game  in  clubs,  three; 
spades,  four;  diamonds,  five;  hearts, 
six;  preference,  eight  points.  Hon- 
ors count  as  in  English  whist. 

System. — Method  of  play;  as, 
for  instance,  the  system  of  Ameri- 
can leads,  the  long-suit  system,  the 
short-suit  system;  a  complete 
scheme  of  play  on  certain  well-de- 
fined lines.  Systematic  play  is 
play  in  accordance  with  some  rule, 
as  distinguished  from  haphazard 
play,  or  bumblepuppy. 

In  view  of  the  numerous  systems 
of  play  advocated  and  followed  in 
this  country,  there  has  been  a 
movement  on  foot  from  the  incep- 
tion of  the  American  Whist  League 
to  have  that  organization  act  as 
arbitrator,  and  decide  upon  some 
standard  authority.  At  the  sixth 
congress  of  the  League  President 
Schwarz  again  called  attention  to 
the  matter  (see,  "  American  Whist 
League"),  saying,  among  other 
things:  "  A  whist-player  cannot  sit 
at  a  table  with  a  stranger  without 
asking  him  what  system  he  plays. 
New  conventions  have  arisen.  The 
echo  means  two  or  three  different 
things.  There  are  half  a  dozen 
different  methods  of  discard;  there 
are  long-suit  theorists  and  short- 
suit  theorists,  and  taken  together 
there  is  a  wider  difference  to-day 
than  there  was  at  the  start.  Now, 
it  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  American  Whist  League  to 


remedy  this  state  of  affairs,  if  it  is 
possible.  We  can  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  expert  players,  men  who 
have  fought  their  way  to  the  front, 
and  let  them  sift  the  different 
methods  in  vogue  at  the  present 
time,  and  recommend  to  the  whist- 
players  of  the  country  that  which 
they  think  is  best  I  do  not  mean 
by  this  that  we  should  adopt  any 
text-book  upon  the  game,  or  that 
we  should  arbitrarily  impose  upon 
the  players  of  the  country  any  par- 
ticular system,  nor  would  I  restrain 
individual  liberty  of  action.  It 
would  be  simply  in  the  nature  of  a 
recommendation,  and  would  tell 
the  players  of  the  American  Whist 
League,  and  the  whist-players  at 
large,  just  what  we  thought  was 
the  best,  without  preventing  them 
from  playing  something  else  if  they 
desired  to  do  so." 

The  matter  was  referred  to  an 
advisory  committee,  and  that  com- 
mittee recommended  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  standing  committee  on 
play,  to  report  in  favor  of  a  sys- 
tem at  the  seventh  congress.  P.  J. 
Tormey,  chairman  of  the  advisory 
committee,  in  a  letter  to  Whist, 
subsequently  said: 

"The  question  is  asked,  'Why 
should  the  American  Whist  League 
do  such  a  thing  ?  Is  it  the  proper 
thing  to  say  to  a  whist-player,  you 
must  lead  ten  from  queen,  jack, 
ten,  and  others,  or  ace  from  ace  and 
four  small,  or  from  your  long  suit, 
or  short  suit  ?  Will  the  League  say 
I  must  discard  from  my  poorest 
suit,  if  it  pleases  me  or  not?'  If 
this  and  many  other  such  things 
was  the  object  of  this  resolution, 
the  League  would  certainly  be  as- 
suming too  much  authority.  Such 
is  not  the  case,  by  any  manner  of 
means.  But  in  the  judgment  of 
President  Schwarz  and  this  advis- 
ory committee,  the  time  has  now 
come  when  the  American  Whist 


SYSTEM 


416 


SYSTEM,  MIXED 


League  should  proclaim  to  the 
whist- players  of  the  country,  speak- 
ing through  the  League's  official 
organ,  that  it  does  recommend  and 
suggest  this  system  of  leads  and 
follows,  discards,  etc.,  or  'play,'  if 
you  prefer  to  make  it  more  gen- 
eral, and  ask  all  League  clubs  to 
recommend  it  in  turn  to  their  mem- 
bers." 

When  the  seventh  congress  met 
at  Put-in-Bay,  in  1897,  however,  no 
recommendations  were  made  or 
adopted,  and  the  League  once  more 
temporized  by  appointing  another 
committee  on  innovations  in  play, 
etc.  It  is  hoped  that  some  definite 
action  may  be  taken  in  the  near 
future. 


When  it  is  claimed  that  players  have 
won  matches  by  using  this  or  that  sys- 
tem, such  claim  is  to  be  distrusted.  Play- 
ers win  matches  because  they  play  good 
whist,  or  better  whist  than  their  adversa- 
ries. A  system  may  give  some  slight  ad- 
vantage as  against  a  team  or  pair  who 
do  not  understand  it  practically,  but  that 
a  match  game  is  lost  or  won  by  a  differ- 
ence in  system  is  very  improbable.  If  it 
were  so  it  would  reflect  little  or  no  credit 
on  the  winners. — Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.], 
Whist,  October-November,  1896. 

The  whist  practice  of  the  American 
clubs  has  been  at  sea,  so  far  as  uniformity 
isconcerned,  differing  as  widely  in  system 
as  in  rules  for  play  and  penalties.  In 
count,  honors  have  become  practically 
obsolete,  but  five  points,  seven  points, 
continuous  count,  trebles,  doubles,  and 
singles,  turning  the  trump  from  the  live 
pack  or  cutting  it  from  the  dead  pack,  or 
announcing  one  suit  for  trump  during  a 
sitting,  have  all  had  their  respectable 
following.  The  difference  in  system  of 
play  has  been  as  pronounced. — C.  S. 
Boutcher  [L.  A.},  "  Whist  Sketches,"  1892. 

As  in  all  other  matters  largely  con- 
trolled by  chance,  there  is  no  system,  as 
a  system,  which  will  win  at  whist.  One 
cannot  succeed  by  slavish  adherence  to 
either  the  long  or  the  short-suit  game;  by 
the  invariable  giving  of  information,  or 
the  continual  playing  of  false  cards.  The 
true  elements  of  success  in  whist  lie  in 
the  happy  combination  of  all  the  re- 
sources of  long  and  short  suits,  of  finesse 
and  tenace,  of  candor  and  deception,  con- 
tinually adjusted  to  varying  circum- 
stances, so  as  to  result  in  the  adversaries 


losing  tricks.—^.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Com- 
plete Hoyle." 

It  may  be  stated  as  an  axiom  that  any 
system  is  better  than  no  system.  No 
matter  how  ridiculous  the  system  may 
appear,  or  what  a  trick-loser  it  may  be  at 
first,  it  is  better  than  guessing.  Experi- 
ence will  soon  show  up  the  weak  points 
in  a  trick-losing  system,  and  probably 
suggest  the  necessary  changes  or  im- 
provements. One  of  the  best  whist- 
players  living  started  with  the  simple 
system  of  leading  a  card  of  a  different 
color  from  the  trump  suit  when  he  had  a 
strong  hand.  He  was  on  the  right  track; 
the  demonstration  of  the  general  charac- 
ter of  the  hand  to  the  partner,  and  all  his 
future  whist  training  carried  out  that 
idea.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Rochester  Post- 
Express,  October  ji,  1896. 


System,  Mixed. — In  the  early 
part  of  1897  we  find  many  clubs 
playing  what  they  call  a  mixed  sys- 
tem, a  compromise  between  the  ex- 
tremists of  the  various  schools. 
The  captain  of  the  Albany  team 
describes  one  of  these  systems,  used 
by  a  team  which  gave  Albany  one 
of  the  hardest  fights  it  had  for 
many  a  day.  He  says: 

"The  system  used  by  the  Boston 
Duplicate  Whist  Club  is  the  most 
rational  of  any  of  the  so-called 
'  mixed  systems'  that  we  have  yet 
seen.  Briefly  it  is  as  follows:  Open 
originally  from  longest  or  best  suit. 
Having  honors  in  sequence,  follow 
American  leads — except  from  queen, 
jack,  ten,  and  others,  lead  ten,  and 
lead  king  in  all  cases  where  the 
American  lead  calls  for  queen.  Use 
queen  as  strengthening  card,  or  to 
show  trump  strength.  When  suit 
is  headed  by  a  card  smaller  than 
the  nine,  lead  top  of  suit.  From 
king,  jack,  ten,  and  others,  lead 
fourth  best.  Do  not  open  a  four- 
card  suit  with  one  honor  if  you 
have  a  strengthening  card  which 
can  be  led.  With  king,  jack,  nine, 
eight,  six,  seven,  or  similar  suits, 
lead  fifth  best.  Discard  from  weak- 
est suit.  Use  reverse  discard  to 
show  suit  you  wish  led.  In  trumps, 


SYSTEM,  MIXED 


417 


SYSTEM,  MIXED 


from  queen,  jack,  ten,  and  others 
lead  top  of  suit;  otherwise  follow 
American  leads.  Echo  with  three 
trumps  on  partner's  lead.  Never 
finesse  on  partner's  trump-lead. 

' '  These  rules,  with  the  exception 
of  the  discard,  the  number-showing 
play  of  the  king  and  queen,  and  the 
play  of  small-card  suits,  do  not 
differ  essentially  from  the  long-suit 
game  as  played  by  Albany." 

At  the  seventh  congress  of  the 
American  Whist  League  (Put-in- 
Bay,  1897),  the  Boston  Duplicate 
team  filed  a  copy  of  its  system  with 
the  tournament  committee.  In  it 
occurs  this  passage:  "Since  the 
last  congress  the  method  of  using 
the  small-card  opening  has  been 
amended.  A  distinction  is  made 
in  the  lead  between  the  lowest  card 
of  a  suit  and  a  small  card  above  the 
lowest.  The  lowest  card  of  a  plain 
suit  is  led  from  a  hand  containing 
besides  the  suit  opened  at  least  four 
trumps,  and  some  protection  or  re- 
entry strength  in  one  or  both  of  the 
other  suits.  A  small  card  above 
the  lowest  is  led  from  the  same  sort 
of  plain-suit  strength,  accompanied 
by  three  trumps  or  less,  including 
at  least  one  honor.  By  this  method 
of  small-card  openings,  the  part- 
ner of  the  original  leader  is  ena- 
bled to  draw  quick  and  valuable 
inferences.  It  frequently  happens 
that  on  the  first  round  of  a  suit, 
partner  cannot  determine  whether 
or  not  the  small  card  led  is  the 
lowest  in  the  leader's  suit.  In  this 
event,  if  he  is  in  the  lead,  he  must 
not  start  trumps  unless  he  has  four 
or  more  himself  and  some  plain- 
suit  protection,  but  must  return  the 
leader's  suit  in  order  to  establish  it. 
Partner's  duty  is  the  same  if  he  can 
absolutely  tell  from  the  drop  that 
the  leader  has  a  smaller  card  of  his 
suit  than  the  one  led.  He  is  then 
very  seldom  justified  in  leading 
trumps  short.  If,  however,  the  card 

27 


led  is  clearly  the  lowest  of  the  suit, 
partner  should  generally  start 
trumps  at  the  earliest  opportunity, 
provided  he  has  either  fair  length 
or  a  good  supporting  trump  at  the 
top  of  three  or  less." 

Another  mixed  system,  that  suc- 
cessfully employed  by  the  team 
from  the  Walbrook  Club,  of  Balti- 
more, is  thus  described  by  Edwin 
C.  Howell,  in  the  Boston  Herald, 
in  the  latter  part  of  December,  1897: 

"  But  to  the  Walbrook  system  of 
play — what  is  it  ?  In  a  word,  it  is  a 
trump-showing  system.  They  have 
discarded  the  American  leads,  in- 
cluding the  fourth  best,  and  use 
both  high  and  low  cards  to  indi- 
cate the  strength  or  weakness  in 
trumps.  With  the  high-card  trump- 
showing  leads — king  and  jack  for 
strength,  and  ace  and  queen  for 
weakness — nearly  all  whist-players 
are  familiar.  To  these,  however, 
the  Wai  brooks  have  added  a  trump- 
showing  method  of  small-card  play. 
They  are  pretty  strict  long-suiters, 
so  that  a  small  card  led  under  their 
system,  whatever  its  size — from  a  ten 
down  to  a  deuce — shows  the  long- 
est suit  in  hand.  Now  if  it  is  the 
lowest  card  of  the  suit  it  shows  also 
weakness  in  trumps — that  is,  the 
lead  declares,  '  Here  is  my  best 
suit,  but  I  have  not  accompanying 
strength  sufficient  to  bring  it  in 
without  help  from  partner.' 

"  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
small  card  led  is  not  the  lowest  of 
the  suit,  but  the  penultimate  or 
antepenultimate,  it  tells  partner,  '  I 
have  not  only  this  suit,  but  four  or 
more  trumps  behind  it,  and  I  hope 
to  bring  it  in.'  Of  course,  it  is  not 
always  apparent  on  the  first  round 
of  a  suit  whether  or  not  the  card 
led  is  the  lowest,  but  experience 
has  proved  that  the  truth  is  di- 
vulged early  enough. 

"Number  in  the  suit  led  the 
Walbrooks  do  not  attempt  to 


TABLE 


418 


TACTICS,  WHIST 


show.  Their  object  is  to  indicate 
by  the  original  lead,  first,  the  long- 
est suit;  and,  secondly,  the  extent 
of  its  support  in  trump  strength. 
Their  system  is  certainly  strategic. 
It  affords  the  two  partners  a  better 
opportunity  of  shaping  their  play 
early  and  intelligently  along  a  com- 
mon line  than  the  old  game  does. 
Nevertheless,  I  cannot  overlook 
the  faults  of  the  system.  They  are 
two.  In  the  first  place,  one  is 
obliged  by  his  original  lead  either 
to  show  strength,  or,  if  he  has  not 
that,  to  show  weakness  in  trumps. 
That  a  player  must,  if  he  is  weak, 
acknowledge  it  seems  to  be  a  serious 
strategic  defect  in  the  system.  In 
this  criticism  nearly  all  whist-play- 
ers will  agree  with  me.  As  to  my 
other  objection — that  the  Walbrook 
system  permits  no  other  opening 
from  a  hand  than  that  of  the  long- 
est suit — I  suppose  it  will  be  con- 
sidered sound  only  by  short-suit  or 
'  common-sense'  players.  I  would 
not  insist  on  it,  indeed,  if  the  first 
objection  could  be  removed.  If  we 
must  open  long  suits,  I  prefer  the 
'  modified'  whist  that  the  Pyramids, 
of  Boston,  are  playing,  under  which 
system  the  opening  of  a  two,  three, 
or  four  shows  trump  strength,  but 
that  of  a  five,  six,  seven,  eight,  or 
nine  does  not  deny  it.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  however,  not  one  of  the 
Pyramid  players  sticks  closely  to 
the  long-suit  openings,  scarcely 
more  than  the  players  of  my  own 
team  do.  We  all  use  trump-show- 
ing leads  to  a  certain  extent,  but 
with  us  it  is  a  voluntary  matter 
whether  we  shall  declare  strength 
or  conceal  it.  Hence  we  are  not 
obliged  to  declare  weakness  if  we 
have  not  strength. ' ' 

Table.  —  A  complete  table  at 
whist,  under  the  rules,  which  apply 
more  especially  to  play  at  the  clubs, 
consists  of  six  persons,  although 


four  are  sufficient  for  play.  It  is 
only  when  there  is  more  than  the 
requisite  number  that  the  limit  of 
six  is  observed,  the  first  four  then 
chosen  by  lot  taking  their  first  turn 
at  a  game  in  this  country,  or  at  a 
rubber  in  England,  and  the  two 
others  taking  their  turn  subse- 
quently; fresh  additions  to  the 
table,  either  of  newcomers  or  those 
who  have  already  played,  being 
made  from  time  to  time. 

On  ordinary  social  occasions, 
where  whist  is  played,  or  in  pri- 
vate, where  the  number  of  players 
is  determined  and  limited  before- 
hand, the  above  rules  are  not  gen- 
erally observed.  In  duplicate  whist, 
especially,  the  table  is  limited  to 
four  players.  These,  under  the 
laws  of  duplicate  whist,  may  be 
formed  by  cutting  or  agreement. 
(See,  "Duplicate  Whist,  Laws 
of.") 

Tables,  Arrangement  of. — See, 
"  Duplicate  Whist,  Schedules  for 
Playing." 

Tactics,  Whist. — The  tactics  em- 
ployed at  whist  consist  of  the  con- 
ventional movements  of  the  game 
as  laid  down  in  the  text-books  or 
taught  by  instructors,  such  as  the 
leads,  play  of  the  second,  third, 
and  fourth  hand,  etc.  Tactics  are 
the  solid  groundwork  of  general 
whist  knowledge,  by  means  of 
which  the  play  is  directed  against 
the  opponents.  The  superstructure 
is  whist  strategy,  or  the  higher  art 
of  planning  and  executing  battles 
and  campaigns,  and  making  the 
best  use  of  the  forces  at  one's  com- 
mand. 

Many  persons  con  fuse  the  terms  "  strat- 
egy" and  "tactics."  Strategy  is  the  skill- 
ful handling  of  forces  not  actually  en- 
gaged in  battle,  in  order  to  secure 
advantages  of  position  which  shall  be 
useful  later  on  for  purposes  of  attack,  de- 
fense, or  retreat;  while  tactics  is  simply 


TAKING  A  FORCE 


419 


TAKING  UP  CARDS 


the  art  of  applying,  on  the  field  of  battle, 
the  movements  learnt  at  drill. — R.  F.  Fos- 
ter [S.  O.],  "  Whist  Tactics:' 

Taking  a  Force. — Trumping  a 
•winning  card  led  by  an  opponent, 
or  a  losing  card  led  for  the  purpose 
by  partner. 

When  a  player  is  forced  to  trump  in  be- 
fore he  is  able  to  answer  a  trump  signal, 
his  object  should  be  at  once  to  show  the 
number  remaining  in  his  hand.  *  *  * 
Having  only  three  trumps,  take  the  force 
with  the  lowest,  and  .then  lead  the  high- 
est, whatever  it  is.  Having  four,  take  the 
force  with  the  third  best,  and  return  the 
lowest,  no  matter  what  the  others  are. 
unless  you  have  the  ace,  or  both  king  and 
queen.  This  taking  the  force  with  a  card 
not  your  lowest  must,  of  course,  be  re- 
stricted to  comparatively  small  cards. 
With  king,  queen,  ten,  two,  it  would  be  a 
waste  of  ammunition  to  trump  with  the 
ten.— R  F.  Foster  [5.  O.] ,  "  Whist  Tactics." 

Taking  in  the  Tricks. — Where 
ladies  and  gentlemen  are  playing 
as  partners  the  gentlemen,  of 
course,  always  gather  in  the  tricks 
as  they  are  won.  Where  gentlemen 
only  are  playing,  the  custom  is  for 
the  player  who  takes  the  first  trick 
in  a  hand  to  allow  his  partner  to 
gather  the  cards  for  that  hand,  al- 
though there  is  no  law  or  rule  re- 
quiring this.  In  some  clubs  one 
partner  takes  in  the  tricks  while 
the  other  keeps  the  score.  In  du- 
plicate whist  each  player  takes  care 
of  his  own  tricks. 

Players  may  agree  as  to  •which  partner 
in  any  hand  may  gather  the  tricks,  but  it 
is  rulable  that  the  first  trick  made  should 
be  gathered  and  turned  by  the  partner  of 
the  winner,  who  places  it  upon  his  left 
hand,  and  adds  to  it  in  order  the  tricks 
subsequently  taken  by  his  partner  and 
himself  in  that  hand. — Rules  of  the  Des- 
chapeUes  Club,  Boston. 

There  is  no  rule  as  to  which  of  the  two 
partners  should  gather  and  turn  the 
tricks.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the 
partner  of  the  player  who  wins  the  first 
trick  should  gather  it.  There  seems  to 
me  to  be  no  sense  in  this.  Let  us  inquire 
whether  a  reason  can  be  given  why  one 
partner  should  turn  the  tricks  rather 
than  the  other.  I  think  a  very  good 


reason  can  be  given  by  referring  to  the 
principle:  Never  have  anything  near 
your  score  if  it  can  be  avoided.  In  order 
to  carry  out  this  principle,  let  the  part- 
ner of  the  player  who  scores  [z.  e.,  keeps 
the  score]  take  the  tricks. — "Cavendish" 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  November,  1893. 

Taking  Up  Cards  During  the 
Deal.  —  Many  players,  especially 
beginners  and  those  not  well  versed 
in  the  rules,  have  a  habit  of  picking 
up  their  cards  while  the  latter  are 
being  dealt.  They  are  surprised  to 
learn  that  it  is  in  any  way  an  objec- 
tionable practice.  It  is  objection- 
able because  it  may  disturb  the 
dealer,  and  cause  him  to  misdeal. 
The  American  code  (section  17) 
wisely  provides  that  a  misdeal  does 
not  lose  the  deal  if  during  the  deal 
either  of  the  adversaries  touches  a 
card,  or  in^any  other  manner  inter- 
rupts the  dealer. 

Should  a  player  deal  out  of  turn, 
and  his  partner,  on  taking  up  the 
cards  as  they  are  dealt,  discover 
that  his  hand  is  poor,  he  might 
obtain  an  additional  unfair  advan- 
tage by  calling  attention  to  the 
error  in  the  deal.  Two  unscrupu- 
lous partners,  by  unfairly  taking  a 
deal  not  belonging  to  them,  and 
then  giving  it  up  on  finding  the 
cards  picked  up  by  the  one  un- 
satisfactory, would,  if  detected  in 
the  practice,  be  expelled  from  the 
table  as  card-sharpers.  At  the  same 
time  the  very  appearance  of  doing 
anything  that  might  seem  unfair, 
or  give  opportunity  to  obtain  an 
unfair  ad  vantage,  should  be  avoided 
by  players  who  are  known  to  be 
reputable  and  honest.  The  proper 
way  is  to  let  all  the  cards  lie  where 
they  are  dealt  until  the  trump  is 
turned  by  the  dealer. 

There  is  no  law  to  prevent  a  player 
taking  up  his  cards  during  the  deal.  The 
law  puts  the  offender  under  certain  disa- 
bilities, and  that  is  all.  We  pointed  out 
once  that  a  player  dealing  out  of  turn  has 
an  advantage,  but  if,  in  addition  to  deal- 
ing out  of  turn,  he  has  a  partner  who 


TALKING  AT  WHIST          420         TEACHERS  OF  WHIST 


looks  at  his  cards,  and  finding  them  bad 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  player 
is  dealing  out  of  turn,  then  he  obtained  a 
great  additional  advantage  according  to 
law,  but  contrary  to  all  right  and  pro- 
priety. We  should  think  this  point  alone 
should  be  sufficient  to  prevent  players 
taking  up  their  cards. — Charles  Mossop 
[L+O^],  Westminster  Papers,  June  I,  1878. 


Talking  at  Whist.— George  W. 
Pettes  quotes  this  from  a  professor 
who  loved  the  quiet  game,  and  who 
was  also  of  a  humorous  turn  of 
mind:  "One  can  no  more  play 
whist  and  talk  than  he  can  trans- 
late Ovid  and  turn  somersaults  at 
the  same  time. "  ( See,  "  Conversa- 
tion," "Silence.") 

Talleyrand's  Mot. — Talleyrand, 
the  great  French  statesman,  was 
also  celebrated  as  a  whist-player, 
and  in  his  latter  years  he  spent 
many  hours  almost  every  day  at 
his  favorite  game.  His  advice  to 
all  was,  play  whist,  and  you  will  be 
spared  a  sorrowful  old  age,  and 
this  idea  is  embodied  in  his  cele- 
brated mot,  when  addressing  a 
young  man  who  had  confessed  that 
he  did  not  play  whist:  "Vous  ne 
savez  pas  le  zvhiste,  jeune  homme  ? 
Quelle  triste  vieillesse  vous  vous 
$r£parez!"  ("You  do  not  know 
whist,  young  man  ?  What  a  sad  old 
age  you  are  preparing  for  your- 
self!") 

The  provisional  government 
which  Talleyrand  formed,  upon 
Napoleon's  abdication,  was  com- 
posed, with  one  exception,  of  his 
associates  at  the  whist-table. 

The  American-leads  discussion  in  the 
Field  was  summed  up  by  "  Merry  An- 
drew," one  of  the  participants,  in  a  pam- 
phlet entitled,  "  The  American-Leads 
Controversy."  The  title-page  bore  the 
motto,  "  Vous  savez  les  American  Leads, 
jeune  honime  f  Quelle  TRIST(E)  vieillesse 
vous  vous  prtparez!" — engrafting  a  pleas- 
antry on  a  parody  of  Talleyrand's  well- 
known  prediction  of  a  cheerless  old  age 
to  the  youth  who  was  ignorant  of  the 
game.—  N.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.},  Harper's 
Monthly  Magazine,  March,  1891, 


Teachers  of  Whist. — Hoyle  was 
the  first  to  teach  the  game  of  whist 
professionally,  but  it  is  a  curious 
fact  that  although  he  was  phenom- 
enally successful,  his  success  did 
not  inspire  others  to  take  up  the 
work;  and  it  was  not  until  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  after  the  publication 
of  his  famous  treatise  that  the  idea 
of  professional  teaching  again  oc- 
curred to  anyone.  The  great  inter- 
est manifested  in  the  game  when  it 
was  first  improved  and  played  with 
some  degree  of  science,  encouraged 
Hoyle  to  take  up  teaching  as  his 
lifework.  Similarly,  the  great 
whist  revival  in  this  country,  and 
the  introduction  of  the  modern  sci- 
entific game,  brought  an  eager  de- 
mand for  instruction.  So  great  was 
this  demand,  however,  that  it  was 
utterly  impossible  for  one  instructor 
to  meet  it;  otherwise  R.  F.  Foster, 
who  was  the  first  to  give  whist  lec- 
tures in  this  country,  might  have 
become  the  sole  successor  of  Hoyle. 
In  1888  his  whist  engagements  be- 
came so  numerous  that  he  gave  up 
his  regular  profession  and  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  teaching  and 
writing  on  the  game. 

As  it  was,  beginners  anxious  for 
instruction  became  so  numerous — 
especially  among  women,  who  took 
an  unprecedented  interest  in  the 
improved  American  game — that  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  whist 
women  themselves  took  up  the 
work  of  imparting  knowledge  con- 
cerning it.  The  first  to  do  this 
professionally  was  Miss  Kate 
Wheelock  (q.  v.),  who  was  induced 
to  teach  by  her  friends  in  the  city 
of  Milwaukee,  in  1886,  two  years 
before  Mr.  Foster  began  to  devote 
all  his  time  to  the  game.  Miss 
Wheelock  at  first  had  no  idea  of 
accepting  compensation  for  her  in- 
struction, but  the  demand  upon  her 
time  became  so  great  that  she  was 
forced  to  adopt  this  course.  The 


TEACHERS  OF  WHIST        42 1         TEACHERS  OF  WHIST 


pioneer  in  this  good  work,  which 
has  since  been  found  so  well 
adapted  to  women,  the  "whist 
queen,"  as  she  is  affectionately 
called  by  thousands  of  pupils  and 
the  whist  world  generally,  stands, 
by  universal  consent,  at  the  head 
of  her  chosen  profession,  and  at  this 
writing  (December,  1897,)  has  just 
concluded  the  most  successful  year 
in  all  her  experience. 

About  the  same  time  Miss  Whee- 
lock  was  responding  to  the  demands 
of  whist  enthusiasts  in  Milwaukee, 
Miss  Maude  Gardner,  the  daughter 
of  Ex-Governor  John  L.  Gardner, 
of  Massachusetts,  was  induced  to 
take  up  the  work  in  the  city  of 
Boston.  She  did  not  teach  very 
long;  however,  her  marriage  and 
much-regretted  death  taking  place 
shortly  after. 

New  York  also  caught  the  whist 
fever,  and  here  Miss  Anna  C.  Clapp 
(who  shortly  afterwards  was  mar- 
ried to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Frothingham, 
of  New  Bedford,  Mass. )  was  the 
pioneer  in  the  field,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  her  sister,  Miss  Gertrude 
E.  Clapp  (q.  v.).  The  latter  began 
in  1887,  and  has  ever  since  taught 
in  New  York  and  in  many  other 
cities.  She  has  won  a  high  reputa- 
tion as  a  player  as  well  as  teacher, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
editorial  expression  in  Whist  for 
December,  1894.  "  L/et  the  man 
who  thinks  a  woman  cannot  play 
whist,"  remarks  the  editor,  "cut 
into  a  game  with  Miss  Clapp,  and 
he  will  soon  have  an  opportunity 
to  divide  his  wonder  between  her 
information  and  his  ignorance." 

That  whist  -  teaching  attracted 
much  attention  from  the  begin- 
ning, may  be  judged  from  an  ap- 
preciative two  -  column  editorial 
which  appeared  in  the  New  York 
Nation  of  September  8,  1887. 
' '  One  of  the  most  curious  social 
phenomena  of  the  year,"  said  the 


editor  (E.  L.  Godkin),  "  is  the 
success  which  has  attended  the 
attempt  to  teach  whist  in  classes, 
both  in  this  city  and  in  Boston,  last 
winter,  and  during  the  past  sum- 
mer at  some  of  the  watering  places. 
It  has  been  found,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  that  a  good  whist-player,  pos- 
sessed of  fair  teaching  capacity,  has 
no  difficulty  in  getting  pupils 
enough  to  make  it  worth  while  to 
treat  whist-teaching  as  a  calling. 
The  experiment  thus  far  has  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  the  number  of 
people  who  want  to  play  whist  both 
in  summer  and  winter  is  very  large, 
and  is  probably  increasing,  and 
also  that  a  very  large  proportion 
of  those  who  have  been  playing  the 
greater  part  of  their  lives  are  really 
ignorant  of  what  is  called  scientific 
or  modern  whist." 

In  1888  Mrs.  M,  S.  Jenks  (q.  z/.) 
removed  to  Chicago,  and  in  the 
year  following  her  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  game  and  high  qualifi- 
cation for  the  work  caused  her 
services  as  a  teacher  to  be  eagerly 
sought  by  the  ladies  of  that  city. 
She,  too,  had  no  intention  at  first 
of  giving  instructions  profession- 
ally, but  the  demands  upon  her 
time  were  such  that  she  found  it 
necessary  to  do  so.  She  thus  be- 
came one  of  the  early  workers  in 
the  field,  and  did  much  to  set  the 
wave  of  whist-improvement  rolling 
westward  from  Chicago. 

The  same  year  in  which  Mrs. 
Jenks  began  her  teaching  in  the 
great  city  on  Lake  Michigan  brought 
another  man  into  the  whist  field  as 
an  instructor.  It  was  William  S. 
Fenollosa  (q.  v.),  by  many  still 
called  Professor  Fenollosa,  because 
of  his  previous  successful  career  as 
a  pianist  and  teacher  of  music,  but 
which  title  he  himself  disclaims, 
and  requests  us  not  to  use.  Mr. 
Fenollosa  became  very  successful 
and  popular  in  his  new  field,  and 


TEACHERS  OF  WHIST        422         TEACHERS  OF  WHIST 


numbers  among  his  pupils  hun- 
dreds of  the  leading  people  of  New 
England.  He  is  distinguished  also 
as  an  analytical  writer  on  the  game, 
and  as  a  whist-player.  The  follow- 
ing year  (1890)  another  able  and 
successful  gentleman  began  giving 
lessons— George  E.  Duggan  (q.  v.), 
a  Canadian  by  birth,  but  an  Ameri- 
can by  adoption.  Mr.  Duggan 
branched  out  in  New  York;  but, 
going  to  Chicago  to  visit  the  World's 
Fair,  he  was  so  struck  with  the  fine 
quality  of  the  whist  played  in  the 
latter  city,  and  the  desire  manifested 
for  more  knowledge,  that  he  con- 
cluded to  remain  there.  To-day  he 
feels  no  little  pride  in  the  fact  that 
many  of  Chicago's  best  players — 
men  and  women — are  numbered 
among  his  pupils. 

The  pioneer  whist-teacher  and 
leader  in  Philadelphia  was  Mrs. 
William  Henry  Newbold  (q.  v.}, 
who  began  teaching  in  1891,  and 
soon  found  her  services  in  great 
demand.  Being  prominent  in  so- 
cial circles,  her  example  and  de- 
votion to  the  game  inspired  others, 
so  that  to-day  Philadelphia  ranks 
first  as  a  woman's  whist  centre.  In 
1891  whist-teaching  was  also  in- 
augurated in  Denver,  Colorado. 
Miss  M.  Ida  Moore  was  the  first  to 
make  a  success  as  a  teacher  there, 
and  she  has  many  pupils.  Miss 
Moore  has  played  the  game  from 
childhood,  being,  as  she  says, 
"  brought  up  on  whist."  In  1886 
she  began  to  study  the  modern  sci- 
entific game,  and  several  years  later 
her  services  as  a  teacher  were  in 
great  demand. 

One  of  the  first  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  new  whist  movement 
among  the  women  of  Milwaukee 
was  Mrs.  Lavinia  S.  Nowell,  who 
had  played  whist  from  child- 
hood up.  When  a  young  girl  she 
often  made  a  fourth  hand  with  her 
father  and  two  other  gentlemen. 


It  was  a  Hoyle  game  in  those  days, 
"second  low  and  third  hand  high," 
regardless  of  sequences  and  the 
card  led.  Her  father  was  a  great 
admirer  of  whist,  and  thus  Mrs. 
Nowell  came  naturally  to  love  it 
also.  Writing  under  date  of  Octo- 
ber 25,  1897,  she  says:  "  I  can  hardly 
be  classed  as  a  professional  teacher. 
A  few  years  ago,  when  the  ladies 
began  to  be  greatly  interested  in 
the  game,  I  was  urged  by  many 
friends  to  give  them  the  benefit  of 
my  experience,  and  I  taught  classes 
one  winter,  very  successfully,  I 
was  told,  but  my  health  and  de- 
mands on  my  time  did  not  permit 
me  to  continue  it  after  that  season. 
Often  a  class  is  formed  and  its 
members  insist  upon  my  teaching 
them.  Then  I  take  this  class,  but 
no  others."  Hamilton  is  Mrs. 
Nowell's  favorite  authority  on  the 
game.  Milwaukee  is  also  the  home 
of  another  whist-teacher  of  note, 
Miss  Bessie  E.  Allen  (q.  v.),  whose 
reputation  is  national,  although 
she  has  not  taught  very  often  away 
from  home,  her  time  being  fully 
occupied  there. 

Whist-teachers  had  begun  to  in- 
crease so  rapidly,  and  teaching  was 
held  in  such  high  esteem,  that  in 
February,  1893,  Cassius  M.  Paine, 
the  editor  of  Whist,  was  moved  to 
make  the  following  reference  to 
the  subject  in  his  journal:  Whist- 
teaching  "  is  fast  forcing  itself  to 
the  fore  as  the  easiest  and  surest 
way  of  obtaining  that  understand- 
ing of  the  theory  of  the  game,  to- 
gether with  the  arbitrary  conven- 
tionalities, which,  being  supple- 
mented by  practice,  makes  the 
ready  player.  So  thoroughly  is 
this  plan  becoming  established, 
and  so  satisfactory  is  it  in  its  adap- 
tation, that  the  whist-teacher  is  now 
an  acknowledged  and  valued  factor, 
with  much  to  do,  and  large  classes 
in  each  whist-playing  centre." 


TEACHERS  OF  WHIST         423         TEACHERS  OF  WHIST 


About  this  time  Mrs.  Lillian  Cur- 
tis Noel  (q.  v.),  a  charming  society 
woman,  began  to  arouse  a  deeper 
interest  in  the  game  among  the 
women  of  St.  Louis.  She,  too,  had 
been  familiar  with  whist  all  her 
life,  and,  after  studying  it  scientific- 
ally, was  prevailed  upon  to  teach 
others.  Her  labors  in  the  whist 
field  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
the  largest  whist  club  for  women 
in  this  country.  Similar  good 
work  was  being  done  at  the  same 
time  by  Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews  (q.  v.), 
in  Philadelphia.  After  arousing 
the  whist  enthusiasm  of  the  women 
of  Philadelphia  and  surrounding 
places  to  a  high  pitch  by  means  of 
her  teaching  and  the  whist  tourna- 
ments, in  which  she  was  the  lead- 
ing spirit,  she  took  hold  of  the  pro- 
ject of  organizing  the  Woman's 
Whist  League  of  America,  which 
had  long  been  talked  of,  and  now 
carried  it  to  a  successful  issue.  The 
proceeds  of  her  teaching  she  de- 
voted mainly  to  the  advancement 
of  the  cause  of  whist.  One  of  her 
happy  thoughts  was  the  purchase 
of  what  have  since  been  appropri- 
ately named  the  Andrews  Trophies 
— four  large  heart-shaped  silver 
dishes — to  be  competed  for  by 
teams  of  four.  They  are  to  the 
Woman's  Whist  League  what  the 
Challenge  Trophy  is  to  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League,  and  are  subject 
to  somewhat  similar  rules.  In  fact, 
they  were  competed  for  before 
the  formation  of  the  woman's 
league,  and  to  the  enthusiasm 
created  by  the  tournaments  held 
for  their  possession  was  largely  due 
the  formation  of  the  organization. 

Teachers  of  whist,  of  both  sexes, 
now  became  more  numerous  still, 
for  the  demand  for  instruction 
seemed  ever  increasing.  Miss 
Frances  S.  Dallam  (q.  v. )  took  up 
the  good  work  in  Baltimore;  Mrs. 
Sadie  B.  Farnum,  an  experienced 


and  lifelong  whist-player,  began  to 
teach  in  Chicago  and  its  suburbs. 
On  the  Pacific  coast,  Mrs.  Frank 
H.  Atwater  (q.  v.)  won  a  more  than 
local  reputation  at  Petaluma,  Cal., 
and  in  San  Francisco  Mrs.  Abbie 
E.  Krebs  was  credited  by  Whist 
with  "having,  in  many  ways,  ac- 
tively contributed  to  promote  in- 
terest in  scientific  whist  by  teach- 
ing, writing,  and  committee  work, 
and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  by 
a  series  of  whist  talks  at  the  San 
Francisco  Whist  Club." 

In  the  spring  of  1894  Miss  Ade- 
laide B.  Hyde  began  giving  whist 
lessons  at  New  Haven,  Conn.  She 
had  had  the  benefit  of  a  very  early 
whist  training.  As  a  child  she 
never  lost  an  opportunity  to  watch 
the  game,  and  took  a  hand  as  soon 
as  she  was  allowed  to  do  so.  Later 
she  obtained  her  knowledge  of  the 
conventional  game  from  the  books, 
and  a  close  watch  of  the  methods 
of  the  best  players  of  this  country 
also  helped  to  perfect  her  in  her 
chosen  profession.  Miss  Hyde  has 
had  classes  in  the  Adirondacks 
summers,  and  at  Lakewood,  N.  J., 
winters.  In  1897  she  removed  to 
New  York  City.  Like  all  the 
women  who  teach  whist,  Miss 
Hyde  is  an  advocate  of  the  long- 
suit  game,  with  American  leads. 
First  of  all  she  endeavors  to  estab- 
lish the  fact  that  rules  are  in  no 
wise  opposed  to  common  sense,  but 
simply  a  result  of  it;  and  their  ap- 
plication can  never  become  me- 
chanical if  the  best  results  are  to 
be  gained. 

The  year  1894  also  brought  sev- 
eral more  men  into  the  field  as 
whist  teachers.  Charles  S.  Street 
( q.  v.)  began  to  devote  some  time 
to  it,  aside  from  other  duties,  in 
Boston;  Earle  C.  Quackenbush 
(q.  v.)  did  likewise  in  Washing^ 
ton,  D.  C.  Charles  R.  Keiley 
(q.  v.),  now  of  New  York,  began 


TEACHERS  OF  WHIST        424        TEACHERS  OF  WHIST 


to  teach  some  also  about  this  time, 
as  did  also  E.  T.  Baker  (q.  v.), 
in  Brooklyn.  All  of  these  gentle- 
men continue  to  give  more  or 
less  time  to  it,  and  have  many  pu- 
pils. Another  instructor  who  en- 
tered the  field  contemporaneously 
with  the  above  was  T.  E.  Otis 
(q.  v.},  of  East  Orange,  N.  J.,  but 
after  teaching  two  years,  and  re- 
gaining his  health,  which  had  pre- 
viously been  impaired,  Mr.  Otis  re- 
entered  other  business,  and  now 
confines  most  of  his  teaching  to  the 
training  of  the  team  of  which  he  is 
captain.  It  may  be  here  noted  also 
that  while  the  ladies  are,  so  far  as  we 
know,  all  orthodox  in  the  long-suit 
faith,  and  true  believers  in  Ameri- 
can leads,  three  of  the  gentlemen 
are  pronounced  advocates  of  the 
short-suit  game  —  Messrs.  Foster, 
Keiley,  and  Baker. 

A  little  over  two  years  ago,  Mrs. 
Harry  Rogers,  of  Philadelphia, 
began  teaching  whist,  and  her 
efforts  were  soon  crowned  with 
success.  Mrs.  Rogers  was  taught 
to  play  whist  while  a  child,  and 
among  her  early  recollections  is 
one  of  being  made  to  stand  in  a 
corner  because  she  could  not  re- 
member the  cards.  Her  attention 
was  called  to  the  scientific  game 
some  five  or  six  years  ago.  She 
subsequently  took  lessons  from 
Miss  Gertrude  E.  Clapp  and  Miss 
Wheelock,  and  is  a  strong  advocate 
of  the  long-suit  game.  When  her 
husband  failed  in  business,  she 
took  up  teaching,  and  met  with 
great  encouragement.  She  has 
taught  in  Pittsburgh,  as  well  as 
Philadelphia,  and  has  also  had 
offers  from  Cleveland  and  other 
cities.  All  her  pupils  are  enthusi- 
astic in  their  praise  of  her  and  her 
instructions. 

Among  others  who  have  taken 
up  whist-teaching,  Mrs.  Henry  E. 
Wallace  (q.v.),  of  Staten  Island,  N. 


Y.,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  H.  Buell  (q.  z/.),  of 
Providence,  R.  I.,  and  Mrs.  George 
de  Benneville  Keim  (q.  v.),  now  of 
Edgewater  Park,  N.  J.,  have  also 
won  enviable  reputations.  Mrs. 
Keim  is  a  native  of  Richmond,  Va., 
and  has  the  credit  of  organizing 
two  whist  clubs  among  the  ladies 
of  the  Old  Dominion  capital,  and 
arousing  whist  enthusiasm  among 
the  leading  people  of  the  city. 

While  there  are  undoubtedly 
many  more  persons  who  teach 
whist,  professionally  or  otherwise, 
we  have  prepared  an  alphabetical 
list  of  all  those  whose  names  and 
addresses  could  be  learned  by  dili- 
gent and  systematic  inquiry.  We 
have  thirty-eight  teachers  repre- 
sented in  all,  twenty-nine  women 
and  nine  men.  Some  of  the  most 
successful  men  who  are  engaged  in 
teaching  have  many  more  female 
than  male  pupils.  In  fact,  the 
great  majority  of  whist-pupils  now 
undergoing  instruction  are  women, 
and  this  is  significant.  It  means 
that  in  America  women  may  event- 
ually distance  the  men  in  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  game.  It  means 
also  that  through  woman  whist  will 
be  made  more  and  more  a  game  for 
the  home  circle,  and  a  factor  in  the 
education  and  training  of  the 
young,  a  matter  of  vast  importance 
and  benefit  to  the  nation  at  large. 
The  list  of  teachers  follows: 
Allen,  Miss  Bessie  E.,  474  Van 

Buren  street,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Anderson,  Mrs.  Harriet  Allen,  571 

Van  Buren  street,  M  il  waukee,  Wis. 
Andrews,  Mrs.  T.  H.,  1119  Spruce 

street,  Philadelphia. 
Atwater,  Mrs.  Frank  H.,  Petaluma, 

Cal. 

Baker,  Mr.    El  wood  T.,  781  Pros- 
pect Place,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Brooke,    Mrs.    Gertrude,    Earlham 

Terrace,  Gertnantown,  Pa. 
Buell,    Mrs.   S.   C.   H.,  227   Bowen 

street,  Providence,  R.  I. 


TEACHERS  OF  WHIST         425         TEACHERS  OF  WHIST 


Clapp,  Miss  Gertrude  E.,  The  Len- 
nox, New  York  City. 
Dallam,  Miss  Frances  S.,  1026  Bol- 

ton  street,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Dolliver,  Mrs.  Sewall,   1008  Jones 

street,  San  Francisco. 
Duggan,  Mr.  George  E.,  305  East 

Chicago  avenue,  Chicago. 
Earle,  Mrs.  William  E.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 
Farnum,    Mrs.     Sadie    B.,    North 

Shore  Hotel,  Chicago. 
Fenollosa,  Mr.  William  S.,  Salem, 

Mass. 
Foster,   Mr.    R.   F.,   560  Hancock 

street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Fuller,    Mr.    Robert,   47   Tremout 

street,  Boston. 

Hess,  Mrs.  Minnie,  Evanston,  111. 
Hyde,  Miss  Adelaide  B.,  53  West 

Forty-seventh   street,  New  York 

City. 
Jenks,  Mrs.  M.   S.,  care  of  Whist, 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Keiley,  Mr.  Charles  R.,  101  Lexing- 
ton avenue,  New  York  City. 
Keim,  Mrs.  George  de  Benneville, 

Edgewater  Park,  N.  J. 
Kernochan,    Mrs.   Frank,   Albany, 

N.  Y. 
Krebs,  Mrs.  Abbie  E.,  911   Sutter 

street,  San  Francisco. 
Moore,  Miss  M.  Ida,  1031  Emerson 

street,  Denver,  Col. 
Newbold,   Mrs.    William   H.,  2212 

Trinity  Place,  Philadelphia. 
Noble,  Miss  Evelyn,  2005  St. Charles 

avenue,  New  Orleans,  La. 
Noel,   Mrs.    Lillian   C.,  5925  Gates 

avenue,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Nowell,  Mrs.  W.  A.,   667  Marshall 

street,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Otis,    Mr.    T.    E.,    East    Orange, 

N.J. 
Quackenbush,  Mr.  Earle  C.,  1408  G 

street,    Northwest,    Washington, 

D.  C. 
Roberts,  Miss  Edith,   Ridley  Park, 

Pa. 
Rogers,  Mrs.    Harry,  2216   Trinity 

Place,  Philadelphia. 


Shelby,  Miss  Annie  Blanche,  Port- 
land, Oregon. 

Snyder,  Miss  Edith,  Pottsville,  Pa. 
Street,  Mr.  Charles  Stuart,  86  Bea- 
con street,  Boston. 
Trist,    Miss,    1516  Baronne  street, 

New  Orleans. 

Wallace,  Mrs.  Henry  E.,  20  Tyson 
street,  New  Brighton,  Staten 
Island,  N.  Y. 

Wheelock,  Miss  Kate,  care  of 
Whist,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Hoyle  gave  instructions  at  a 
guinea  a  lesson.  The  charges  of 
the  modern  teachers  are  more 
moderate,  as  will  appear  from  the 
following  rate-card,  submitted  to 
her  pupils  by  a  leading  teacher: 
Class  of  four,  one  hour  session,  £3; 
class  of  eight,  one  and  a  half 
hours'  session,  $4;  class  of  twelve, 
two  hours'  session,  $5;  class  of  six- 
teen, two  and  a  half  hours'  session, 
$6.  Private  lessons,  half-hour  in- 
struction, $i.  Some  teachers  un- 
doubtedly charge  more  than  this, 
and  some  less. 

Until  recently  the  study  of  whist  was 
undertaken  only  in  a  desultory  sort  of 
way  over  a  "hand."  But  within  a  few 
years  it  has  been  so  systematized  that  a 
course  of  lessons  in  whist  is  as  common 
as  a  course  of  study  on  any  other  subject. 
Whist  lessons  can  be  given  on  exact 
lines  up  to  a  certain  point,  covering  all 
the  positive  rules  of  the  game.  Beyond 
that  it  can  be  given  in  the  way  of  point- 
ing out  the  pitfalls  into  which  the  un- 
skilled may  stumble,  and  suggesting 
means  by  which  they  may  be  avoided,  or 
if  not  avoided,  neutralized.  After  that 
the  student  must  depend  on  herself,  and 
her  proficiency  in  the  game  will  depend 
upon  her  powers  of  observation  and  con- 
centration, her  ability  to  draw  correct  in- 
ferences, and  her  good  judgment.— Har- 
riet Allen  Anderson  [L.  A.},  Home  Maga- 
zine, July,  1895. 

Professional  teaching  became  quite  a 
feature  of  whist  in  America.  Miss  Kate 
VVheelock  was  the  first  in  the  field,  begin- 
ning in  Milwaukee  and  Chicago.  The 
Misses  Clapp  followed  in  her  footsteps, 
and  before  long  every  large  city  had  its 
instructor.  With  the  exception  of  the 
author,  who  was  then  lecturing  on  whist 
in  New  York,  all  these  teachers  educated 
their  pupils  in  the  number-showing 


TEACHERS  OF  WHIST        426          TECHNICAL  TERMS 


school.  Influenced  by  the  later  writings 
of  "  Cavendish,"  and  the  works  of  G.  W. 
P.,  Fisher  Anies,  and  others  of  that  school, 
which  was  all  the  rage  in  1891,  these 
teachers  insisted  on  the  pip-countiug  pro- 
cess as  the  highest  order  of  whist.  The 
invariable  lead  of  the  longest  suit,  show- 
ing number,  and  signaling  were  the 
drill  tactics,  and  when  the  Milwaukee 
Whist  Club  asked  the  whist-players  of 
America  to  meet  in  Milwaukee  for  the 
purpose  of  organization,  almost  every 
delegate  present  was  a  follower  of  the 
scientific  school. — R.  F.  Foster  [S.  0.], 
Monthly  Illustrator,  1897. 

It  is  of  ten  said,  in  general  terms,  that 
the  way  to  learn  to  play  whist  well  is  to 
play  with  good  players.  This  is  in  part 
true,  but  it  is  mainly  delusive.  There  is, 
to  many  people,  not  much  use  in  seeing 
what  good  players  do,  without  knowing 
the  reason  why  they  do  it,  and  this  good 
players  are  not  ready  to  give,  and  in 
lact  the  rules  of  the  game  forbid  their 
giving  it  while  playing.  All  the  instruc- 
tion the  unfortunate  whist-dunce  receives 
while  actually  playing,  he  is  apt  to  get 
from  the  contemptuous  reproaches  of  his 
partner,  or  the  contemptuous  silence  of 
his  opponents,  after  each  hand.  *  *  * 
All  this  makes  a  teacher  of  whist— that 
is,  somebody  who  will  deal  tenderly  with 
poor  players,  tell  them  why  they  have 
blundered,  and  what  they  ought  to  have 
done  but  did  not  do,  in  a  spirit  of  kind- 
ness or  even  commiseration — wear  the 
air  of  a  ministering  angel;  and  we  should 
venture  to  predict,  therefore,  that  the 
most  successful  teachers  will  be,  as  in- 
deed are  now,  women. — E.  L.  Godkin, 
New  York  Nation,  September  8,  1887. 

Another  evidence  of  the  earnestness  of 
the  Americans  in  the  game  has  been  the 
fact  that  they  have  revived  and  encour- 
aged professional  teaching,  in  the  manner 
practiced  by  Hoyle.  Nothing  had  been 
done  since  his  day;  but  in  1871,  when  the 
author  of  the  present  work  had  occasion 
to  describe  the  philosophical  system,  he 
inserted  the  following  note  (Quarterly 
Review,  page  6<j):  "  Why  cannot  whist  be 
taught  professionally,  like  chess  and  bil- 
liards ?  Hoyle  set  the  example,  at  a  guinea 
a  lesson,  and  there  is  now  much  more 
scope  for  instruction  than  there  was  in 
his  day,  from  the  game  being  reduced  to 
so  much  more  systematic  and  teachable  a 
form."  It  is  quite  as  practicable  as  the 
teaching  of  drawing  or  music,  or  any  or- 
dinary accomplishment,  and  the  Ameri- 
cans have  made  the  experiment  with 
great  success.  It  is  curious  that  the 
teaching  began  among  the  fair  sex.  About 
1886  a  little  circle  of  ladies,  prominent  in 
the  society  of  Milwaukee  (a  city  often  dis- 
tinguished in  whist  matters),  despairing 
of  solving  for  themselves  the  mysteries 


of  "Cavendish,"  sought  aid  from  others 
of  their  sex  who  had  been  more  fortunate. 
And  this  led  to  regular  paid  instruction. 
The  pioneers  in  the  venture  were  a  Miss 
Kate  Wheelock,  of  Milwaukee,  and  a 
Miss  Gardner,  of  Boston.  The  first- 
named  lady  has  since  earned  a  very  wide 
reputation.  Her  classes  in  one  season 
numbered  nearly  150  members,  and  she 
has  received  so  many  applications  from 
various  towns  that  she  has  been  obliged 
to  make  periodical  tours  to  satisfy  them. 
She  has  turned  out  many  distinguished 
pupils,  and  is  known  by  the  name  of  the 
"  whistqueen."  A  Mrs.  M.S.  Jenksisalso 
a  celebrated  teacher,  who  has  advocated 
whist-teaching  in  schools;  and  many 
others  are  so  engaged.  Some  of  these 
ladies  have  visited  London,  and  have 
given  a  high  impression  of  their  abilities. 
The  terms  charged  by  the  best  teachers 
are  two  dollars  per  lesson  for  each  person 
in  a  class  of  four,  and  the  income  of  one 
teacher  is  given  at  the  rate  of  $150  per 
week.  Many  classes  are  said  to  exist 
in  every  large  town,  and  the  pupils  often 
belong  to  the  best  society. —  William  Pole 
[L.  A  +],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

Team. — A  number  of  players 
who  play  together  against  an  equal 
number  of  other  players,  or  against 
other  teams,  each  composed  of  an 
equal  number.  A  team  generally 
is  selected  with  care  from  the  best 
players  of  a  club,  and  represents 
such  club  in  matches  and  tourna- 
ments. A  team  may  consist  of  two 
players,  but  in  that  case  pair  is 
the  more  correct  designation.  The 
team  of  four  players  is  the  most 
popular,  although  in  some  contests 
teams  of  eight  and  even  larger 
numbers  are  frequently  entered;  as, 
for  instance,  in  the  contest  for  the 
trophy  of  the  auxiliary  associa- 
tions (see,  "  American  Whist 
League,  Seventh  Congress"),  in 
which  teams  of  sixteen  represented 
the  rival  whist  associations.  The 
play  of  teams,  at  duplicate  whist, 
requires  every  member  of  a  team  to 
play  with  every  other  player  an 
equal  number  of  times. 

Technical  Terms. — Expressions 
peculiar  to  whist;  words  or  phrases 
describing  some  condition,  compo- 


TEMPER,  CONTROL  OF     427 


TENACE 


nent  part,  or  play  incident  to  the 
game;  as,  age,  book,  bumblepuppy, 
coup,  dummy,  etc. 

Temper,  Control  of. — Whist  is 
a  game  for  gentlemen  (and  for 
ladies,  too,  for  that  matter),  and 
this  fact  should  never  be  lost  sight 
of.  It  is  just  as  wrong  to  lose  con- 
trol of  your  temper  at  the  whist- 
table  at  it  would  be  at  any  function 
in  society,  where  good  breeding  and 
refinement  are  supposed  to  be  the 
rule.  To  get  angry  at  whist  never 
mends,  but  makes  matters  worse. 

Should  you  unfortunately  discover  that 
constitutional  infirmity  robs  you  of  the 
power  of  controlling  your  temper,  aban- 
don at  once  and  forever  all  idea  of  becom- 
ing a  whist-player.  By  this  generous 
self-denial  you  will  be  spared  the  morti- 
fying- reflection  which  must  disturb  those 
conscious  of  having  so  repeatedly  marred 
the  pleasure  and  enjoyment  of  others. — 
" Lieutenant- Colonel £.'"'  [L.  O.]. 

Ten.— See,   ' '  Ten-Spot. " 

Ten  ace. — The  best  and  third-best 
card  held  by  a  player  in  a  suit. 
The  first  and  third-best  cards  are 
tenace  major;  the  second  and  fourth 
best,  tenace  minor;  the  first,  third, 
and  fifth  best  constitute  a  tenace 
double.  Tenace  also  means  the 
position  in  which  the  cards  are  held 
as  above.  Tenace  is  an  important 
element  of  command  in  whist  strat- 
egy, and  much  used  in  the  short- 
suit  game,  or  the  play  of  the  weak 
hand.  The  player  possessing  ten- 
ace strength  has  the  cards  in  a  posi- 
tion to  gain  the  most  tricks  if  his 
suit  is  led  up  to.  Therefore,  many 
experts  will  not  lead  away  from 
such  suit,  even  though  obliged  to 
open  a  short  suit. 

The  word  tenace  is  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  derived  from  the  Latin 
ienax,  tenacious,  holding  fast,  the 
idea  being  to  hold  back  certain 
cards  instead  of  leading  them.  Val. 


W.  Starnes,  in  his  book  on  "  Short- 
Suit  Whist,"  is  inclined  to  doubt 
the  correctness  of  this  derivation, 
and  to  place  some  confidence  in  the 
ingenious  definition  suggested  by 
the  young  lady  who  asked  him 
whereiu  lay  the  special  advantage 
of  holding  an  ace  and  a  ten.  "It 
might  well  be,"  he  argues,  "that 
the  term  actually  originated  from 
'  ten'  and  '  ace,'  for  these  two  cards 
constitute  an  excellent  tenace  when 
any  two  of  the  three  remaining 
honors  fall  on  the  first  trick.  The 
ten  and  ace  may  have  been  the  first 
representatives  of  the  tenace  species 
noticed  by  whist  naturalists;  or, 
perhaps,  the  word  may  have  been 
coined  to  indicate  the  double  ten- 
ace, first,  last,  all-embracing,  ten- 
queen-ace." 

In  his  "  Whist  Strategy"  (1894), 
on  page  203,  R.  F.  Foster  gives  a 
hand,  and  shows  the  result  when 
played  in  disregard  of  tenace,  and 
when  played  tenace.  In  the  first 
instance  A  leads,  the  nine  of  hearts 
being  turned  in  trumps: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1  1 
12 
13 

*  K 

4  0 
7  0 
*  8 
K  • 

*  4 
6  0 
9  0 

*7 

2  4 

AO 
4  4 
6  * 
8  « 

9  4> 
tf  4 
<?  5 
104k 

*  5 
5  0 

<2  6 

*  A 

QO 

IOO 
A  3 

*  J 
2  0 
V  2 

A10 

5  4k 

V  7 

KO 
A  * 
4  9 
*  Q 
<2  1O 

3  4k 

V  8 

J  0 
<2  A 

Q  * 
*  6 
*  2 

7  4> 
J  4k 

8  0 
<2  9 
<?  J 
3  O 

<2  K 

V  Q 

<2  3 

Score:  A-B,  9;  Y-Z,  4. 


TENACE 


428 


TEN-SPOT 


"In  the  original  play,"  says  Fos- 
ter, "  Z,  not  having  been  educated 
in  tenace,  has  no  conception  of  the 
possibilities  of  his  hand.  In  the 
overplay  Z  leaves  the  lead  with  A, 
who,  supposing  his  suit  to  be  good, 
ace  with  his  partner,  leads  trumps. 
It  is  only  the  plain-suit  echo  on  a 
king  led  that  saves  A  at  the  tenth 
trick.  The  tenace  play  of  the  hand 
makes  eighteen  tricks  against  eight, 
a  gain  of  ten."  The  tenace  play  is 
as  follows: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

1 
2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

*  K 

*  4 
V  4 
9  5 
6  0 
*  7 
9  0 
A  0 

*  5 

v  e 

V  7 
5  0 
<9  8 
*  6 
*IO 
J   * 
3  * 
5  * 
*  2 
7  * 
Q  * 

*  3 

<9  2 
<2  9 

V  K 

V  3 

40 
VIO 
7  0 
KO 
K  + 
V  Q 

QO 

<?  A 

J  0 

IOO 
V  J 

10* 
2  * 
4  * 
6  * 
8  + 
9  * 

8  0 
*  J 
4  A 

A  * 

*  8 

*  9 
*  Q 

3  0 

2  0 

Score  :  A-B,  4;  Y-Z,  9. 

With  or  without  the  establishment  of  a 
suit,  you  may  pick  up  tricks  here  and 
there  with  high  cards,  and  if  you  make 
all  the  high  cards  vou  have,  never  fret- 
ting about  the  small  ones,  you  may  con- 
sider yourself  lucky.  If  you  play  with 
this  end  definitely  in  view,  preserving 
vour  high  cards  and  tenace  strength,  and 
leading  cards  worthless  in  your  own 
hand,  but  of  such  size  that  they  may 
help  partner,  then  your  method  is  what 
we  generally  call  the  supporting-card 
game.  Foster  uses  the  expression  "  ten- 
ace game,"  but  I  prefer  to  retain  the 
usual,  restricted  meaning  of  the  word 
"tenace,"  as  applied  to  the  best  and 
third-best  of  a  suit  and  a  couple  of  similar 
combinations.— E.  C.  Howell  [S.  ff.], 
"Whist  Openings." 


When  you  hold  a  single  or  double 
tenace,  major  or  minor,  it  is  very  im- 
portant to  avoid  leading  the  suit,  if  pos- 
sible, for  it  will  be  much  more  to  your 
advantage  to  have  it  led  by  some  other 
player,  unless  3'ou  have  so  many  cards  of 
the  suit  that  it  is  unlikely  to  go  round 
more  than  once.  For  example:  If  you 
lead  from  the  single  major  tenace,  you 
are  sure  of  only  one  trick.  If  you  wait 
for  the  lead  from  some  other  player  you 
are  likely  to  make  two  tricks.  If  the 
lead  comes  from  your  left-hand  adver- 
sary, you  are  sure  of  two  tricks,  bar 
trumping.  If  you  lead  from  a  double 
major  tenacCj  you  are  sure  of  but  one 
trick.  By  waiting  you  may  make  three, 
and  if  the  lead  comes  twice  from  your 
left,  nothing  but  trumping  will  prevent 
your  so  doing. —  Val.  W.  blames  [S.  £>.], 
'•  Short-Suit  Whist." 

Hoyle  says:  "  Tenace  is  possessing  the 
first  and  third-best  cards,  and  being  the 
last  player;"  Mathews,  "  When  the  last 
to  play  holds  the  best  and  third-best  of  a 
suit."  "  Last  to  play"  and  "  last  player" 
are  here  used  only  relatively  to  the  holder 
of  the  second  best;  so  that  their  defini- 
tions really  mean  that  tenace  is  the  hold- 
ing of  best  and  third  best  of  any  suit 
under  such  circumstances  that  the  lead 
must  come  up  to  them  from  or  through 
the  holder  of  second  best.  The  same 
term  was  also  used  to  indicate  the  posi- 
tion wherein  a  player  might  be  led  up  to 
regardless  of,  or  in  ignorance  of,  what 
cards  he  held.  "Cavendish,"  Clay,  et  id 
genus  omne,  in  defining,  limit  the 
meaning  of  tenace  to  the  holding  of 
cards  irrespective  of  position.  Pole  adds: 
"The  essence  of  the  tenace,  which  gives 
the  character  and  importance  to  the  com- 
bination is  that  if  the  holder  of  the  tenace, 
he  must  (bar  trumping)  make  tricks  with 
both  cards."  Ames,  in  his  excellent 
treatise,  uses  the  term  indifferently  to  ex- 
press either  the  holding  of  the  cards  or 
the  holding  of  the  position;  and  "  Cav- 
endish" uses  it  in  the  latter  sense  in  his 
"Card-Table  Talk."  As  a  matter  of  sci- 
entific accuracy,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
separate  terms  cannot  be  assigned  to 
these  separate  meanings;  for  instance, 
major  fourchette  for  best  and  third  best; 
minor  fourchette  for  second  and  fourth 
best;  vantage,  the  position;  major  tenace. 
the  combination  of  major  fourchette  and 
vantage;  and  minor  tenace,  minor  four- 
chette and  vantage. — Emery  Boardman 
[L+A.],  "Winning  Whist." 

Ten -Lead. —See,  "Ten-Spot" 

Ten-Spot.— The  fifth  highest 
card  in  the  pack;  oue  of  the  five 


TEN-SPOT 


429      THACKERAY  ON  WHIST 


high    cards   in  whist;   also  called 
simply,  the  ten. 

The  ten  is  led,  in  both  the  system 
of  old  leads  and  in  the  American 
leads,  from  one  combination  only 
— that  of  king,  jack,  ten,  and  one 
or  more  smaller  cards.  It  has  fre- 
quently been  objected  to  in  the 
past  and  still  more  in  recent  years. 
"  Pembridge"  pointed  out  its 
weakness  in  his  "  Whist,  or  Bum- 
blepuppy?"  (second  lecture).  In 
trumps  Lord  Bentinck,  the  inven- 
tor of  the  trump  signal,  led  a  small 
card  from  the  king,  jack,  ten  com- 
bination. 

It  is  now  proposed  (and  many  of 
the  very  best  players  have  already 
adopted  the  suggestion)  to  substi- 
tute for  the  ten  the  lead  of  fourth 
best,  and  to  transfer  the  ten-lead  to 
the  queen,  jack,  ten  combination, 
thereby  relieving  the  queen-leads 
from  a  much-complained-of  am- 
biguity in  the  American  leads. 
This  change  seems  to  have  grown 
out  of  a  suggestion  made  by 
Charles  Stuart  Street,  in  Whist  for 
January,  1893.  He  proposed  that 
the  ten  be  led,  instead  of  the  queen, 
from  the  queen ,  jack,  ten  combina- 
tion, but  he  did  not  provide  for  any 
change  in  the  ten-lead  from  king, 
jack,  ten.  His  idea  was  to  lead  the 
ten  from  both  combinations.  Fisher 
Ames  and  other  American  authori- 
ties endorsed  Mr.  Street's  sugges- 
tion, but  N.  B.  Trist  and  "  Caven- 
dish" declared  against  it,  as  they 
also  did  subsequently  against  the 
further  innovation  of  leading 
fourth  best  instead  of  ten  from 
king,  jack,  ten,  first  brought  into 
prominence  by  Milton  C.  Work  and 
his  team  from  the  Hamilton  Club. 
(See,  also,  "  American  Leads,  Pro- 
posed Changes  in,"  and  "  Hamil- 
ton Leads.") 

In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  system 
the  lead  of  the  ten  indicates  the  sup- 
porting-card game  (q.  v.).  In  the 


New  York  (Keiley's)  system,  the 
ten  is  usually  led  as  the  top  of  the 
suit,  but  may  be  an  intermediate 
lead  (q.  v.).  A  long  suit,  headed 
by  the  ten,  is  opened  with  it. 

Personally,  I  think  there  is  an  advan- 
tage in  leading  the  ten,  as  against  a  small 
one,  from  king,  knave,  ten,  etc.,  both  in 
plain  suits  and  in  trumps;  but  I  allow,  if 
any  departure  from  this  well-established 
rule  is  to  be  made,  that  it  may  be  at- 
tempted in  the  trump  suit  with  better 
chance  of  success  than  in  plain  suits. — 
"Cavendish"  [L.  A.},  Whist,  October,  1895. 

When  ten  is  led  as  an  original  lead, 
from  more  than  four  in  suit,  and  wins  the 
trick,  the  second  lead,  in  the  writer's 
opinion,  should  be  the  original  fourth 
best,  and  not  the  lowest  of  the  suit.  The 
ten  winning  the  trick,  the  nature  of  the 
combination  led  from  and  the  position  of 
the  high  cards  are  proclaimed.  *  *  * 
It  is  clearly  an  advantage  for  partner  to 
be  able  to  read  the  numerical  strength  of 
an  established  suit  as  early  as  the  second 
round.— C,  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.A.],  "Mod- 
ern Scientific  Whist.'" 

Text- Book. — A  book  for  the  use 
of  beginners  and  students,  who 
wish  to  perfect  themselves  in  the 
game;  a  whist  lesson-book.  (See, 
"  Books  on  Whist.") 

Thackeray  on  Whist. — In  "The 
Virginians,"  by  William  Make- 
peace Thackeray,  the  hero,  Harry 
Warrington,  experiences  much 
whist-play,  and  some  of  it  is  down- 
right gambling.  One  Sunday  even- 
ing Dr.  Sampson,  Lord  Castle- 
wood^  s  chaplain,  participates  in  a 
game  of  the  more  innocent  sort. 
The  evening  was  beautiful,  "and 
there  was  talk  of  adjourning  to  a 
cool  tankard  and  a  game  of  whist 
in  a  summer-house;  but  the  com- 
pany voted  to  sit  indoors,  the  ladies 
declaring  that  they  thought  the 
aspect  of  three  honors  in  their 
hand,  and  some  good  court  cards, 
more  beautiful  than  the  loveliest 
scene  of  nature.  And  so  the  sun 
went  behind  the  elms,  and  still 
they  were  at  their  cards;  and  the 
rooks  came  home,  cawing  their 


THEORY 


430 


THIRD  HAND 


evensong,  and  they  never  stirred, 
except  to  change  partners;  and  the 
chapel  clock  tolled  hour  after  hour 
unheeded,  so  delightfully  were  they 
spent  over  the  pasteboards;  and  the 
moon  and  stars  came  out,  and  it 
was  nine  o'clock,  and  the  groom  of 
the  chambers  announced  that  sup- 
per was  ready. ' ' 

Young  Warrington  plays  day 
after  day,  and  night  after  night, 
and  when  he  goes  to  Tunbridge 
Wells  he  continues  the  game  for 
higher  stakes,  with  the  most  distin- 
guished gamblers  of  the  day.  '  'Mr. 
Warrington  and  my  Lord  Chester- 
field found  themselves  partners 
against  Mr.  Morris  and  the  Earl 
of  March,"  we  are  told.  The  Vir- 
ginian's luck  is  phenomenal  at  first, 
but  he  finally  meets  with  disaster, 
and  is  reduced  to  curious  straits. 

Theory. — The  theory  of  whist  is 
the  general  plan  or  system  of  the 
game,  based  upon  its  established 
principles.  A  player  should  be 
well  grounded  in  the  theory  of  the 
game,  and  add  to  such  knowledge 
careful  and  industrious  practice. 
Dr.  Pole  was  the  first  to  thoroughly 
describe  the  theory  of  whist,  treat- 
ing it  from  a  philosophical  and  sci- 
entific standpoint.  He  says,  in  his 
"  Theory  of  the  Modern  Scientific 
Game  of  Whist:"  "  It  has  been  the 
invariable  custom  to  lay  down 
practical  rules  and  directions  for 
play,  sometimes  in  their  naked 
simplicity,  and  sometimes  accom- 
panied with  more  or  less  argument 
or  explanation  (as  done  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  originally  by  Hoyle  and 
Mathews),  but  always  leaving  the 
student  to  extract  for  himself,  from 
this  mass  of  detail,  the  general 
principles  on  which  these  rules 
were  based.  Just  as  if  a  student  of 
chemistry  were  put  into  a  working 
druggist's  shop,  and  expected  to 
acquire  all  his  knowledge  of  the 


science,  by  inference,  from  the 
operations  he  was  taught  to  carry 
on  there.  In  other  words,  no  at- 
tempt has  ever  been  made  to  work 
out  or  to  explain  the  fundamental 
theory  of  the  game;  and,  believing 
that  the  thorough  understanding  of 
this  is  the  best  possible  preparation 
for  using  the  rules  aright,  and  for 
acquiring  an  intelligent  style  of 
play,  we  propose  to  state  this 
theory  somewhat  fully,  and  to  show 
how  it  becomes  developed  in  the 
shape  of  practical  rules."  He  then 
goes  on  to  show  that  the  basis  of 
the  theory  lies  in  the  relations  ex- 
isting between  the  players;  that 
the  players  are  intended  to  act,  not 
singly,  but  as  partners,  and  play 
the  two  hands  combined  as  if  they 
were  one.  He  shows  how,  in  order 
to  carry  out  this  idea,  they  enter 
into  a  system  of  legalized  corre- 
spondence, and  then  he  explains 
how  the  theory  influences  the  man- 
agement of  trumps,  plain  suits,  the 
lead,  and  other  details  of  play. 
(See,  also,  "Long-Suit  Game.") 

Third  Hand. — The  player  who 
plays  the  third  card  to  a  round  or 
trick;  the  leader's  partner.  In  the 
first  or  opening  round  of  the  game 
he  is  "  B,"  or  "south." 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  third  hand 
generally  to  play  high,  especi- 
ally if  his  partner  has  led  a  low 
card.  Should  he  in  such  case,  how- 
ever, hold  the  ace  and  queen,  he 
ought  to  finesse  with  the  queen, 
and  play  the  ace  out  immediately 
if  the  queen  wins.  It  is  the  third 
hand's  duty  to  assist  partner  in  es- 
tablishing his  suit,  and  to  make  as 
many  tricks  as  possible  by  judicious 
finesses.  He,  of  course,  plays  a  low 
card  in  case  his  partner  leads,  from 
a  high  card  combination,  a  card 
which  should  go  round.  When  the 
adversaries  are  very  strong,  and  lead 
trumps,  he  finesses  deeply  in  them. 


THIRD  HAND 


431 


THIRD  HAND 


In  case  the  third  hand  wins  the 
first  trick  in  a  suit  led  by  his  part- 
ner, he  should  do  one  of  four  things: 
First  of  all  he  should  lead  trumps 
if  sufficiently  strong,  taking  into 
consideration  his  entire  hand,  his 
partner's  hand,  as  far  as  disclosed, 
and  the  cards  played  by  the  adver- 
saries. If  unable  to  lead  trumps 
he  should  return  the  best  card  of 
partner's  suit,  if  held  by  him. 
However,  with  fair  strength  in 
trumps  and  suit,  it  is  the  practice 
of  J.  H.  Briggs  and  other  fine 
players  to  hold  back  the  best  card 
of  partner's  suit  as  a  card  of  re- 
entry, should  they  find  themselves 
in  a  better  position  later  in  the 
hand  to  bring  in  the  suit  them- 
selves. As  a  third  matter  of  choice 
(not  holding  the  best  card  in  part- 
ner's suit),  the  third  hand  should 
open  his  own  long  suit  if  he  has 
sufficient  strength.  If  not,  then 
the  fourth  alternative  presents  it- 
self— he  should  return  partner's 
suit.  Most  good  players  agree  with 
Draysou,  that  it  is  not  customary 
to  at  once  return  partner's  suit  un- 
less you  are  weak  in  all  other  suits, 
and  find  it  unadvisable  to  open  a 
fresh  suit. 

The  golden  rule  is  an  excellent  maxim 
for  the  guidance  of  the  third  hand.  Let 
him  do  for  his  partner  what  he  would  like 
his  partner  to  do  for  him. — jR.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.},  "Whist  Tactics." 

The  general  rule  for  third  hand  is  to 
play  the  highest  you  have.  This  rule  is 
subject,  however,  to  the  peculiar  attri- 
bute of  the  third  hand  as  regards  finess- 
ing.— William  Pole  [L.A+]. 

You  should  play  the  highest  card  in 
your  hand  as  third  player,  unless  you 
finesse  or  hold  a  sequence,  when  you  play 
the  lowest  card  of  this  sequence,  provided 
you  have  not  a  higher  card  than  those 
comprising  the  sequence. — A.  W.  Drayson 
[L-i-A  +],  "  The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  third 
hand  who  originally  opened  a  suit  can, 
on  its  return,  read  that  the  best  card  of  it 
is  without  a  guard  in  the  fourth  hand,  in 
•which  case  he  should  play  his  lowest 
card,  regardless  of  card  played  by  the  sec- 


ond hand.— Milton  C.  Work  [L.  A.  H\. 
"Whist  of  To-day." 

Always  play  your  highest  card,  except 
when  your  highest  cards  are  in  sequence 
(then  the  lowest  of  the  sequence),  on  your 
partner's  lead  of  a  small  card.  This  rule 
of  third  hand  high  has  but  a  single  excep- 
tion, and  that  is  when  you  hold  the  ace 
and  queen.  In  this  case  the  queen  should 
be  finessed.— Milton  C.  Work  \L.  A.  H}. 
"Whist  of  To-day." 

Third  hand  high.  The  play  of  the  high 
card  is  (i)  to  take  the  trick;  or  (2)  to  force 
out  an  opponent's  higher  card.  In  either 
case  it  gets  high  cards  out  of  the  way  and 
helps  to  clear  and  establish  the  suit.  But 
this  rule  is  too  general,  and  particular 
rules  are  prescribed  according  to  the  cards 
led  and  held,  etc. — Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.], 
"Practical  Guide  to  Whist." 

The  third  hand  is,  as  a  general  rule,  ex- 
pected to  play  his  best  card  to  the  suit 
which  his  partner  has  led,  and  which,  in 
the  case  of  an  original  lead,  is,  or  in  the 
vast  majority  of  cases  ought  to  be,  his 
partner's  strongest  suit.  By  playing  your 
best  card,  therefore,  to  your  partner's 
lead,  if  you  do  not  take  the  trick,  you 
at  least  assist  him  to  establish  his  strong 
suit.— fames  Clay  [L.  O+}. 

The  general  principles  which  should 
guide  the  play  of  third  hand  are:  First, 
and  chiefly,  to  help  and  strengthen  your 
partner  as  much  as  possible  in  his  own 
suit;  secondly,  to  derive  all  possible  ad- 
vantage from  any  strengthening  card  he 
may  play  in  your  own  suit;  and,  thirdly, 
to  retain  as  long  as  possible  such  partial 
command  as  you  may  have  in  an  oppo- 
nent's suit.—  R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

In  the  play  of  third  hand,  the  main 
point  to  have'in  mind  is,  that  the  suit  led 
is  your  partner's,  and  you  are  to  assist  in 
establishing  it  as  follows:  (a)  by  winning 
the  trick  if  necessary,  and  as  cheaply  as 
possible;  (b)  by  preventing  fourth  hand 
from  winning  top  cheaply,  thus  forcing 
out  the  adverse  high  cards;  (c)  by  getting 
rid  of  your  high  cards  of  that  suit  as  soon 
as  possible,  to  avoid  blocking. —  C.  E.  Cof- 
fin [L.  A.],  "Gist  of  Whist." 

Until  within  the  last  decade  the  analysis 
of  the  play  of  third  hand  was  very  inade- 
quate and  unsatisfactory.  The  books  dis- 
missed the  subject  almost  with  the  single 
line — "  generally  play  your  highest  card 
third  hand."  The  new  order  for  leads 
from  high-card  sequences,  together  with 
the  fourth-best  principle,  revolutionized 
the  game  and  rendered  obsolete,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  text-books  of  the  day. — 
C.  D.  P.Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Modern  Sci- 
entific Whist." 

While  partners  should  play  for  each 
other,  and  while  third  hand  should  gener- 


THIRTEENTH  CARD  432      THOMSON,  ALEXANDER 


E 


ally  assist  first  player  in  the  development 
of  his  suit  and  of' his  plan,  nevertheless 
third-hand  player  is  an  important  factor 
in  the  quartette,  and  may  at  any  time  as- 
sume to  be  an  independent  one.  Third- 
hand  finesse  at  times  from  an  original 
lead,  and  frequently  upon  the  after  leads, 
will  win  trick  or  throw  the  lead  to  advan- 
tage. When  the  trumps  are  declared 
strong  against,  deep  finesse  by  third  hand 
may  be  the  only  plan  that  can  save  a 
game.— George  IV.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.], 
'  'A  merica  n  Wh  isl  Illustrated. ' ' 

On  the  first  round  of  a  suit  you  should 
:nerally  play  your  highest  card  third 
and,  in  order  to  strengthen  your  part- 
ner. You  presume  that  he  leads  from  his 
strong  suit,  and  wants  to  have  the  win- 
ning cards  of  it  out  of  his  way;  you,  there- 
fore, do  not  finesse,  but  play  your  high- 
est, remembering  that  you  play  the 
lowest  of  a  sequence.  With  ace,  queen 
(and,  of  course,  ace,  queen,  knave,  etc.,  in 
sequence),  you  do  finesse;  for,  in  this  case, 
the  finesse  cannot  be  left  to  your  partner. 
In  trumps  you  may  finesse  ace,  knave,  if 
an  honor  is  turned  up  to  your  right. 
Some  players  finesse  knave,  with  king, 
knave,  etc.,  but  it  is  contrary  to  principle 
to  finesse  in  your  partner's  strong  suit.  If 
your  partner  leads  a  high  card  originally 
you  assume  it  is  led  from  one  of  the  com- 
binations given  in  the  analysis  of  leads. 
and  your  play  third  hand  must  be  guided 
by  a  consideration  of  the  combination  led 
from.  *  *  *  If  your  partner  opens  a 
suit  late  in  hand  with  a  high  card,  your 
play,  third  hand,  will  depend  on  your 
judgment  of  the  character  of  the  lead. 
*  *  *  On  the  second  round  of  a  suit,  if 
you  (third  player)  hold  the  best  and 
third-best  cards,  and  you  have  no  indica- 
tion as  to  the  position  of  the  intermedi- 
ate card,  your  play  should  again  depend 
on  your  strength  in  trumps.  If  weak 
in  trumps,  secure  the  trick  at  once;  if 
strong  in  trumps,  and  especially  if  strong 
enough  to  lead  a  trump  should  the  finesse 
succeed,  it  is  generally  well  to  make  it. — 
"Cavendish'"  [L.  A.},  "Laws  and  Princi- 
ples of  Whist." 

Thirteenth  Card.— The  last  card 
of  any  suit  held  by  a  player,  the 
other  twelve  having  been  played. 

The  thirteenth  card  is  very  use- 
ful, especially  toward  the  close  of  a 
hand.  If  held  with  the  last  trump, 
or  trumps,  it  becomes  as  valuable 
as  a  trump.  A  thirteenth  card 
should  be  led  only  for  the  purpose 
of  having  partner  play  his  best 
trump,  and  so  prevent  it  falling 


with  your  own  high  trump;  or  to 
throw  the  lead  into  the  adversaries' 
hands,  so  that  you  or  your  partner 
may  be  led  up  to.  When  trumps 
are  against  you,  do  not  lead  a  thir- 
teenth, unless  it  be  to  force  the 
strong  hand  of  an  opponent. 

It  is  sometimes  played  because  the 
leader  considers  he  cannot  play  any 
other  card  to  advantage.  To  play  a  thir- 
teenth under  these  circumstances  may, 
and  most  probably  will,  mislead  your 
partner;  and  if  he  does  not  ruff  very  nigh 
it  gives  an  easily  acquired  trick  to  the 
last  player.— A.  IV.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Thirteenth  Trump.— The  last 
trump  held  by  a  player,  twelve 
having  been  played.  It  is  a  most 
important  card  to  retain,  if  possi- 
ble, in  order  to  obtain  the  lead 
again  when  your  suit  is  established, 
especially  if  you  have  no  other  card 
of  re-entry. 

It  is  a  good  plan  •when  you  have  the 
thirteenth  trump  to  pass  the  winning 
cards.  The  reason  of  this  is  not  apparent, 
but  in  practice  I  know  several  players 
who  do  so,  and  in  the  multitude  of  coun- 
sellors there  is  wisdom.  —  Westminster 
Papers  [L+O.] 

If  two  players  have  an  equal  number 
of  trumps,  each  of  them  having  an  estab- 
lished suit,  it  will  be  the  object  of  both  to 
remain  with  the  last  trump,  which  must 
bring  in  the  suit.  The  tactics  of  each 
will  be  to  win  the  third  round  of  trumps; 
and  then,  if  the  best  trump  is  against 
him,  to  force  it  out  with  the  established 
suit,  coming  into  the  lead  again  with  the 
last  trump.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  ''Com- 
plete Hoyle." 

Thomson,  Alexander. — Author 
of  "  Whist:  a  Poem  in  Twelve 
Cantos;  London,  1791;"  was  born 
in  Scotland,  on  the  Dee,  about 
1763,  and  educated  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Aberdeen,  although  he  af- 
terwards removed  to  Edinburgh. 
During  the  winter  of  I793~'94  he 
was  married,  and  his  death  occurred 
on  November  7,  1803.  He  was  the 
author  of  a  number  of  other 
poems,  and  many  translations  from 
the  German. 


THREE-TRUMP  ECHO    433    THREE-TRUMP  ECHO 


Three-Trump  Echo. — A  con- 
ventional play  originally  suggested 
by  Dr.  H.  E.  Greene,  of  Crawfords- 
vdle,  Ind.,  in  1895,  and  now  made 
as  follows:  When  a  player,  third 
hand,  is  not  obliged  to  play  a  high 
trump  on  partner's  original  trump- 
lead,  he  shows  the  possession  of 
three  trumps  by  playing  his  second 
best  on  the  first  round,  and  his 
third  best  on  the  second  round. 

"  Cavendish"  originated  and 
published  in  1874  the  regular  echo 
to  the  signal  for  trumps,  in  order 
to  show  the  possession  of  four 
trumps  or  more.  It  is  made  by 
repeating  the  trump  signal  in 
trumps  or  plain  suits;  i.  <?.,  byplay- 
ing  an  unnecessarily  high  card,  fol- 
lowed by  a  lower  one.  Dr.  Greene 
extends  the  principle  to  the  hold- 
ing of  three  trumps  as  well,  but 
confines  his  echo  to  the  strong 
trump-suit  led  by  partner.  The 
idea  occurred  to  him  during  the 
Christmas  holidays,  in  1894,  as  he 
tells  in  a  letter,  from  which  we 
quote  the  following:  "I  am  able  to 
give  you  the  hand  and  the  circum- 
stances which  suggested  the  play 
to  me.  My  play  at  that  time  may 
not  have  been  a  good  one,  but  it 
turned  out  well  and  set  me  to 
thinking."  The  hands  were  as 
follows,  the  jack  of  spades  being 
turned  for  trumps,  north  being  the 
leader: 


NORTH. 

SOUTH. 

*  9,  3,  2. 
tf   6,  5,  3. 
*  A,  Q,  J,  5,  4,  3,  2. 
0  None. 

*  A,  K,  Q,  7,  5,  4. 

V  J,4- 

*  K,  6. 
0    10,4,3- 

EAST. 

WEST. 

*  J,  10. 
V  A,  K,  7,  2. 
*   10,8. 
O   K,  Q,  7,  6,  2. 

*   8,  6. 
V   Q,  10,  9,  8. 
*9,7- 
0   A,  J,  9,  8,  5. 

I  was  seated  north, "  continues 
28 


Dr.  Greene,  "  and  led  the  ace  of 
clubs,  then  jack,  and  my  suit  was 
established,  but  I  had  no  possible 
chance  of  re-entry,  except  with 
trumps.  My  partner  started  trumps 
with  the  queen,  then  ace,  and  I 
echoed  with  three  and  two.  My 
idea  in  so  doing  was  to  mislead 
partner  and  make  him  stop  leading. 
(He  afterwards  told  me  that  he 
knew  I  could  not  hold  four,  but 
thought  I  was  able  to  read  the 
hands,  and  was  showing  that  I  held 
the  last  trump.)  He  stopped  the 
trump-lead  and  started  diamonds. 
I  trumped  and  we  made  all  the 
tricks.  On  that  board  we  made  a 
gain  of  five.  During  my  subse- 
quent play  I  frequently  noticed  op- 
portunities for  echoing  from  three 
with  advantage,  and  finally  formu- 
lated the  system  as  published  in 
Whist,  in  March,  1895." 

In  that  issue  he  said:  "  The  lead 
of  an  honor  in  the  trump  suit  indi- 
cates great  strength,  and  it  is  very 
seldom  that  a  player  has  four 
trumps  when  his  partner  opens 
with  ace,  queen,  or  jack.  It  very 
often  happens,  however,  that  he 
does  have  three,  and  if  partner  only 
knew  this  he  might  be  able  to  leave 
him  with  a  trump,  where  otherwise 
he  would  have  drawn  it.  To  obvi- 
ate this  difficulty  my  partner  and  I 
have  adopted  the  following  rule 
for  such  cases:  We  echo  from 
three,  play  the  lowest  one  from  one 
or  two,  and  hold  the  lowest  one 
from  four  until  the  third  hand. 
The  rule  applies  only  to  leads  of 
ace,  king,  queen,  or  jack.  On  low- 
card  leads  we  play  the  old  rules." 

In  Whist  for  December,  1895,  Dr. 
Greene,  taking  cognizance  of  a 
number  of  criticisms,  admitted  that 
the  play,  as  originally  suggested, 
was  open  to  two  objections:  (i) 
False-carding  interfered  with  show- 
ing four,  (2)  Certain  situations 
might  arise  where  it  would  be  im- 


THREE-TRUMP  ECHO    434    THREE-TRUMP  ECHO 


possible  for  the  leader  to  tell 
whether  his  partner  was  out  or  still 
held  two  trumps.  He  also  accepted 
a  remedy  suggested  by  Fisher 
Ames,  which,  in  his  opinion,  "en- 
tirely obviates  the  latter  objection, 
and  partially  the  first."  Mr.  Ames" 
remedy  was  this:  Third  hand, 
holding  four  or  more,  should  play 
his  second  best  on  the  first  round, 
and  should  follow  with  his  third 
best,  and  so  on  down.  "  In  this 
way,"  says  Dr.  Greene,  "the  echo 
is  made  from  three  or  more,  and  ex- 
cept in  very  rare  instances  partner 
can  tell  which  on  the  second  round. 
Milton  C.  Work,  in  his  'Whist  of 
To-day, '  still  further  widens  the  field 
of  usefulness  of  the  play  by  making 
it  apply  to  every  case  where  third 
hand  does  not  have  to  play  a  high 
card  on  his  partner's  original  lead. 
This  last  might  result  badly  in  case 
the  lead  was  made  from  a  weak 
trump-lead,  but  a  good  partner 
would  be  no  more  likely  to  err  here 
than  he  would  be  to  unblock  on  a 
forced  lead.  At  present  I  play  the 
system  as  follows:  In  all  cases 
where  third  hand  does  not  attempt 
to  win  the  trick  he  plays  the  next 
to  the  highest  card  which  he  holds, 
and  on  each  succeeding  round  fol- 
lows with  the  next  lower  card.  As 
long  as  he  plays  cards  lower  than 
the  first  one  played  by  him  he  still 
has  at  least  one  trump  remaining. 
In  this  way  I  do  not  think  I  exag- 
gerate when  I  claim  that  the  second 
round  will  show  the  exact  numeri- 
cal holding  in  nine  cases  out  often. 
It  will  be  apparent  at  once  that  this 
is  an  improvement  over  the  old 
four-card  echo.  Of  course  false 
cards  will  occasionally  interfere,  by 
leaving  the  leader  in  doubt  as  to 
•whether  his  partner  has  one  or 
more  remaining,  but  it  is  surprising 
how  seldom  this  occurs  in  play, 
and  how  little  harm  it  does  when 
it  occurs." 


There  are  several  other  methods 
by  which  third  hand  may  show  the 
possession  of  three  trumps  on  part- 
ner's lead  or  call:  (i)  If  third 
hand  refuses  to  echo,  and  show  four 
or  more,  it  is  negatively  inferred 
that  he  has  three  or  less.  (2)  The 
sub-echo  (q.  v.)  indicates  still  more 
definitely  the  exact  possession  of 
three.  It  is  made  by  refusing  to 
echo  on  partner's  trump-lead,  but 
echoing  in  a  plain  suit  instead. 
(3)  A  later  idea,  and  one  favored 
by  Miss  Kate  Wheelock  in  her 
"  Whist  Rules"  (second  edition, 
1897),  is  to  make  the  three-trump 
echo  as  follows  when  not  trying  to 
win  the  trick:  Holding  exactly 
three  trumps,  if  partner  signals  for 
or  leads  them  from  strength,  echo 
(either  in  trumps  or  plain  suits) 
the  first  opportunity.  Holding 
more  than  three  trumps,  refuse  to 
echo  the  first  opportunity,  thereby 
denying  three,  but  echo  (sub-echo) 
the  next  opportunity,  either  in 
trumps  or  plain  suits.  When  try- 
ing to  win  the  trick  the  echo  means 
more  than  three.  This  is  changing 
the  meaning  of  the  echo  as  origi- 
nally invented  by  "Cavendish,"  and 
making  it  show  three  instead  of 
four  or  more,  except  when  trying 
to  win  the  trick,  in  which  case  the 
old  meaning  is  adhered  to.  Miss 
Wheelock  adds:  "  Many  players, 
holding  exacth'  three  trumps,  echo, 
whether  trying  to  win  the  trick  or 
not." 

The  idea  of  the  play  known  as  the  three- 
echo  was  originally  suggested  by  Dr.  H. 
E.  Greene,  but  in  the  form  advocated  by 
him  found  little  favor.  The  writer  has 
varied  it  somewhat,  doing  away  with  the 
greatest  objection  urged  against  it.  *  *  * 
The  idea  is  that  as  the  partner  of  a  trump 
leader  more  frequently  holds  two  or  three 
trumps  than  four,  it  is  more  important  to 
show  the  exact  number  than  merely 
whether  the  suit  is  long  or  short.  With 
this  end  in  view  it  is  proposed  in  every 
case  in  which  the  third  hand  does  not 
have  to  play  a  high  trump  on  his  part- 
ner's original  lead,  for  him  to  play  his 


THREE-TRUMP  ECHO         435    THROWING  CARDS  DOWN 


second  best,  and  on  the  second  trick  to 
follow    with    the  third  best— Milton    C. 

Work  [L.  A.H.],  "  Whist  of  To-day." 

This  convention,  as  well  as  all  others, 
is  often  disregarded  by  good  players 
•when  the  situation  demands  it.  For  in- 
stance, it  would  be  manifestly  unwise  to 
echo  with  three  trumps  upon  partner's 
•weak  lead  of  that  suit;  such  a  play  would 
only  impart  information  which  the  adver- 
sary would  hasten  to  use  to  your  discom- 
fiture. Again,  the  retention  of  a  high 
card  in  your  hand  as  an  entry  for  your 
established  suit  may  be  of  far  more  im- 
portance than  the  mere  disclosure  of 
three  trumps — in  truth,  it  may  be  the  one 
play  essential  to  making  a  great  score. 
Such  departures,  of  course,  require  the 
nicest  discrimination  and  judgment,  as 
well  as  a  superb  confidence  in  the  sagac- 
ity of  your  partner  and  his  abilty  to  read 
the  situation,  for  one  of  the  most  remote 
inferences,  even  among  good  whist-play- 
ers, is  that  an  unconventional  play  is 
being  made  by  a  player  familiar  with 
conventions,  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
great  score. — Beverley  W.  Smith  [L.  A.], 
Baltimore  News,  1897. 

In  March  Whist,  1895,  Mr.  H.  E.  Greene 
suggested  an  improvement  in  trump 
echoing.  To  an  honor  led  it  was  proposed 
to  "echo  from  three,  play  the  highest  from 
one  or  two,  and  hold  the  lowest  from  four 
until  the  third  round."  Mr.  Fisher  Ames 
at  once  suggested,  as  a  probable  improve- 
ment on  Mr.  Greene's  method,  that  the 
partner  of  the  trump  leader— holding 
three  or  more  trumps— might  play  his 
second  best  trump  to  the  first  round,  and 
his  third  best  to  the  second  round.  Work, 
in  his  "Whist  of  To-day,"  extends  the 
scope  of  this  echo  to  cover  all  cases  when 
third  hand  does  not  have  to  try  to  win 
the  first  round.  The  proposed  innova- 
tions, like  most  new  plays  that  are  from 
time  to  time  suggested,  work  both  ways 
— for  harm  and  for  good.  Often  they  seem 
to  be  trick-winners—in  theory — but  prove 
to  be  trick-losers  in  practice.  This  idea, 
however,  seems  to  have  sufficient  merit 
to  justify  whist-players  in  closely  exam- 
ining it,  and  giving  it  a  practical  test. — 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.},  "Modern  Scien- 
tific Whist." 

Having  found  it  a  good  thing  to  show 
four  trumps  to  partner,  the  question  was 
raised,  why  not  show  three  also?  And 
forthwith  the  sub-echo  was  invented.  In 
order  to  accomplish  the  sub-echo,  how- 
ever, it  was  necessary  to  do  away  with  the 
command  signal,  or  the  show  of  weak- 
ness. *  *  *  Then  another  theorist  came 
to  the  front  with  a  plan  to  show  three 
trumps,  and  at  the  same  time  keep  the 
command  signal  intact.  This  plan  con- 
sisted in  showing  four  when  you  only  had 
three,  provided  your  partner  showed  five 


or  more  by  his  original  lead.  When  your 
partner  has  five  trumps,  it  is  unlikely 
that  you  will  hold  four  anyway,  and  if 
you  echo,  you  show  him  you  have  at  least 
three.  *  *  *  The  latest  three-echo  con- 
sists in  partner  playing  his  second  lowest 
trump  on  first  trick,  and  third  lowest  on 
second  trick,  in  every  case  in  which  he  is 
not  compelled  to  play  a  high  trump  on 
the  original  lead.  That  is  to  say,  you 
play  the  same  card  on  first  trick  whether 
you  have  three  or  four,  and  you  go  up  on 
second  round  if  you  have  only  three,  and 
down  if  you  have  four.  The  absence  of 
the  small  card  in  the  case  of  three  locates 
it  in  your  hand— John  T.  Mitchell  [L.  A .] , 
"Duplicate  Whist  and  Modern  Leads," 
1897. 

Three-Spot. — The  lowest  card  in 
whist  but  one.  It  is  led  only  as  a 
fourth  best  in  the  American  leads, 
and  as  a  penultimate  or  antepenul- 
timate (or  fourth  best)  in  the  old 
leads. 

In  the  Howell  (short-suit)  sys- 
tem it  indicates  the  long-suit  game, 
with  a  probable  good  suit  and  trump 
strength.  It  commands  partner  to 
lead  trumps  if  he  gets  in  early.  In 
the  New  York  (Keiley)  short-suit 
system  it  is  one  of  the  cards  led 
from  the  bottom  of  long  and  mod- 
erately well  supported  suits. 

Throwing  Cards  Down. — Should 
a  player  be  fortunate  enough  to 
deal  himself  thirteen  trumps  (a 
rather  remote  possibility) ,  he  would 
perhaps  be  justified  in  laying  his 
cards  on  the  table,  and  claiming  all 
the  tricks  without  going  through 
the  formality  of  playing  the  hand. 
But  the  ordinary  hand  at  whist 
should  be  played  out  to  the  end,  to 
save  the  possibility  of  a  misunder- 
standing or  dispute.  The  laws  of 
whist  require  the  complete  play  of 
the  hand,  except  in  cases  where  all 
four  players  throw  down  their 
cards.  (See,  sections  58  and  59, 
English  code;  sections  20  and  27, 
American  code. ) 

Do  not  throw  your  cards  down,  think- 
ing you  have  won  the  game;  it  does  not 
save  time,  and  may  result  in  your  having 


THROWING  THE  LEAD        436 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


the  cards  called  to  your  detriment.—  W. 
M.  Deane  \L.  A+]. 

Throwing  the  Lead.— Playing  a 
card  that  will  compel  some  other 
player  to  take  the  trick  and  the 
lead.  It  is  a  very  important  piece 
of  whist  strategy,  and  especially  ef- 
fective toward  the  end  of  the  hand. 

Suppose  you  have  a  very  bad  hand;  no 
court  cards,  no  long  suit,  only  two  or 
three  trumps.  It  is  unlikely  that  you 
will  ever  take  a  trick  or  have  a  lead,  but 
if  you  do  you  should  try  to  keep  the  lead 
ou  your  right,  in  order  that  the  suits  may 
be  fed  up  to  your  partner;  your  only  hope 
being  that  he  is  strong,  and  may  make 
some  teriaces  if  led  up  to,  which  he  could 
not  do  if  led  through.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.] . 

There  is  nothing  more  ingenious  in 
whist  than  the  act  of  properly  throwing 
the  lead.  It  is  in  this  respect  that  the 
p-layer  of  finesse  makes  bis  especial  gain. 
The  "moderate  player"  only  sees  the 
trick  that  could  have  been  surely  won, 
but  he  does  not  see  the  two  tricks  after- 
ward made,  one  of  which  could  not  have 
been  obtained  if  the  lead  had  not  been 
thrown.— G.  IV.  Pettes  [L.  A.  /».],  "Ameri- 
can Whist  Illustrated." 

With  a  wretchedly  weak  hand,  having 
by  any  chance  obtained  the  lead,  and 
having  no  information  concerning  your 
partner's  strong  suit,  if  the  previous  play 
of  the  adversaries  and  an  inspection  of 
your  own  hand  cannot  guide  you  to  it 
with  any  satisfactory  degree  of  probabil- 
ity, it  would  be  well  to  lead  from  a  suit  of 
•which  you  know  your  right-hand  oppo- 
nent to  hold  the  best,  in  order  that  he 
may  be  obliged  to  open  a  suit  in  which 
vour  partner  may  be  strong,  and  will 
have  the  advantage  of  position.  Desiring 
the  advantage  of  tenace  yourself,  it  may 
sometimes  be  expedient,  toward  the  close 
of  the  hand,  to  arop  a  trick  to  your  left- 
hand  adversary  if  he  must,  or  probably 
will,  lead  your  suit.  Whenever,  at  the 
end  of  the  hand,  you  hold  the  best  and 
third-best  trump,  or  second  best  guarded 
over  the  player  at  your  right,  he  having 
the  lead,  be  sure  to  get  rid  of  the  control 
of  his  plain  suit  before  the  eleventh  trick. 
The  play  will  be  similar  to  unblocking, 
but  in  an  adversary's  suit.—  Emery  Board- 
man  [L+A.],  "Winning  Whist." 

Tierce. — A  sequence  of  three 
cards.  (See,  "Sequence.") 

Tie. — In  whist  matches,  a  tie  oc- 
curs when  two  or  more  players, 
pairs,  or  teams  make  exactly  the 


same  score.  Ties  are  usually  played 
off  by  those  who  were  tied,  unless 
some  other  fair  method  of  deciding 
who  is  the  final  winner  suggests 
itself. 

"  Tiresias." — In  his  romance  of 
"The  Infernal  Marriage"  (origi- 
nally published  in  the  New  Monthly 
Magazine,  in  1834),  Disraeli  de- 
votes an  interesting  chapter  to 
whist.  It  is  entitled,  "  Tiresias  at 
His  Rubber."  Of  the  sage  we  are 
told:  "  Tiresias  loved  a  rubber. 
It  was  true  that  he  was  blind,  but 
then,  being  a  prophet,  that  did  not 
signify.  Tiresias,  I  say,  loved  a 
rubber,  and  was  a  first-class  player, 
though  perhaps  given  a  little  too 
much  to  finesse. ' ' 

Top-of-Nothing  Lead. — In  short- 
suit  play  the  lead  ' '  from  the  top  of 
nothing"  is  the  lead  of  a  top  card 
from  a  short  suit,  when  the  hand  is 
worthless  for  any  other  purpose 
than  ruffing  or  leading  supporting 
cards  to  partner.  In  the  Howell 
system  the  eight,  seven,  and  six- 
spots  are  always  led  from  the  "  top 
of  nothing,"  and  nearly  always 
from  not  more  than  two  in  suit; 
queen,  jack,  ten,  and  nine  are  also 
led  from  "  top  of  nothing,"  but  do 
not  absolutely  deny  the  possession 
of  better  cards  in  the  suit  opened, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  three  lower 
cards. 

In  the  New  York  (Keiley)  sys- 
tem the  jack  is  always  led  from  the 
top  of  the  short  suit;  the  ten,  while 
usually  led  from  the  top,  may  also 
be  an  intermediate  lead;  the  nine 
is  only  led  as  the  top  of  nothing; 
the  rest  of  the  small  cards  are  led 
either  as  the  top  of  short,  weak 
suits,  or  the  bottom  of  long  and 
moderately  well-supported  suits. 

Tormey,  P.  J. — A  leading  worker 
in  the  cause  of  good  whist,  and  a 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


437 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


clear  and  forcible  writer  on  the 
game,  as  well  as  the  originator  of  a 
number  of  important  whist  im- 
provements. Mr.  Tormey  was  born 
at  Pittsburgh,  N.  Y.,  in  1847, 
and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  and  an  academy. 
At  an  early  age  he  learned  the 
drug  business  in  his  native  town, 
and  some  time  thereafter  departed 
for  New  York,  where  he  became 
connected  with  the  well-known 
firm  of  Lazell,  Marsh  &  Gardner, 
wholesale  druggists.  From  there 
he  went  to  Boston,  in  1872,  accept- 
ing a  position  with  a  large  import- 
ing house.  After  fourteen  years  of 
continuous  service  with  this  house, 
he  decided  to  embark  in  business 
for  himself.  He  went  to  California 
in  1886,  and  is  now  one  of  the  lead- 
ing wholesale  merchants  in  drug- 
gists' sundries,  in  San  Francisco. 
He  is  also  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  Owl  Drug  Company,  which 
has  stores  in  San  Francisco,  Los 
Angeles,  and  Oakland. 

We  recently  asked  Mr.  Tormey 
when  he  first  became  interested  in 
whist,  and  his  answer  is  so  charac- 
teristic that  we  cannot  forbear  giv- 
ing it  entire.  "This  question,"  he 
says,  "  is  one  I  am  unable  to  an- 
swer. I  think  it  was  a  birth-mark 
with  me.  Up  to  about  fifteen  years 
ago  I  knew  more  about  whist  than 
Trist,  Hamilton,  our  'whist  queen,' 
Miss  Wheelock,  or  even  Pole, 
Drayson,  or  '  Cavendish. '  About 
that  time  I  had  my  eye-teeth  cut. 
It  happened  in  this  way:  I  was 
crossing  from  the  continent,  coming 
from  the  East,  and  somewhere  in 
what  is  now  the  State  of  Wyoming, 
I  was  asked  by  a  fellow-traveler  if 
I  played  whist,  and  if  I  would  be 
one  to  make  up  a  table.  I  replied, 
'  Certainly;  glad  to.'  From  boy- 
hood up  I  had  played  whist,  and 
in  my  estimation  I  was  at  the  top 
notch,  and  what  I  didn't  know 


about  the  game  wasn't  worth  know- 
ing. We  started  in  to  play,  and  it 
didn't  take  a  great  while  for  me  to 
learn  that  my  newly-found  whist- 
partner  knew  nothing  of  the  game. 
I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  of 
blowing  him  up  at  the  end  of  every 
deal.  He  took  it  good-naturedly, 
and  once  or  twice  he  even  smiled 
when  I  was  '  going'  for  him. 

"  After  it  was  all  over  we  went 
to  the  smoking-room,  lit  our  cigars 
and  entered  into  conversation  about 
the  game  we  had  just  finished. 
The  gentleman  said  to  me:  '  Mr. 
Tormey,  you  seem  to  like  whist; 
why  don't  you  study  it  a  little?' 
'Study!  Study  whist!!'  I  remarked. 
'Yes,'  he  answered,  as  cool  as  an 
iceberg,  '  I  think  if  you  studied 
the  game  a  little,  and  practiced  a 
good  deal,  you  would  make  a  fair 
player.'  I  must  say  I  was  wrath- 
ful— I  was  too  hot  to  answer  him. 
Fortunately,  just  at  that  moment 
the  conductor  passed  through  the 
car,  calling  out,  '  Cheyenne,  twen- 
ty-five minutes  for  supper.'  I 
pocketed  the  affront,  and  the  bal- 
ance of  our  trip  we  were  strangers. 

"  The  next  winter  I  was  in  Bos- 
ton, and  was  invited  to  the  Boston 
Whist  Club,  and  introduced  as  a 
whist-player  from  the  far  West.  We 
were  soon  in  the  midst  of  the  game. 
A  play  which  I  made,  and  which  I 
knew  was  right,  was  looked  upon, 
in  my  opinion,  with  suspicion  by 
one  of  my  adversaries.  I  thought 
I  would  teach  the  man  a  lesson, 
and  after  the  deal  had  been  played, 
I  asked  my  partner  (who,  I  after- 
ward learned,  was  one  of  the  best 
players  in  Boston)  what  I  should 
have  played  on  the  trick  in  ques- 
tion. I  knew,  of  course,  he  would 
name  the  card  I  did  play;  but  he 
didn't,  much  to  my  chagrin  and 
aunoyance.  Not  long  after  this 
incident,  I  excused  myself  from 
playing  any  longer,  claiming  I  had 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


438 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


a  headache,  and  I  watched  the 
game  for  the  balance  of  the  even- 
ing. 

"The  next  day  I  went  to  the 
gentleman's  office,  and  brought  up 
the  question  of  the  night  before.  I 
asked  him  how  I  could  tell  what 
card  to  play  and  know  I  was  right 
as  well  as  he  could.  His  answer 
was  very  simple.  He  said:  '  Easily 
enough,  if  you  will  study  a  little.' 
For  a  moment  I  was  back  in  the 
smoking-room  of  that  car;  but  my 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
gentleman  was  of  such  a  nature 
that  I  knew  he  intended  it  as  an 
honest  answer  to  my  possibly  silly 
question. 

"  He  advised  me  to  buy  a  whist- 
book.  I  was  astonished  to  know 
such  a  thing  existed.  I  asked  him 
to  give  me  the  name  of  it.  He 
said:  'Get  any  one;  they  are  all 
good.'  I  was  more  surprised  to 
learn  that  there  were  several  books 
written  on  the  game. 

"I  obtained  permission  to  send 
one  of  his  office  boys  out,  and  gave 
him  instructions  to  '  get  me  some 
whist-books;  all  they  had.'  The 
young  man  hesitated  a  little,  and  I 
assured  him  I  wanted  one  of  each 
kind  to  be  found  in  the  store.  Hes- 
itating again,  my  friend  told  him 
to  go  and  get  Mr.  Tormey  just 
what  he  asked  for. 

"  In  half  an  hour  he  returned, 
carrying  a  bundle  just  about  as 
large  as  he  could  lift,  and,  after 
wiping  the  perspiration  from  his 
forehead,  he  took  out  of  his  pocket 
a  bill  and  handed  it  to  me,  amount- 
ing to  sixty-five  dollars. 

"  Californians,  as  a  rule,  don't 
squeal.  I  took  my  medicine  good- 
naturedly,  paid  the  bill,  after  re- 
covering my  breath,  and  asked  to 
have  the  books  shipped  to  me  by 
ocean  freight,  with  some  goods  I 
had  coming  around  the  Horn. 

"  I  think  it  took  me  two  years  to 


sneak  that  lot  of  books  into  my 
home  and  library  without  exciting 
my  wife's  suspicions;  but  it  was 
money  well  spent.  After  reading 
one  or  two  of  the  books,  it  did  not 
take  me  long  to  fully  realize  that  I 
did  not  know  the  first  letter  of  the 
whist  alphabet  What  a  revelation 
it  was  to  me!  And,  after  wading 
through  the  whole  storehouse  of 
whist  literature,  I  came  to  the  wise 
conclusion  that  I  had  been  all 
these  years  on  what  I  have  always 
since  called  'Fool  Hill,'  and  from 
that  day  to  this  I  never  claimed 
that  I  was  more  than  a  mere  whist 
student. 

"If  any  of  the  rough  edges  in 
whist  have  been  polished  off,  I  am 
chiefly  indebted  to  Nicholas  Browse 
Trist,  for  years  a  close  friend,  and 
one  of  the  noblest  gentlemen  that 
ever  walked  the  earth ;  and  also  to 
our  little  '  whist  queen, '  Miss  Kate 
Wheelock." 

Due  allowance,  we  know,  will  be 
made  for  the  humorous  self-depre- 
ciation which  Mr.  Tormey  indulges 
in,  in  the  above  reminiscence.  Cer- 
tain it  is,  that  whatever  the  value 
of  the  lesson  he  learned  fifteen 
years  ago  (and  it  was  one  that 
would  do  many  others  good,  too), 
to-day  he  ranks  as  one  of  the  whist 
leaders.  He  is  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  San  Francisco  Whist  Club,  a 
large  and  efficient  organization, 
and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in 
the  American  Whist  League  almost 
from  its  inception,  being  elected 
one  of  its  directors  in  1893.  The 
widespread  interest  in  League  mat- 
ters taken  on  the  Pacific  coast  is 
largely  due  to  his  individual  efforts, 
and  he  has  helped  to  organize  and 
build  up  clubs  and  auxiliary  asso- 
ciations in  several  places,  among 
these  being  the  Pacific  Whist  Asso- 
ciation, of  which  he  was  elected 
president.  He  was  the  first  to  rec- 
ognize and  urge  the  importance 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


439 


TORMEY,  P.  J. 


of  encouraging  the  formation  of 
auxiliary  associations  (q.  v. )  under 
League  auspices.  Of  his  unselfish 
labors  in  behalf  of  the  League,  at 
its  annual  gatherings,  much  might 
be  said.  Eugene  S.  Elliott,  in 
Whist  for  August,  1897,  has  the 
following  to  say  concerning  his 
noble  action  at  the  seventh  annual 
congress:  "  P.  J.  Tormey,  of  San 
Francisco,  upon  whose  broad  shoul- 
ders the  work  of  the  tournament 
committee  has  heretofore  largely 
rested,  anticipated  a  respite  from 
work  upon  this  occasion,  and,  in- 
deed, had  been  promised  that  no 
more  would  be  asked  of  him  than 
to  fill  in,  when  necessary,  a  broken 
set;  but  his  experience  and  effi- 
ciency were  not  to  be  thus  ignored, 
so  that  before  the  fight  began  he 
was  found  in  his  accustomed  place 
at  the  head  of  the  tournament  com- 
mittee. Thus  he  exemplified  whist 
patriotism  of  the  most  gilt-edged 
grade.  Just  think  of  it!  A  man 
who  would  rather  play  whist  than 
eat  his  dinner  comes  thousands  of 
miles  to  attend  a  convention  of 
whist-players,  and  then  devotes 
himself  so  assiduously  to  the  task 
of  making  others  comfortable  that 
after  an  entire  week  of  what  should 
have  been  an  outing,  he  finds  him- 
self at  the  close  without  having 
played  a  single  game,  and  too  tired 
to  propose  one.  If  there  is  any 
other  man  in  the  League  who  can 
make  truthful  claim  to  equal  self- 
sacrifice,  his  name  does  not  occur 
to  me." 

For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Tor- 
mey has  contributed  articles  on  the 
game  to  Whist,  and  also  to  some 
of  the  leading  journals  of  the  Pa- 
cific coast.  At  present  he  is  editor 
of  the  excellent  whist  department 
in  the  San  Francisco  Call.  He 
contributes  about  two  and  a  half 
columns  of  matter  each  week,  and 
it  is  all  a  labor  of  love,  for  he  says: 


"  I  have  never  received  a  cent  for 
any  whist  work  in  my  life,  and  am 
at  liberty  to  say  just  what  I  please 
in  my  whist  department." 

As  a  close  student  of  the  game, 
Mr.  Tormey  has  from  time  to  time 
made  suggestions  and  improve- 
ments whose  value  has  been  recog- 
nized by  the  whist  world.  In  1893 
he  formulated  what  is  known  as 
the  "fourteen  rule"  (q.  v.),  as  an 
elaboration  of  Foster's  eleven  rule. 
In  January,  1895,  he  announced  the 
rotary  discard  (q.  v. ) ,  which  is  still 
the  subject  of  much  controversy, 
being  strongly  condemned  by  "Cav- 
endish," Foster,  and  others,  but 
upheld  and  practiced  by  some  of 
the  very  best  players  in  this  country. 

His  improved  system  of  scoring 
and  announcing  match-play,  adop- 
ted by  the  American  Whist  League 
in  1897,  earned  for  him  the  grati- 
tude of  all  whist-players  taking 
part.  It  was  something  that  was 
sorely  needed,  in  order  that  the  re- 
sult of  the  various  contests  might 
be  made  known  at  once.  A  full 
description  will  be  found  in  the 
article  on  "Scoring." 

The  importance  of  whist  as  a 
scientific  study  and  an  art  is  deeply 
appreciated  by  Mr.  Tormey,  as  was 
shown  by  an  able  paper,  read  be- 
fore the  fourth  congress  of  the 
League,  in  which  he  advocated  the 
study  of  whist  in  universities,  as 
something  fully  as  important  as  the 
study  of  dead  languages.  (See, 
"  Whist  in  Colleges  and  Universi- 
ties." ) 

While  Mr.  Tormey  is  essentially 
an  advocate  of  the  long-suit  game 
and  American  leads,  as  exemplified 
by  "Cavendish"  and  Trist,  he  is 
liberally  disposed  toward  all  sound 
play  which  is  conducive  to  trick- 
taking.  He  says:  "  I  don't  believe 
in  classifying  whist-players  as  long 
and  short-suiters.  When  I  am  the 
original  leader  of  a  deal  I  find  it 


TOURNAMENT 


440 


TREBLE 


necessary  sometimes  to  open  a 
singleton,  or  from  a  suit  containing 
two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  or 
more  cards,  always  with  the  express 
purpose  of  taking  every  trick  I  pos- 
sibly  can,  trying  the  best  I  know 
how  to  combine  my  hand  with 
my  partner's,  and  playing  twenty- 
six  cards  against  twenty-six."  He 
is  among  those  who  advocate  the 
change  in  the  lead  of  the  ten  in 
the  system  of  American  leads. 
(See,  "American  Leads,  Proposed 
Changes  in.")  His  ideas  were  set 
forth  in  a  pamphlet  entitled, 
"Whist  Dont's,"  which  he  pub- 
lished for  free  distribution  in  1896, 
and  which  included  also  liberal  sug- 
gestions for  forced,  or  "  short-suit," 
leads  as  adjuncts  to  the  long-suit 
game.  (See,  "Short-Suit  Leads, 
Tormey's.") 

Mr.  Tormey  has  traveled  a  good  deal, 
and  is  reported  to  have  had  many  amus- 
ing experiences  in  the  whist  clubs  of 
Vienna,  Berlin,  and  Paris.  *  *  *  Al- 
though he  only  claims  to  be  a  student  of 
the  game,  he  is  nevertheless  recognized 
as  an  expert. —  Whist  [L.  A. ],  November, 
i*93- 

P.  J.  Tormey,  whose  ingenious  and  fer- 
tile brain  seems  to  be  always  evolving 
some  useful  contrivance  for  the  greater 
convenience  of  whist-players,  has  just 
brought  out  a  new  form  of  trump-card, 
for  use  in  connection  with  the  Paine 
whist-trays.  They  are  stiff  and  well- 
printed.  The  pips  are  large,  clear,  and 
printed  in  two  colors,  and  we  think  the 
cards  are,  in  every  way,  admirable. — 
Whist  [L.  A.],  October,  1897. 

Tournament. — A  whist  tourna- 
ment is  a  meeting  of  players  for  the 
purpose  of  competing  with  one  an- 
other for  championships,  or  prizes, 
or  both.  It  may  consist  of  one  or 
more  matches  between  individuals, 
pairs,  teams  of  four,  or  clubs.  While 
a  match  and  tournament  are  some- 
times spoken  of  synonymously,  the 
latter  is  the  broader  term.  Also 
sometimes  called  a  tourney. 

The  most  important  whist  tour- 
nament is  that  connected  with  the 


annual  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  which  matches 
of  all  kinds  are  played,  including 
those  for  the  Hamilton  Trophy,  the 
Challenge  Trophy,  the  Brooklyn 
Trophy,  the  Minneapolis  Trophy, 
etc.  All  match  play  is  in  charge 
of  a  tournament  committee,  which 
receives  the  entries,  prescribes  the 
proper  rules,  oversees  the  contests, 
and  declares  the  winners. 

Tournce. — At  English  dummy, 
three  rubbers  are  usually  played,  in 
order  that  each  player  may  have 
dummy  for  a  partner  once,  and  the 
three  rubbers  are  called  a  tourne"e. 

Tourney. — See,  "Tournament." 

Tray. — In  duplicate  whist,  the  ap- 
paratus used  for  holding  the  hands 
in  such  a  manner  that  they  are  kept 
separate  and  ready  for  the  dupli- 
cate or  overplay.  The  trays  are 
sometimes  also  spoken  of  as  boards. 
The  first  tray  was  the  joint  inven- 
tion of  Cassius  M.  Paine  and  J.  L. 
Sebring,  and  Mr.  Paine  has  since 
perfected  several  notable  improve- 
ments in  the  apparatus. 

Until  the  invention  of  the  Kalamazoo 
tray,  the  playing  of  duplicate  whist  was 
considered  a  more  or  less  tedious  affair, 
especially  when  it  was  deemed  advisable 
to  preserve  a  record  of  the  play,  and,  in 
fact,  it  is  questionable  if  duplicate  whist 
would  have  become  the  popular  game  it 
is  to-day  but  for  that  invention.— -John 
T.  Mitchell  [L.  A.],  "Duplicate  Whist." 

In  Milwaukee  they  did  not  like  the 
movement  of  the  players  [at  early  dupli- 
cate whist],  and  they  carried  the  cards 
from  one  table  to  the  other  on  little  trays, 
often  spilling  them  in  transit.  The  fre- 
quent recurrence  of  this  accident  sug- 
gested some  appliance  being  attached  to 
the  tray  to  keep  the  cards  of  each  player 
separate,  and  thus  the  placing  of  rubber 
bands  on  the  trays  was  first  suggested, 
and,  being  afterwards  patented  and 
manufactured  by  a  firm  in  Kalamazoo, 
Michigan,  got  to  be  known  as  the  Kala- 
niazoo  method.— /?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Du- 
plicate Whist  and  Whist  Strategy,"  1894. 

Treble.— In  English  whist,  the 
winners  make  a  treble  (and  score 


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chau£e  in  the  lead  of  the  cm  ic 
the  system  of  American  leads. 
(See,  "American  Leads,  Proposed 
Changes  in.")  His  ideas  were  set 
forth  in  a  pamphlet  entitled, 
"Whist  Dont's. "  which  he  pub- 
Ji*t>H  for  free  distribution  in  1896, 
nnd  *-hirh  included  also  liberal 

•i--  tor  frjrved,  or  "s.hort-suit," 

Teachers  of  Whist. 


t  TREBLE 

annual  congress  of  the  American 
I/eaojif;,  in   which   matches 
of  all   kinds  are  played,  including 
for  the  Hamilton  Trophy,  the 
•nge    Trophy,  the    Brooklyn 
iy,  the   Minneapolis  Trophy, 
*fr      All   match  play  is  in  charge 
•    ••>  tournament  committee,  which 
*  the  entries,  prescribes  the 
•  r«J«*,  oversees  the  contests, 
•s  trie  winners. 


thrt*  rj<  f 

order   thx:  «,•*•"•; 
dummy  for  u.  j:«:  t 
three  rubbers  are 


nglish  dummy, 
r.ally  played,  in 

'*V*r  Uia)r  have 
-  r  once,  and  the 
alif  I  «  tnurne'e. 


Tourney.  —  See,  "Tournament." 


Elwood  T.  Baker. 


•t     t»t 
>     Ai 


William  S. 


Geo.  E.  Duggarv 


plicate  whist,  the  ap- 
'  holding  the  hands 
jr.  su«.L  to  U?»TV.W»  thu.'  thry  *••?  kept 
v^ij-a-.f  :.«-'J  rta-iy  for  tht  dupli- 
i-i,1-*  J "he  trays  are 

MM  Charles  fvp^y^yfiyf  as  boards. 
The  first  tray  was  the  joint  inven- 
anoH0'SaCassius  M.  Paine  and  J.  L. 
:^,  and  Mr.  Paine  has  since 
perfected  several  notable  improve- 
utentft  in  the  —  —  —  •- 


the  invention  of  the  Kalamazoo 
c  playing  of  duplicate  whist  was 
r«l  a  mere  or  le^s  tr<lious  affair, 
y  worn  'f  was  df  em<-1  ndvisahle 
»-r  A  riv.nrri  of  th<-  :»lny.  rind,  in 
•  •..-.•'». -.nji1-  ;<•  if  »'n;  \'t: :<r  whist 
..•  .-*.... me  in-  .>:nn!-.r  ^','ine  U 
r  ^ui  i:.r  thul  iovt  i.t-on.—  A>/m 
rr.  »'.  .«*.!.  i>"fl>cale  ll'h'tt." 
t»'<tik<r»  I  hey  did  not  like  the 
«•»  ol  thf  players  [«t  •  nr'.y  displi- 
bti.  MnJ  they  carr\f\  t'tu  i.irds 
•  t»rne  to  the  other  c-n  ii''i'-  travs, 
ItioK  them  in  trruisi*  The  Tre- 
:c»»rrcnce  i>f  ''it*  atciiK-n'.  sujf- 
at»c  applianre  l.«-ii>ij  Httnchetl  to 
1^  k«c''  thecT'V.  •>'  esrli  player 
.  »tvi  thus  the  !''  <•  -'in  of  raH<«T 
D  the  trav-'J.."  Krst  s'ljifiiePted, 
iBg  nft •""•  -T'  -  f.«t«-ntfd  nnd 
•lured  l>>-  ' ""-•  ••'!  Kalamawo. 
o  «(rt  *<•'<'. -e  «r  wn  .-s  tne  Kala- 


1  9.  tourney. 
orusnt  whi* 


to\ir- 


Trebl«.— I; 

winners  mak 


whist,  the 
('and  score 


TREY 


441 


TRICK 


three  rubber  points)  if  they  win 
the  game  before  their  adversaries 
score  anything. 

The  winners  gain  a  treble,  or  game  of 
three  points,  when  their  adversaries  have 
not  scored.— Laws  of  Whist  (English 
Code),  Section  8. 

Trey. — A  card  containing  three 
spots  or  pips.  (See,  "'Three- 
Spot.") 

Trick. — The  four  cards  played 
consecutively  in  any  round,  taken 
and  turned;  one  card  led  and  three 
cards  played  to  it  by  second,  third, 
and  fourth  hands.  Each  trick  taken 
above  six  counts  one  point  towards 
game,  on  the  score.  In  the  Ameri- 
can game,  the  side  first  scoring 
seven  points  in  this  manner  wins 
the  game.  In  the  English  game, 
five  points  are  necessary  to  win  a 
game,  and  two  consecutive  games, 
or  two  out  of  three,  to  win  the 
rubber.  In  the  English  game 
players  are  allowed  to  look  at  the 
last  trick  turned  and  quitted,  but 
not  so  in  the  American  game. 
(See,  "  Quitted;"  also,  "  Taking  in 
the  Tricks.") 

Tricks  are  made  by  mastercards, 
such  as  aces  and  kings  ;  by  taking 
advantage  of  position  or  finessing; 
by  trumping,  and  by  establishing 
and  bringing  in  a  long  suit,  there- 
by giving  to  low  cards  a  trick -tak- 
ing power  they  do  not  naturally 
possess.  Gains  are  also  made  some- 
times by  refusing  to  win  certain 
tricks,  although  such  play  is  dan- 
gerous, except  in  the  hands  of  ex- 
perts. 

In  straight  whist  the  cards  of 
each  round  or  trick  are  played  pro- 
miscuously toward  the  centre  of 
the  table,  gathered  into  a  packet 
by  the  winning  side,  and  laid  away 
face  downward,  each  packet  being 
placed  in  a  position  overlapping 
the  preceding  one,  in  order  to  fa- 
cilitate the  count.  In  duplicate 


whist  the  cards  are  all  kept  sepa- 
rated, each  card  during  the  play 
being  placed  directly  in  front  of  the 
player  playing  it.  Upon  the  com- 
pletion of  the  trick  each  player 
turns  his  card  face  downward;  and 
the  best  way  to  keep  an  accurate 
and  easily-proved  count  of  the 
tricks  is  to  place  the  card  of  each 
winning  trick  in  a  perpendicular 
position,  and  the  card  of  each  los- 
ing trick  in  a  horizontal  position. 
A.  G.  Safford,  in  Whist  for  De- 
cember, 1893,  first  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  this  mode  of  play- 
ing the  cards  and  placing  the  tricks 
is  also  well  adapted  to  straight 
whist. 

_Never  try  to  make  two  tricks  when  one 
will  suffice. — Sir  William  Cusack-Smith 
[L.  O.]. 

The  highest  order  of  play  does  not  al- 
ways make  the  most  tricks.— C.  D,  P. 
Hamilton  [L.  A.]. 

The  primary  object  of  the  whist-player 
is  to  obtain  the  highest  results,  in  tricks, 
that  his  hand  warrants.— T.  E.  Otis  [L. 
A.~\,  Whist,  January,  1896. 

Another  instance  of  what  so  frequently 
occurs  at  whist— that  a  player  endeavors 
to  make  more  tricks  than  are  necessary 
to  win  the  game. — R.  A .  Proctor  [L.  <?.] . 

Avoid  such  unwarrantable  mistakes  as 
making  up  the  tricks  in  such  a  slovenly 
manner  that  neither  yourself  nor  your 
partner  can  observe  how  the  hand  stands. 
—  W.  M.  Deane  [L.  A+]. 

Place  the  tricks  taken  overlapping  each 
other,  so  that  you  and  your  partner  can 
tell  at  a  glance  just  how  many  you  have. 
The  play  may  depend  upon  this  in  criti- 
cal junctures.  It  is  a  convenient  arrange- 
ment for  one  partner  to  take  in  the  tricks 
and  the  other  to  keep  the  score.— fisher 
Ames  [L.A.],  "Practical  Guide  to  Whist." 

It  is  not  brilliant  play  that  wins  tricks 
so  much  as  it  is  bad  tactics  that  loses 
them.  After  the  first  half  of  the  finals  for 
the  championship  in  1894,  I  asked  Mr.  H. 
Trumbull,  captain  of  the  winning  team, 
what  he  thought  of  his  chances.  "I 
think  they  will  drop  more  tricks  than  we 
shall,"  he  replied.—./?.  F.  Foster  \S.  O.], 
"Whist  Tactics." 

The  most  astonishing  feature  of  whist 
is  the  immense  variety  that  may  arise  out 
of  a  very  simple  elementary  structure.  It 
is  really  one  of  the  simplest  card  games 
known,  consisting  merely  in  "making 


TRICK-LOSING  LEADS        442       TRICK-TAKING  VALUE 


tricks,"  according  to  certain  conditions 
•which  a  child  may  learn  in  a  few  min- 
utes. And  yet  how  to  do  this  in  the  most 
advantageous  way  is  a  problem  that  has 
occupied  the  most  powerful  minds  for 
centuries. —  William  ft>le[L.A+],  "Evo- 
lution of  Whist.'' 

Trick- Losing  Leads.  —  Every 
new  lead  or  variation  in  whist  is 
subjected  to  a  crucial  test  by  ex- 
perts, and  that  test  is  whether  it  is 
a  trick -loser  or  winner.  As  a  nat- 
ural consequence  there  is  generally 
a  diversity  of  opinion,  although  in 
the  long  run  the  majority  usually 
settles  the  question  one  way  or  an- 
other. Many  leads  that  were  con- 
sidered by  their  advocates  as  posi- 
tive trick-winners  have  been  subse- 
quently abandoned.  Such  was  the 
well-known  Pettes  lead  of  the  nine 
from  king,  jack,  nine,  which  found 
favor  for  a  time.  As  it  necessitated 
the  lead  of  the  ace  from  ace,  queen, 
ten,  nine,  and  ace,  jack,  ten,  nine 
(distinctly  trick-losing  plays),  and 
as  it  gave  too  much  information  to 
the  adversaries,  it  was,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  Milton  C.  Work  and  other 
distinguished  authorities,  "  the 
most  unsound  lead  that  had  ever  at- 
tained any  considerable  notoriety." 

Other  trick-losing  leads  are:  The 
lead  from  ace  and  king  without  any 
small  cards,  which  conflicts  with 
American  leads,  and  frequently  en- 
ables the  adversaries  to  establish 
their  suit;  the  lead  of  the  king  or 
ace  from  ace,  king,  jack,  and  then 
jumping  the  suit  for  the  finesse,  a 
play  which  Mr.  Work  considers  un- 
sound, unless  in  trumps  under  fav- 
orable circumstances;  finally,  the 
lead  of  a  face-card  of  a  long  plain 
suit,  and  then  a  singleton,  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  a  ruff — a  foxy 
proceeding  which  may  produce  a 
gain,  but  which  is  apt  to  sacrifice  a 
face-card  in  partner's  hand,  and 
give  the  adversaries  important  in- 
formation, which  they  can  use  with 
great  effect 


Trick-Taking  Value  of  Cards. — 

The  first  writer  on  whist  to  make  a 
systematic  inquiry  into  the  com- 
parative trick-taking  value  of  the 
various  cards  was  R.  F.  Foster, 
and  his  views  are  given  at  length 
in  the  Rochester  (N.  Y.)  Post- 
Express,  beginning  with  the  issue 
for  October  31,  1896.  Mr.  Foster 
argues  that  "  the  object  in  whist- 
play  is  to  take  tricks,  and  these 
tricks  are  taken  with  the  cards; 
therefore,  these  cards  must  have  a 
certain  trick-taking  value,  and  as 
some  cards  will  win  other  cards 
there  must  be  a  great  difference  in 
their  value,  some  being  absolutely 
certain  to  win  tricks,  such  as  the 
ace  of  trumps;  while  others  are  al- 
most worthless,  such  as  the  small 
cards  in  plain  suits.  Between  these 
two  extremes  there  is  a  graduated 
scale  of  values  which  every  whist- 
player  should  know,  in  order  that 
he  may  be  able  to  judge  of  the 
strength  or  weakness  of  his 
hand." 

After  considering  the  trick-taking 
value  of  each  card  in  plain  suits 
and  in  trumps,  he  also  considers 
the  trick-taking  value  of  certain 
cards  in  combination  with  other 
cards.  He  says:  "  In  every  deal 
the  whole  fifty-two  cards  are  dis- 
tributed among  the  players,  but 
only  one-fourth  of  these  cards  can 
take  tricks,  because  there  are  only 
thirteen  tricks  to  be  taken.  It  has 
been  found,  by  careful  examination 
of  many  hundreds  of  hands,  that 
an  average  of  six  and  one-quarter 
tricks  in  every  deal  fall  to  the 
trumps.  Of  these  at  least  four 
must  do  so  as  a  matter  of  course, 
because  at  least  one  player  must 
hold  four  trumps  every  deal.  This 
leaves  nine  tricks  to  be  won  with 
the  remaining  or  scattering  trumps 
and  the  plain  suits,  which  is  an 
average  of  two  and  one-quarter 
tricks  to  each  suit." 


"TRIPLE-DUMMY"  443    TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE 


««  Triple- Dummy."— Whist,  'or 

alleged  whist,  as  played  by  persons 
who  surreptitiously  obtain  informa- 
tion concerning  the  other  hands  at 
a  table.  So  called  because  a  player 
of  this  kind  is  humorously  sup- 
posed to  have  before  him  three 
dummy  hands. 

Then  there  is  the  player  whose  eyes  are 
all  around  the  table,  who  is  humorously 
said  to  play  triple-dummy,  and  who 
makes  wonderful  and  successful  finesses. 
I  have  known  two  triple-dummy  players 
to  cut  as  partners  against  an  unsuspect- 
ing youth  and  an  "old  soldier."  The 
triple-dummy  players  had  had  a  lengthy 
inspection  of  the  youth's  hand,  when  the 
"  old  soldier"  rather  astonished  them  by 
saying,  "Partner,  you  had  better  show 
me  your  hand,  as  both  the  adversaries 
have  seen  it." — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.]. 
"Card-Table  Talk." 

Trist,   Nicholas  Browse. — One 

of  the  foremost  names  in  recent 
whist  history  is  that  of  Nicholas 
Browse  Trist,  inventor  (with  "  Cav- 
endish' ' )  of  the  system  of  American 
leads.  Although  he  has  published 
no  book  on  the  game,  and  his 
writings  have  been  confined  to  the 
magazines  and  other  periodicals  of 
the  day,  his  name  is  a  familiar  one 
wherever  whist  is  played. 

Mr.  Trist  was  born  in  Louisiana, 
March  30,  1835.  His  grandfather 
(the  only  son  of  an  English  officer 
who  came  to  America  with  his  reg- 
iment before  the  Revolutionary 
war  and  married  a  Philadelphia 
girl)  was  appointed  the  first  collec- 
tor of  the  port  of  New  Orleans  by 
President  Jefferson.  His  eldest  son 
(Mr.  Trist's  father's  only  brother) 
married  Jefferson's  granddaughter, 
and  negotiated  the  treaty  of  Gua- 
daloupe-Hidalgo  at  the  close  of  the 
Mexican  war.  Mr.  Trist  himself 
received  his  education  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  Germany.  He  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1859,  but  soon  afterwards  became  a 
sugar-planter  on  the  Atchafulaya 
river,  in  his  native  State.  After 


the  war  of  secession  (during  which 
he  served  in  the  ordnance  depart- 
ment, C.  S.  A.,  with  the  rank  of 
captain  of  artillery )  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law,  in  which  he  is  still 
engaged. 

He  began  the  study  of  whist 
about  the  year  1867,  with  some 
friends  whom  he  interested  in  the 

fame,  and  who  turned  out  some 
ne  players,  among  them  L.  A. 
Bringier  (a  maternal  uncle),  N.  P. 
Trist  (his  brother),  W.  J.  Hare,  and 
J.  M.  Kennedy,  all  natives  of 
Louisiana.  "Cavendish,"  Clay, 
and  Pole  were  their  guides  and 
favorite  authorities.  In  1881  Mr. 
Trist  sent  to  "  Cavendish"  a  whist 
position  from  actual  play,  which 
was  duly  published  in  the  Field, 
and  this  led  to  an  acquaintance  that 
was  destined  to  have  an  important 
influence  on  the  game. 

While  the  system  of  American 
leads,  with  which  Mr.  Trist's  name 
is  inseparably  connected,  had  its 
inception  in  numerous  improve- 
ments and  conventions  all  tending 
to  establish  a  better  code  of  com- 
munication between  partners  and 
the  playing  of  both  hands  as  one, 
to  him  belongs  the  chief  credit  of 
rounding  out  the  whole  structure 
by  a  series  of  master-strokes  of 
whist  philosophy.  He  it  was  who 
put  the  cap-sheaf  upon  what  is 
familiarly  known  as  the  modern 
signaling  game.  Intimately  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  his  labors, 
advising,  weighing,  discussing,  sug- 
gesting, was  "Cavendish,"  and  it 
is  a  curious  fact  that  upon  several 
important  occasions  the  very  same 
ideas  occurred  to  both,  and  a  still 
more  curious  fact  that  each  there- 
upon contended  that  the  other  was 
entitled  to  the  first  credit. 

"Cavendish"  had  been  many 
years  in  the  field  prior  to  this,  and 
had  made  a  number  of  suggestions 
tending  unconsciously  in  the  direc- 


TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE   444   TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE 


tion  of  American  leads.  Among 
these  were  his  protective  discard 
from  strength,  his  echo  to  the 
trump  signal,  his  penultimate  lead, 
and  his  changes  in  the  leads  from 
several  high-card  combinations  for 
unblocking  purposes.  Another 
forerunner  of  American  leads  be- 
longing to  this  period  was  Dray- 
son's  antepenultimate  lead;  but,  as 
"Cavendish"  himself  puts  it,  in 
his  article  on  whist  in  the  "Ency- 
clopaedia Britannica,"  "it  yet  re- 
mained for  some  one  to  propound 
a  constant  method  of  treating  all 
leads,  and  to  classify  the  isolated 
rules  so  as  to  render  it  possible  to 
lay  down  general  principles.  This 
was  accomplished  in  i883-'84,  by 
Nicholas  Browse  Trist,  of  New  Or- 
leans, U.  S.  A.;  and  hence  the 
method  of  leading  reduced  to  form 
by  him  is  known  as  the  American 
leads." 

One  of  the  general  principles 
which  Mr.  Trist  developed  was  that 
of  invariably  and  accurately  show- 
ing number  as  well  as  character  in 
suit,  by  means  of  variations  in  the 
leads  of  high  indifferent  cards.  As 
early  as  the  time  of  Hoyle  it  was 
customary  to  show  more  than  four 
in  suit  in  the  leader's  hand  by 
means  of  cards  led  in  a  certain 
manner  from  high-card  combina- 
tions. "  Cavendish"  added  several 
more  such  leads  by  means  of  his 
improvements  in  unblocking.  Mr. 
Trist  added  still  another  combina- 
tion to  the  list,  in  July,  1883,  that 
of  king,  jack,  ten,  stating  that  in 
suits  headed  by  these  cards  it  was 
his  custom  to  lead  the  ten,  and,  the 
queen  being  forced  out,  to  follow 
with  the  king  in  order  to  show  five 
or  more  in  suit.  "  Up  to  this  time," 
says  "Cavendish,"  "it  does  not 
seem  to  have  occurred  to  any  one 
that  information  of  number  might 
be  conveyed  to  partner  by  selecting 
one  rather  than  the  other  of  these 


two  indifferent  cards.  When  queen 
is  out,  king  and  knave  become  in- 
different so  far  as  trick-making  is 
concerned."  (Scribner's  Maga- 
zine, November,  1896.)  Then, 
after  nearly  another  year  of  thought 
upon  the  subject,  Mr.  Trist  wrote 
an  article  for  the  Field  in  which  he 
showed  that  the  idea  was  suscep- 
tible of  being  carried  still  farther. 
He  thereupon  formulated  the  now 
generally  accepted  rule  covering 
the  whole  subject,  and  which  was 
subsequently  made  to  read  as  fol- 
lows: "When  you  remain  with 
two  high  indifferent  cards,  lead  the 
higher  if  you  opened  a  suit  of  four; 
the  lower  if  you  opened  a  suit  of 
more  than  four."  "Cavendish," 
in  his  account  of  the  origin  of 
American  leads  (on  page  20  of  this 
volume),  fell  into  an  error  in  regard 
to  the  above,  which  Mr.  Trist,  at 
our  request,  corrects  as  follows: 
"The use  of  high  indifferent  cards 
to  show  number  was  not  suggested 
by  '  Cavendish,'  and  no  letter  of 
his  on  the  subject  crossed  mine. 
When  he  wrote  his  article  his  mem- 
ory did  not  serve  him.  He  knew 
that  he  had,  independently  of  me, 
suggested  one  of  the  maxims  of 
American  leads,  but  gave  the 
wrong  one.  It  was  in  regard  to  the 
fourth  best  that  our  letters  crossed 
each  other.  '  Cavendish,'  however, 
elaborated  the  high  indifferent  card 
system,  and  afterwards  simplified 
the  leads  which  we  had  originally 
extended  to  the  third  round." 

Perhaps  the  most  distinctive  and 
characteristic  feature  of  American 
leads  is  the  fourth-best  principle, 
which  was  embodied  in  their  first 
maxim,  as  follows:  "When  you 
open  a  strong  suit  with  a  low  card, 
lead  the  fourth  best."  In  arriving 
at  this  admirablegeneralization,  we 
are  assured  by  "Cavendish,"  that 
Mr.  Trist  was  undoubtedly  ahead; 
but  the  latter,  as  quoted  above,  and 


TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE  445  TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE 


also  in  another  letter  which  lies 
before  us  as  we  write,  declares: 
"  '  Cavendish'  suggested  the  fourth- 
best  lead  independently  of  me,  our 
letters  on  the  subject  crossing 
each  other.  Therefore,  he  is  en- 
titled to  full  credit  for  introducing 
the  lead."  With  all  the  desire  in 
the  world  to  give  each  his  just  due 
and  to  detract  from  the  efforts  of 
neither,  we  believe  that  the  fourth 
best  fairly  belongs  to  Mr.  Trist,  on 
the  testimony  of  "Cavendish." 
Priority  always  establishes  the 
right  to  an  invention  or  discovery. 
While  in  this  case  each  indepen- 
dently arrived  at  aboutthe  same  con- 
clusions, it  is  asserted  on  the  one 
hand,  and  not  denied  on  the  other, 
that  Mr.  Trist  was  first  in  point  of 
time,  even  though  his  letter  crossed 
that  of  his  able  co-worker. 

The  principle  of  the  fourth  best 
(q.  v.)t  like  the  principle  of  vary- 
ing the  leads  from  high  indifferent 
cards,  was  a  thing  of  gradual  devel- 
opment, or  evolution,  as  Dr.  Pole 
would  say.  Its  first  distinct  and 
generally  accepted  manifestations 
consisted  of  "  Cavendish's"  penul- 
timate lead  from  five,  and  Dray- 
son's  antepenultimate  lead  from 
six.  But  while  these  were  counted 
from  the  bottom  of  the  suit,  Mr. 
Trist' s  rule  simplified  matters  by 
counting  from  the  top  and  cover- 
ing leads  from  all  suits  of  four  or 
more.  He  treated  every  long  suit 
opened  with  a  low  card  as  if  it  con- 
tained four  cards  only,  and  invari- 
ably showed  by  the  lead  of  the 
fourth  best  three  cards  higher  than 
the  one  led.  So  admirable  has  this 
generalization  been  found  that  it  is 
to-day  used  even  by  the  advocates 
of  the  old  leads  who  reject  the  rest 
of  the  American  leads  and  kindred 
conventions  with  scorn.  Further 
than  this,  it  is  adopted  in  the  lead 
of  trumps  even  by  the  most  radical 
short-suiters. 


The  third  maxim  of  American 
leads  was  formulated  after  consulta- 
tion and  due  discussion  between 
Trist  and  "  Cavendish,"  as  follows: 
"  When  you  open  a  strong  suit 
with  a  high  card,  and  next  lead  a 
low  card,  lead  the  original  fourth 
best."  Mr.  Trist  adheres  to  this 
to-day,  as  do  the  majority  of  play- 
ers, but  "  Cavendish  "  subsequently 
declared  in  favor  of  leading  the 
fourth  best  of  those  remaining  in 
hand,  and  this  is  the  only  point  of 
any  importance  upon  which  the 
two  are  unable  to  agree. 

Mr.  Trist  also  invented  and  intro- 
duced the  sub-echo  (q.  v.)  into  the 
game,  at  New  Orleans,  in  1884.  It 
was  a  natural  sequel  to  the  echo,  and 
still  holds  its  own  to-day,  although 
other  modes  of  showing  three 
trumps  have  since  found  favor  as 
well.  As  already  intimated,  his 
contributions  to  whist  literature 
have  been  confined  to  his  articles 
in  Harper's  Magazine,  the  London 
Field,  the  Spirit  of  the  South,  the 
Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  Whist,  and  a 
paper  on  ' '  American  Whist  Devel- 
opments "  in  Harper's  Weekly  for 
July  4,  1896.  In  one  of  his  articles 
in  the  Inter-Ocean,  he  made  a  sug- 
gestion which  has  had  an  important 
bearing  on  whist-play  ever  since, 
and  that  was  to  use  not  only  the 
ace  and  king,  as  then  practiced, 
but  all  equal  high  cards  at  top  of 
suit,  to  echo  on  partner's  lead  of 
trumps.  He  swept  away  the  then 
existing  objection  of  the  high  card 
— when  the  trick  is  taken  by  the 
adversary — denying  the  next  low- 
est, by  simply  extending  the  infer- 
ence in  the  trump  suit,  that  part- 
ner might  hold  the  next  lowest  as 
well  as  the  next  highest,  when 
playing  third  hand  to  your  lead  of 
trumps. 

Mr.  Trist  took  an  active  part  in 
the  work  of  the  American  Whist 
League  from  its  inception.  Al- 


TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE  446  TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE 


though  unable  to  attend  the  first 
congress,  at  Milwaukee,  in  1891, 
he  communicated  his  views  in  a 
letter  which  had  great  weight  in 
shaping  the  policy  of  the  organiza- 
tion. He  was  for  several  years  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  League,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  committee 
which  revised  the  whist  laws  at  the 
third  congress,  in  which  line  of 
work  his  fine  legal  talent  found 
ample  scope.  The  League,  in 
recognition  of  his  services  in  the 
cause  of  modern  scientific  whist, 
elected  him  an  honorary  member, 
April  17,  1891.  (See,  also,  "  Amer- 
ican Leads,"  and  "Fourth  Best.") 

In  reply  to  a  request  for  his 
opinion  on  the  changes  in  the 
American  leads,  which  have  been 
adopted  by  many  first-class  players 
(see,  "American  Leads,  Proposed 
Changes  in,"  and  "Hamilton 
Leads"),  Mr.  Trist  said,  on  Octo- 
ber 2,  1897:  "  I  am  still  of  the  opin- 
ion that  the  ten-lead  from  king, 
jack,  ten,  is  a  much  better  one 
than  the  fourth  best,  excepting  from 
four  trumps,  when  the  lead  of  the 
small  card  is  generally  preferable; 
therefore  I  adhere  to  the  old  queen- 
leads,  which  do  not  bother  me  a  bit 
on  accountoftheirdual  signification. 
I  also  prefer  the  present  lead  of 
jack  from  ace,  king,  queen,  jack, 
five  or  more,  to  the  queen  as  pro- 
posed, because  it  possesses  the  con- 
siderable advantage  of  keeping  the 
adversaries  in  the  dark  as  to  the 
position  of  the  ace,  if  jack  takes  the 
trick — presuming,  of  course,  that  if 
either  of  them  held  the  ace  he 
would  have  taken  the  trick — whilst 
if  jack  denies  the  ace  it  must  be  in 
third  hand,  a  fact  which  it  is  better 
the  opponents  should  not  know." 

Mr.  Trist  is  a  whist-player  of  fine 
skill  and  reputation,  and  was  among 
the  first  in  this  country  to  intro- 
duce duplicate  whist  at  his  club  as 
a  means  of  determining  the  per- 


sonal skill  of  players.  (See,  "  Du- 
plicate Whist,  History  of . " )  The 
incident  occurred  in  the  New 
Orleans  Chess,  Checker,  and 
Whist  Club,  in  1882.  The  defeated 
players  in  the  annual  tournament 
having  complained  of  their  bad 
luck  in  holding  poor  cards,  Mr. 
Trist  and  three  others  of  the  vic- 
torious side  issued  a  challenge  for 
a  match,  in  which  the  luck  of  cards 
should  be  entirely  eliminated,  and 
this  proposal  being  accepted,  they 
again  proved  their  superiority. 

C.  S.  Boutcher,  in  his  "  Whist 
Sketches,"  states  that  Mr.  Trist 
played  whist  frequently  with  the 
celebrated  chess  champions,  Stein- 
itz  and  Zuckertort,  who  have  at 
different  times  visited  New  Or- 
leans under  engagements  with  the 
Chess  and  Whist  Club,  and  who 
finished,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
club,  their  great  match  for  the 
chess  championship  of  the  world. 
They  were  both  devoted  to  whist, 
and  it  was  amusing  to  see  with  what 
eagerness  they  would  hasten  to  the 
card-room  for  a  rubber,  whenever 
their  chess  engagements  permitted 
them  to  do  so.  They  appeared  not 
to  be  well-grounded  in  the  rules  of 
play,  but  soon  showed  considerable 
improvement  in  that  respect  after 
practicing  with  the  best  players  of 
the  club,  and,  as  they  had  reten- 
tive memories,  they  played  fairly 
well  by  the  time  of  their  departure. 
Steinitz  at  one  time  gave  an  exhi- 
bition of  his  blindfold  play.  He 
varied  the  usual  performance  by 
playing  a  hand  at  whist,  at  inter- 
vals of  about  ten  minutes,  to  show 
that  he  could  turn  his  attention  to 
other  matters  without  losing  the 
thread  of  the  various  combinations 
of  the  seven  games  which  he  was 
carrying  on  simultaneously.  Mr. 
Trist  was  his  partner  in  this  novel 
exhibition,  and  testifies  to  the  effect 
that  Steinitz's  play  of  the  cards 


TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE   447 


TROPHY 


was  very  accurate,  considering  the 
fact  that  he  was  carrying  in  some 
recess  of  his  mind  the  pictures  of 
seven  chess-boards  with  the  men, 
grouped  or  scattered  thereon  in  an 
infinite  variety. 

Asa  matter  of  historic  interest,  we 
take  pleasure  in  reproducing  here- 
with a  hand  which  Messrs.  Trist 
and  Jones  ("Cavendish")  played 
together  at  the  sixth  annual  con- 
gress of  the  American  Whist 
League,  at  Manhattan  Beach.  They 
were  partners  against  W.  H.  Whit- 
feld  and  Robert  H.  Weems.  One 
curious  feature  about  the  hand  is 
"  Cavendish's"  lead  of  the  king  of 
trumps  at  trick  seven,  and  this  has 
occasioned  some  criticism.  The 
five  of  hearts  was  trumps,  and  west 
(N.  B.  Trist)  led: 


Tricks. 

West. 
Trist. 

North. 
Whitf. 

East. 
"Cav." 

South. 
Weems. 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
IS 

V  Q 
*  6 
*  2 

AO 

<V  A 

V  3 
*  8 
*  Q 
8  0 
V  7 
QO 

V  5 
*  3 
*  4 
KO 
Q?  8 
7  0 
2  * 
6  A 
A  * 

*  K 

A  A 

2  0 
V  2 
4  0 
5  0 
4  * 
5  * 
*  9 
6  0 
*  J 
J  0 

£>IO 

9  0 
<?  4 
K  * 

V  K 

3  * 
8  * 
3  0 
'Q  * 

J   * 
<?  6 

*  5 
10  » 

*  7 
A  10 

7  * 
<3>  9 

9  + 
100 

<9  J 

Score:  N-S,  4;  E-W,  9. 

"I  had  forgotten  all  about  the 
hand,"  writes  Mr.  Trist,  in  reply  to 
our  inquiry,  "until  I  saw  it  pub- 
lished in  Whist.  I  remembered 
then  that  Tormey  got  us  to  play 
one  as  a  reminiscence  of  our  meet- 


ing. I  do  not  recollect  whether 
'  Cavendish's '  lead  of  king  of 
trumps  at  trick  seven  was  discussed 
at  the  time.  It  may  perhaps  be 
accounted  for  in  this  way:  When  I 
stopped  leading  trumps  at  trick  six 
(knowing  that  he  held  the  king), 
he  may  have  reasoned  thus:  '  Trist 
either  has  all  the  remaining  trumps, 
or  he  has  all  but  one,  and  in  the 
latter  case,  he  is  trying  to  give  me 
the  opportunity  to  make  my  king 
on  a  ruff,  and  then  extract  the 
other  trumps  from  the  adversary. 
As  I  am  not  short  in  any  suit  except 
clubs,  and  he  has  none  (or  else  he 
would  have  forced  me  in  that  suit), 
I  had  better  extract  the  adversary's 
possible  trump,  rather  than  give 
him  a  chance  to  ruff  the  spade  suit 
in  case  he  had  only  five  trumps 
originally. '  My  call  in  trumps  on 
tricks  two  and  three  was  intended 
to  show  five  trumps,  at  least,  as  the 
queen-lead  does  not  necessarily  in- 
dicate that  number  until  followed 
by  the  ten.  If  I  had  had  the  op- 
portunity to  follow  with  the  ten  of 
trumps  before  the  club  suit  was 
opened  by  the  adversary,  I  would 
consider  my  call  as  indicating  six. 
trumps  at  least." 

Mr.  Trist  had  previously  played 
with  "Cavendish"  at  the  third 
congress,  at  Chicago.  He  says: 
"After  the  adjournment  of  the 
Brooklyn  congress,  '  Cavendish,' 
Tormey,  Weems,  and  I  played  for 
several  hours  in  search  of  an  inter- 
esting hand,  but  unsuccessfully." 

Trophy. — A  formally  designed 
prize,  or  memento,  indicative  of 
victory,  which  is  contested  for  at 
whist  by  individuals,  pairs,  teams 
of  four,  or  any  larger  number  of 
players.  Some  trophies  immedi- 
ately become  the  property  of  the 
winners;  some  must  be  won  a  num- 
ber ef  times  in  succession  before 
becoming  permanent  property,  and 


TROPHY 


448 


TRUMP  ATTACK 


some  can  be  won  and  held  only  for 
a  year.  To  the  latter  belong  the 
Hamilton  (championship  for  teams 
of  four)  and  Minneapolis  (cham- 
pionship pair)  trophies  of  the 
American  Whist  League.  Its  Chal- 
lenge Trophy  (for  teams  of  four) 
must  be  won  twenty  times  before 
permanent  possession  is  given.  The 
first  Challenge  Trophy  was  thus 
won  by  the  celebrated  Hamilton 
team,  and  a  new  trophy  was  there- 
upon purchased  by  the  League.  It 
is  contested  for  at  each  annual  con- 
gress, as  well  as  in  the  interim  be- 
tween congresses.  The  Brooklyn 
Trophy  of  the  League  is  contested 
for,  in  a  like  manner,  by  teams  from 
auxiliary  associations,  but  cannot 
be  won  permanently. 

Of  the  trophies  of  the  Woman's 
Whist  League,  the  Washington 
Trophy  (championship  for  teams 
of  four)  and  the  Philadelphia  Cup 
(championship  pair)  are  contested 
for  annually,  and  each  must  be  won 
three  times  before  permanent  pos- 
session is  given.  The  Andrews 
Shields  (constituting  the  challenge 
trophy  of  the  League)  are  held  sub- 
ject to  challenge  during  the  year, 
and  must  be  won  twelve  times  be- 
fore they  become  the  property  of 
the  winners. 

The  rules  for  trophy-play  at  the 
various  congresses  are  announced 
in  advance  each  year,  and  also  pub- 
lished in  the  annual  proceedings. 
They  vary  but  little  each  year,  al- 
though recommendations  for  radi- 
cal changes  in  the  Hamilton  and 
Challenge  trophies  of  the  American 
Whist  League  have  been  frequently 
made  and  discussed. 

The  present  arrangement  of  theannual 
tournament  contest  for  the  national 
(Hamilton)  and  American  Whist  League 
(Challenge)  trophies  seems  to  me  gener- 
ally conceded  to  be  unsatisfactory.  The 
res'ult  too  often  depends  upon  physical 
endurance  or  some  nuke.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  allow  any  and  every  team  to  enter,  re- 


gardless of  their  previous  record.  The 
contests  should  be  truly  representative, 
and  should  mean  much  more  than  they 
do.  Some  time  ago  I  suggested,  and  now 
venture  to  repeat  the  suggestion,  that 
representative  teams  be  selected  by  a 
series  of  competitive  tournaments  in 
each  local  association  or  subdivision  of 
the  League,  to  represent  and  contest  for 
their  respective  associations  in  the  na- 
tional contest.  A  series  of  tournaments 
should  be  held  monthly,  with  suitable 
prizes,  etc.,  in  each  association,  with,  say, 
three  final  contests  for  the  leading  teams, 
the  final  victors  to  be  entitled  to  contest 
in  the  national  tournament  for  the  na- 
tional trophy.  A  small  fee  should  be 
charged,  or  assessments  made  in  such  a 
way  as  to  provide  the  whole  or  a  portion 
of  the  expense  of  the  team  in  attending 
the  annual  tournament.  As  it  now  is, 
many  good  teams  from  a  distance  give  up 
all  idea  ofcompeting,as  they  cannot  afford 
to  attend.  The  details  of  such  a  plan  could 
be  easily  arranged.  It  would  greatly  in- 
crease the  interest  in  the  local  associa- 
tions, and  in  the  national  League  also. 
The  contesting  teams  would  thus  be  lim- 
ited in  number,  and  could  play  and  win 
the  games  on  merit.  Opportunity  would 
be  given  for  several  rounds  with  each 
other,  and  the  result  would  mean  very 
much  more  than  it  does  now.  All  the 
other  features  of  the  congress  and  tourna- 
ment would  be  as  attractive  as  ever,  and 
perhaps  more  so,  by  the  liberation  from 
the  principal  contest  of  teams  who  would 
find  more  amusement  and  profit  in  the 
lesser  contests.  Why  cannot  this  plan 
be  tried  for  the  perpetual  trophy  ? — Fisher 
Ames  [L.  A.],  Whist,  October,  1897. 

True  Cards. — Cards  which  are 
played  according  to  rule,  and  do 
not  deceive;  the  opposite  of  false 
cards. 

Trump,  Ace,  nor  Court  Card. — 

See,  "  New  Deal,  Not  Entitled  to  a. " 

Trump  Attack.  —  The  original 
lead  of  trumps.  In  the  long-suit 
game  this  is  the  play  of  the  very 
strong  hand.  IntheHowell  (short- 
suit)  system  the  trump  attack  means 

(1)  a  strong  all-around  hand,  re- 
gardless of  the  number  of  trumps; 

(2)  five  or  more  trumps  (or  four 
very    good    ones),   and   one   good 
plain  suit;  or  (3)  just  five  trumps, 
and  no  four-card  suit. 


TRUMP-CARD 


449 


TRUMP,  TURNING 


Trump -Card. — The  last  card 
dealt  by  the  dealer,  and  turned  face 
upward  on  the  table  by  him.  It 
should  be  placed  slightly  to  his 
right.  In  duplicate  whist  it  is  usu- 
ally placed  on  the  tray  in  the 
centre  of  the  table. 

The  word  trump  is  a  corruption 
of  triumph.  It  was  first  applied  to 
an  old  game  which  preceded  and 
bore  some  resemblance  to  whist. 
The  term  finally  came  to  mean  the 
suit  of  cards  (or  one  of  the  cards) 
which  has  a  superior  or  command- 
ing value  in  taking  tricks. 

When  you  deal,  put  the  trump  turned 
up  to  the  right  of  all  your  trumps,  and 
keep  it  as  long  as  you  can,  that  your 
partner  may,  knowing  that  you  have  that 
trump  left,  play  accordingly. — Edmond 
Hoyle  [O-],  "Treatise  on  Whist.'" 

By  the  English  code,  if  the  trump-card 
be  left  on  the  table  after  the  first  trick  is 
turned  and  quitted,  it  is  liable  to  be 
called.  By  the  American  code,  if  the 
trump-card  be  left  on  the  table  after  the 
second  trick  is  turned  and  quitted,  it  is 
liable  to  be  called  (law  18).  This  is  an 
unimportant  difference. — A.  W.  Drayson 
[L+A+],  "Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Deci- 
sions." 

The  dealer  ought  to  leave  in  view  upon 
the  table  his  trump-card,  till  it  is  his  turn 
to  play;  and  after  he  has  mixed  it  up  with 
his  cards,  nobody  is  entitled  to  demand 
what  card  is  turned,  but  may  ask  what 
is  trumps.  This  consequence  attends 
such  a  law,  that  the  dealer  cannot  name 
a  wrong  card  which  otherwise  he  might 
have  done. — Edmond  Hoyle  [<?.],"  Treatise 
on  Whist." 

The  dealer  must  leave  the  trump-card 
face  upwards  on  the  table  until  it  is  his 
turn  to  play  to  the  first  trick;  if  it  is  left 
on  the  table  until  after  the  second  trick 
has  been  turned  and  quitted,  it  is  liable 
to  be  called.  After  it  has  been  lawfully 
taken  up,  it  must  not  be  named,  and 
any  player  naming  it  is  liable  to- 
have  his  highest  or  his  lowest  trump 
called  by  either  adversary.  A  player 
may,  however,  ask  what  the  trump-suit 
is. — Laws  of  Whist  {American  Code),  Sec- 
tion 18. 

The  dealer,  when  it  is  his  turn  to  play 
to  the  first  trick,  should  take  the  trump- 
card  into  his  hand;  if  left  on  the  table 
after  the  first  trick  be  turned  and  quitted, 
it  is  liable  to  be  called;  his  partner  may 
at  any  time  remind  him  of  the  liability. 
After  the  dealer  has  taken  the  trump-card 

29 


into  his  hand  it  cannot  be  asked  for;  a 
player  naming  it  at  any  time  during  the 

glay  of  that  hand,  is  liable  to  have  his 
ighest  or  lowest  trump  called.  If  the 
dealer  take  the  trump-card  into  his  hand 
before  it  is  his  turn  to  play,  he  may  be 
desired  to  lay  it  upon  the  table;  should 
he  show  a  wrong  card,  this  card  may  be 
called,  as  also  a  second,  a  third,  etc.,  until 
the  trump-card  be  produced.  If  the  dealer 
declare  himself  unable  to  recollect  the 
trump-card,  his  highest  or  lowest  trump 
may  be  called  at  any  time  during  that 
hand,  and,  unless  it  cause  him  to  revoke, 
must  be  played;  the  call  may  be  repeated, 
but  not  changed — i.  e.,  from  highest  to 
lowest,  or  vice  versa — until  such  card  is 
played.— Laws  of  Whist  (English  Code), 
Sections  £2-S5- 

"Trump,  Jr.,  A." — A  pseu- 
donym of  William  Pembroke  Fet- 
ridge,  an  English  writer  on  whist, 
who  published  "  The  Laws  and 
Regulations  of  Short  Whist"  (Lon- 
don and  Paris,  1882;  New  York, 


This  work  is  remarkable  for  a  long  pre- 
face on  the  point  whether  a  player  can, 
with  freedom  from  all  penalty,  show  his 
entire  hand  to  the  other  three  persons  at 
the  table,  provided  that  he  retains  them 
in  his  hand  in  one  group,  and  does  not 
detach  any  card  from  the  rest. —  W.  P. 
Courtney  [L+O.],  "English  Whist:'1 

Trump,  Turning,  from  a  Still 
Pack. — For  many  years  prior  to 
the  organization  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  it  was  the  custom  in 
the  Milwaukee  Whist  Club  to  turn 
the  trump  from  a  still  pack — i.  e., 
from  a  pack  not  in  play.  This  was 
equivalent  to  the  method  of  declar- 
ing trump  for  a  series  or  sitting,  at 
duplicate  whist,  for  in  each  case  the 
dealer,  on  the  one  hand,  loses  the 
advantage  of  holding  the  extra 
trump,  and  the  other  players  forego 
the  advantage  of  knowing  the 
value  of  one  of  his  trumps  and 
shaping  their  play  accordingly. 
The  practice  of  turning  the  trump 
from  the  still  pack  is  an  old  one, 
and  is  a  feature  of  ' '  Prussian 
whist."  It  is  said  to  have  origi- 
nated with  a  Welsh  baronet,  ac- 


TRUMPING 


450     TRUMP-LEAD,  ORIGINAL 


cording  to  Southey,  who  mentions 
it  in  his  "  Letters  of  Espriella." 

Although  the  laws  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League  do  not  permit 
the  turning  of  trump  from  the  still 
pack,  and  the  practice  is  abandoned 
in  League  clubs,  many  players  in 
this  country  favor  the  practice  of 
declaring  trump  (which  is  made 
optional  under  the  code  in  single- 
table  duplicate  whist).  Players 
outside  of  the  League  games  fre- 
quently make  use  of  the  declared 
trump  in  all  kinds  of  whist.  (See, 
"  Declared  Trump,"  and  "National 
Trump.") 

The  League  laws  governing  duplicate 
play  prescribe  that  the  trump  shall  be 
turned,  and  that  is  an  end  of  the  argu- 
ment. But  it  is  still  an  open  question 
whether  the  laws  would  not  be  improved 
by  amending  them  so  as  to  leave  the 
method  of  making  the  trump  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  clubs. — Casstus  M.  Paine 
[L.  A.],  Whist,  December,  1895. 

A  year  or  two  before  the  first  congress, 
•whilst  playing  whist  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Milwaukee  Whist  Club,  I  invariably,  from 
force  of  habit,  turned  the  trump  from  the 
live  pack.  The  custom  of  the  club,  as  is 
well  known,  was  to  turn  the  trump  from 
the  still  pack.  I  asked  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  club  who  originated  this  cus- 
tom, and  how  it  came  about.  No  one 
could  give  me  any  definite  information. 
I  was  told,  however,  that  such  had  been 
the  practice  for  many  years  previous.  I 
inquired  the  reason  for  it.  They  said 
they  believed  no  card  should  be  exposed 
except  in  the  regular  course  of  play. 
I  had  supposed  Mr.  Rheinart  brought  the 
custom  over  with  him  from  France,  be- 
cause a  French  treatise  mentions  that  it 
•was  practiced  in  certain  localities  in 
France.  I  was  informed,  however,  that 
Mr.  Rheinart  was  at  first  opposed  to  it, 
and  it  was  fully  a  year  after  joining  their 
club  before  he  adhered  to  the  custom. 
After  that  he  was  its  ardent  advocate. — 
"Prex,"  Whist,  January,  1896. 

Trumping  a    Doubtful  Trick. — 

When  you  are  second  hand  and 
have  none  of  the  suit  led,  the  ques- 
tion often  arises,  "Shall  I  trump 
it  ?"  If  the  trick  is  really  a  doubt- 
ful one  you  should  trump  it  if  weak 
in  trumps,  but  pass  it  if  strong  in 
trumps.  ( See,  ' '  Doubtful  Trick. ' ' ) 


Trumping  In. — Trumping  a  suit 
in  a  trick  in  which  you  are  not  the 
last  player;  usually  applied  to  sec- 
ond hand  trumping  a  doubtful 
trick. 

Trump  -  Lead,    Original. — The 

first  lead  of  trumps  made  by  a 
player  during  the  play  of  a  hand. 
The  best  players  will  make  their 
original,  or  opening,  lead  of  the 
hand  from  trumps  when  possessed 
of  great  strength  in  them.  They 
will  also  make  an  original  lead  in 
trumps  when  possessing  over- 
whelming strength  in  plain  suits. 
The  strength  of  the  hand  always 
determines  the  trump  attack. 

A  lead  from  six  trumps  is  always 
justifiable,  but  other  things  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  when 
leading  from  a  smaller  number. 
Many  good  players  nearly  always 
lead  from  five.  A  lead  from  four 
trumps  must  be  made  with  caution. 
They  may  generally  be  led  when 
holding  two  honors  and  plain-suit 
strength.  Advanced  players  will 
lead  from  four,  when  holding  three 
high  trump  cards  in  sequence; 
when  partner  has  shown  trump 
strength  and  there  is  no  chance  for 
a  ruff;  or  when  the  player  and 
partner  have  an  established  plain 
suit,  and  the  adversaries  have  not 
shown  trump  strength,  although 
having  had  the  opportunity  to  do 
so. 

Original  trump-leads  are  made  in 
the  same  manner  as  leads  from 
plain  suits  in  the  system  of  Ameri- 
can leads,  whenever  the  trump-suit 
contains  at  least  three  honors;  the 
ten  with  two  honors;  or  any  seven 
cards.  Otherwise  the  fourth-best 
trump  is  led. 

The  American  leads  are  now  em- 
ployed in  leading  trumps  by  whist- 
players  of  all  schools,  including 
adherents  of  the  old  leads  and  ad- 
vocates of  the  short-suit  game. 


TRUMP-LEAD,  ORIGINAL     451       TRUMP  MANAGEMENT 


"  Special      Trump- 


(See,      also, 
Leads.") 

Lead  trumps  from  a  strong  hand,  but 
never  from  a  weak  one.  By  which  means 
you  will  secure  your  good  cards  from 
being  trumped. —  William  Payne  [L.  O.], 
"  Whist  Maxims,"  1770. 

It  does  not  follow  that  because  a  player 
holds  many  trumps  he  should  lead  a 
trump.  It  may  or  may  not  be  best.  *  *  * 
A  former  plan  of  always  leading  trumps 
from  five  is  obsolete. — G.  W.  Peiles  [L.  A. 
P.],  "American  Whist  Illustrated,"  1896. 

It  is  a  sign  of  weak  play  if  you  first  lead 
out  your  winning  cards,  and  then  lead 
trumps;  it  shows  ignorance  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  game.  If  it  was  advisable  to 
lead  trumps  at  all  it  should  be  done  be- 
fore you  led  out  your  winning  cards. — 
Westminster  Papers  [L+O.]. 

The  advanced  player  knows  that  in 
many  hands  leading  trumps  from  five  is 
very  expensive,  and  that  he  is  not  bound 
by  any  hard  and  fast  rule  on  the  subject, 
but  must  exercise  his  best  judgment  in 
deciding  what  to  do. — Milton  C.  Work 
[L.  A.  H.],  "Whist  of  To-day." 

The  selection  of  card,  when  a_  trump 
is  led  originally,  is  the  same  as  in  plain 
suits;  subject  to  one  variation  when  lead- 
ing from  knave,  ten,  nine,  etc.  It  may 
also  be  slightly  varied  in  consequence  of 
the  value  of  the  turn-up  card. — "Caven- 
dish" [/..  A .] ,  "  Whist  Developments,"  2891. 

It  has  been  recommended  by  some  writ- 
ers on  whist  that  you  should  always  lead 
a  trump  if  you  hold  five;  with  this  recom- 
mendation I  cannot  agree.  If  you  hold 
six  it  would  almost  always  be  right  to 
lead  one,  but  with  five  it  is  a  more  doubt- 
ful proceeding. — A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+], 
"The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Some  players  always  lead  trumps  from 
five.  I  have  known  very  good  players 
who  made  it  a  rule  to  lead  trumps  from 
one  or  two  only  when  they  had  a  very 
superior  hand,  and  all  suits  well  pro- 
tected. *  *  *  Many  players,  who  have 
great  confidence  in  their  skill  in  the  man- 
agement of  plain  suits,  will  always  lead 
the  trumps  first,  if  opposed  to  very  weak 
players.  It  is  entirely  a  matter  of  judg- 
ment, depending  upon  the  score,  the  rest 
of  your  hand,  the  turn-up  trump,  and 
such  matters.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.]. 

A  lead  from  Jive  trumps  does  not  neces- 
sarily indicate  any  good  suit.  A  lead  from 
four  trumps  (unless  on  the  initial  lead) 
requires  protection  in  all  suits;  that  is, 
one  trick  at  least  in  each  suit.  A  lead  from 
three  trumps  requires  not  only  protection 
in  all  suits,  but  great  strength  in  at  least 
one.  A  lead  from  two  trumps  requires 
great  strength  in  every  suit.  A  lead  from 


one  trump  requires  overwhelming  strength 
in  every  suit.  The  weaker  the  trump-lead 
the  stronger  the  plain  suit  must  be. — Kate 
Wheelock  [L.  A.],  "  Whist  Rules." 

It  was  formerly  the  practice  very  mate- 
rially to  vary  the  leads  in  the  trump  suits, 
but  this  has  lately  gone  out  of  fashion. 
The  only  material  difference  is  -when 
trumps  are  not  led  for  the  purpose  of 
exhausting  them,  but  simply  as  the  best 
suit.  In  such  cases  it  is  usually  best  not 
to  lead  a  high  card  unless  you  have  three 
honors,  or  at  least  seven  trumps.  There 
is  one  important  exception  to  this,  and 
that  is  the  combination  of  king,  queen, 
ten,  and  others,  from  which  the  high 
card  should  always  be  led. — R.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "Whist  Tactics,"  1806. 

If  you  hold  five  trumps,  lead  them;  if 
they  contain  an  honor,  call  for  them.  If 
your  partner  leads  trumps  it  is  imperative 
that  you  return  them  the  first  opportu- 
nity. If  he  calls  for  them,  you  must  lead 
them  for  him  as  early  as  you  can;  if  you 
hold  three  or  less,  play  out  your  best;  if 
more  than  three,  your  lowest.  Do  not 
force  your  partner  if  he  has  shown 
strength  in  trumps,  or  if  (being  in  igno- 
rance of  this)  you  are  weak  in  them  your- 
self. But  force  a  strong  adverse  trump 
hand  whenever  you  can.  Do  not  trump 
a  doubtful  trick  second  hand  if  you  have 
four  or  more  trumps;  if  you  have  less,  do 
so.— William  Pole  \L.  A+],  "Philosophy 
of  Whist." 

Trump  Management. — A  very 
important  branch  of  whist  strat- 
egy. It  has  aptly  been  said  that 
trumps  are  the  artillery  of  whist- 
play.  How  to  use  them  to  the  best 
advantage  is  the  all-important  ques- 
tion, which  all  text-books  on  the 
game  try  to  answer,  but  which,  in 
addition  thereto,  every  player  must 
answer  for  himself  by  means  of 
knowledge  gained  from  practical 
experience.  The  most  obvious  and  ' 
simple  plan  is  to  so  manage  your 
trumps  as  to  draw  all  those  of  the 
adversaries  and  bring  in  your  own 
suit.  This  depends,  however,  upon 
several  important  considerations: 
(i)  Strength  in  trumps.  (2)  Strength 
in  the  rest  of  your  hand.  Also, 
sometimes,  later  in  the  play,  on 
ascertained  strength  in  partner's 
hand,  etc.  While  the  management 
of  trumps  is  a  comparatively  easy 


TRUMP  MANAGEMENT       452     TRUMP-SHOWING  LEADS 


matter  when  holding  a  normal  or 
strong  hand,  with  many  hands 
not  so  fortunately  distributed  the 
original  leader  will  find  it  very  dif- 
ficult to  decide  upon  the  best  course. 
This  must,  however,  be  quickly 
done,  after  surveying  the  cards  and 
before  one  is  led.  Individual  judg- 
ment, backed  by  rules  as  far  as 
they  can  be  made  to  apply,  and  by 
the  experience  and  advice  of  expert 
players  in  similar  situations,  must 
govern  his  action. 

The  management  of  trumps  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  difficult  of  the  problems 
presented  to  the  whist-player. — ''Caven- 
dish" [L.  A.}. 

The  fine  points  occurring  in  a  hand 
at  whist  cannot  be  provided  for  by  set 
rules,  but  must  be  met  by  the  ingenuity 
and  originality  of  the  plaver.  There  is 
no  test  of  skill  so  absolute  as  the  apti- 
tude displayed  by  the  player  in  handling 
his  trumps.  The  whist-player  must  select 
the  proper  moment  for  a  trump-lead.  A 
trick  too  soon  or  a  round  too  late  may 
ruin  a  great  game.  The  correct  manage- 
ment of  trumps  is  by  far  the  most  diffi- 
cult thing  in  whist  strategy,  and  few 
players  ever  become  proficient  in  this 
regard.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.A.],  "Mod- 
ern Scientific  IVhist." 

Take,  for  instance,  the  management  of 
trumps,  which  was,  under  the  old  forms, 
a  great  stumbling-block  to  ill-educated 
players.  It  is  obvious  that  the  chief 
obstacle  to  making  long  suits  is  their 
being  ruffed,  and  that  the  advantage  will 
be  with  that  party  who,  having  predom- 
inant numerical  strength  in  trumps,  can 
succeed  in  drawing  those  of  the  adver- 
saries. Five  trumps  are  generally  suffi- 
cient for  the  purpose;  and  hence  the  rule 
that  if  you  hold  this  number,  or  more, 
vou  should  lead  them.  Three  or  four 
leads  will  usually  disarm  both  opponents, 
and  you  will  still  have  one  or  more  left  to 
bring  in  your  own  or  your  partner's  long 
suit  and  stop  those  of  the  enemy-— Wil- 
liam Pole  [L.  A  +] ,  "Evolution  of  IVhist." 

The  writer  recently  had  the  pleasure  of 
quite  a  long  talk  with  a  man  who  had 
been  intimate  with  Deschapelles'  old 
partner  in  Paris,  and  "gathered  from  him 
that  the  chief  strength  of  Deschapelles' 
game  lay  in  his  adroit  management  of  the 
trump  suit.  Upon  first  taking  up  his 
hand  he  would  study  its  possibilities,  and 
glance  at  the  score  to  see  what  he  had  to 
hope  or  fear.  If  he  thought  his  hand 
would  be  better  if  there  were  no  trumps 
to  interfere  with  it,  he  would  lead  trumps. 
If  he  thought,  on  the  other  hand,  that  his 


trumps  would  be  necessary  for  self-pro- 
tection, he  would  lead  a  plain  suit.  As 
his  partner  followed  the  same  principle, 
it  was  Deschapelles'  custom,  when  he 
was  not  the  original  leader,  to  govern  his 
play  by  the  indications  given  in  his  part- 
ner's opening.  If  his  partner  led  trumps, 
Deschapelles  made  every  effort  to  assist 
him  in  getting  them  out;  but  if  the  part- 
ner did  not  lead  trumps  Deschapelles 
would  require  unusual  strength  in  his 
own  hand  to  justify  him  in  running  coun- 
ter to  his  partner's  game,  and  as  a  gen- 
eral thing  he  would  be  very  slow  to  draw 
his  partner's  trumps,  and  very  prompt  to 
stop  the  adversaries  from  exhausting 
them.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  New  York 
Sun,  December  26,  2897. 

Trump-Showing  Leads. — Orig- 
inal leads,  based  upon  a  mutually 
understood  code,  by  means  of  which 
the  original  leader  shows  the  num- 
ber of  trumps  held  by  him.  The 
first  system  of  this  kind  seems  to 
have  been  employed  by  the  team  of 
the  Capital  Bicycle  Club,  of  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  who  used  the  regu- 
lar (old  style)  leads  for  the  normal 
hand,  but  led  ace  from  ace,  king, 
and  others;  and  queen  from  king, 
queen,  and  others,  to  show  strength 
in  trumps,  but  not  enough  to  lead 
them.  A  more  elaborate  system 
was  devised  by  Milton  C.  Work, 
and  published  by  him  in  May, 
1894,  in  a  small  pamphlet,  entitled, 
"New  Whist  Ideas." 

The  theory  of  this  system  is  to 
show  by  the  high  card  of  a  plain 
suit  the  number  of  trumps  in  hand, 
instead  of,  as  under  the  American 
leads,  the  number  and  character  of 
the  suit  led.  It  makes  no  change, 
however,  in  the  American  system 
of  trump-leads.  The  lead  of  a 
king,  jack,  or  irregular  card  is 
made  at  once  to  show  the  presence 
of  four  or  more  trumps  in  the  lead- 
er's hand.  The  lead  of  a  queen 
shows  less  than  four  trumps.  The 
lead  of  the  ace  also  shows  less  than 
four  trumps,  unless  followed  by 
jack  or  the  lowest  of  the  suit.  The 
following  table  sums  up  the  code  in 
its  entirety: 


TRUMP-SHOWING  LEADS     453     TRUMP-SHOWING  LEADS 


HOLDING. 

WITH  SHORT  TRUMPS. 

WITH  LONG  TRUMPS. 

Original 
lead. 

Followed 
by 

Original 
lead. 

Followed 
by 

Ace,  king,  queen,  jack  

Queen. 

Queen. 
Queen. 

Queen. 
Ace. 

Ace. 
Ace. 
Ace. 
Ten. 

Ten. 
Queen. 

Queen. 
Queen. 

Ten. 
Queen. 

Queen. 
4th  best. 

King. 

Jack. 
Ace. 

King. 
King. 

Queen. 
4th  best. 
4th  best. 
Queen. 

Jack. 
King. 

King. 

Jack. 
Ten. 

King. 

King. 
King. 

King. 
King. 

Ace. 

4th  best. 
Ace. 
King. 

Jack. 
King. 

Jack. 
King. 

Jack. 
Jack. 

Jack. 
Jack. 

Queen. 

Jack. 
Queen. 

Queen. 

Ace. 

Jack. 
Ace. 
Lowest. 
Ten. 

King. 
Jack. 

King. 

Queen. 
Ten. 

Ace,  king,  queen,  jack,  and  one  or 
more  others    

Ace,  king,  queen,  and  one  other  .  .  . 
Ace,  king,  queen,  and  two  or  more 
others    

Ace,  queen,  jack,  and  one  or  more 
others    

Ace  and  four  others    

Ace  and  more  than  four  others    .  .  . 
King  queen,  jack,  ten  

King,  queen,  jack,  ten,  and  one  or 
more  others    

King,  queen,  jack,  and  one  other    .  . 
King,  queen,  jack,  and  two  or  more 
others     

King  queen  and  others     

King,  jack,   ten,  and   one  or  more 
others     

Queen,  jack,  ten,  and  one  other  .   .   . 
Queen,  jack,  ten,  and  two  or  more 
others    

Jack,  ten,   nine,  and  one  or   more 
others    

Length  in  trumps  may  also  be  shown  by  the  lead  of  an  irregular  card. 


Other  arrangements  were  as  fol- 
lows: (i)  Having  shown  short 
trumps,  a  trump  signal  subsequently 
made  shows  exactly  three;  a  refu- 
sal to  signal  shows  not  more  than 
two.  (2)  Having  shown  long 
trumps,  an  echo  subsequently  made 
shows  five  or  more;  a  refusal  to 
echo  shows  exactly  four.  (3 )  Hav- 
ing shown  short  trumps,  ruffing 
with  an  eight  or  under,  and  subse- 
quently playing  the  smaller  trump, 
shows  one  or  more;  ruffing  with  a 
small  trump,  and  subsequently 
playing  a  larger  one,  not  above  an 
eight,  shows  no  more.  (4)  Having 
shown  long  trumps,  ruffing  with  a 
higher,  and  subsequently  playing 
a  lower,  shows  five  or  more;  ruffing, 
and  subsequently  playing  a  higher, 
shows  exactly  four.  (5)  Not  hav- 
shown  either  short  or  long  trumps, 


ruffing  with  a  higher,  and  subse- 
quently playing  a  lower,  shows  at 
least  one  more;  ruffing  with  a  small 
trump,  and  subsequently  playing  a 
larger  one,  not  above  an  eight, 
shows  no  more. 

The  system  received  a  partial  test 
in  1894,  at  the  fourth  congress  of 
the  American  Whist  League,  when 
it  was  used  by  Mr.  Work's  team 
(the  Hamiltons)  in  the  match 
for  the  championship.  The  team 
remained  in  until  the  final  round, 
when  it  was  defeated  by  Chicago. 

The  system  did  not  meet  with 
general  adoption,  the  main  objec- 
tion urged  against  it  being  that  it 
gives  too  much  information;  that 
the  knowledge  whether  a  hand  is 
weak  or  strong  in  trumps  is  very 
often  more  advantageous  to  the  ad- 
versaries than  to  partner,  especially 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


454 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


when  the  adversaries  are  as  keen 
players  as  those  employing  the  sys- 
tem. We  have  said  nothing  about 
the  ease  or  difficulty  of  learning 
the  system.  On  this  point  Foster, 
who  opposed  it  with  might  and 
main,  sagely  remarks  in  the  New 
York  Sun  of  December  19,  1897: 
"There  is  no  evidence  that  any 
member  of  the  Hamilton  team  was 
laid  up  with  paresis  after  playing 
this  system  through  three  long  trial 
matches,  a  semi-final,  and  a  final, 
which  is  certainly  a  remarkable 
evidence  of  the  intellectual  staying 
powers  of  the  team."  Mr.  Work 
subsequently  changed  the  system 
to  "  optional  trump-showing  leads" 
(q.  v. ).  To  do  this  he  took  the  old 
leads  as  a  standard,  and  had  it  un- 
derstood that  when  the  leader  de- 
parted from  the  old  leads  he  showed 
trump  strength.  Mr.  Work  and 
his  team  did  not  continue  to  play 
the  system,  however,  preferring 
American  leads,  with  Hamilton 
modifications. 

The  Walbrook  team,  of  Balti- 
more, in  the  winter  of  iSgj-'gS  were 
playing  a  mixed  system,  in  which 
trump-showing  leads  also  figured. 
Their  chief  peculiarity  lay  in  lead- 
ing the  lowest  card  of  a  plain  suit 
when  holding  less  than  four  trumps, 
the  fourth  best  when  holding  four 


Trump-showing  leads  every  now  and 
then  come  up  as  new  ideas,  and  supposed 
trick-winning  devices.  But  they  soon 
disappear  again — as  soon  as  learned  by 
the  other  side.  In  regard  to  them,  it  is 
perfectly  safe  to  assume  it  to  be  an  axiom 
of  whist  almost  as  binding  as  an  axiom 
of  geometry,  that  any  system  which  pro- 
claims weakness  in  trumps  (as  these  sys- 
tems must)  is  disadvantageous. — fisher 
Ames  [L.  A.},  Whist, December,  1897. 

Trump  Signal. — A  conventional 
signal,  by  means  of  which  partner 
is  asked  to  lead  trumps  at  the  first 
opportunity;  the  call  for  trumps. 
It  is  made  in  plain  suits,  and  con- 


sists in  playing  an  unnecessarily 
high  card,  followed  by  a  smaller 
one  of  the  same  suit. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  trumps 
were  once  asked  for  orally,  in  the 
old  English  or  Hoyle  game,  and 
that  the  custom  was  universally 
sanctioned,  although  not  without 
protest  on  the  part  of  some  writers. 
At  the  score  of  eight  (the  game 
being  ten  points)  a  player  holding 
two  honors  was  allowed  to  say  to 
his  partner,  "  Can  you  one  ?"  which, 
being  interpreted,  meant,  "Have 
you  an  honor  ?  I  have  two."  If 
the  reply  was  in  the  affirmative  the 
hand  was  not  played,  as  the  side 
holding  three  honors  was  entitled 
to  score  two  by  honors,  which  put 
them  out.  This  play,  termed  calling 
honors, was  used  as  a  call  for  trumps, 
or  to  convey  other  important  infor- 
mation to  partner,  in  the  following 
manner:  If  a  player,  third  hand, 
held  two  honors,  with  the  game  at 
the  point  of  eight  in  his  favor, 
and  desired  his  partner  either  to 
show  an  honor  or  lead  trumps,  he 
would  ask  before  the  latter  led, 
"Can  you  one?"  Holding  no 
honor,  partner  would  lead  trumps 
at  once.  Again,  if  a  player,  third 
hand,  held  two  honors,  but  did  not 
want  a  trump  led  unless  it  suited 
his  partner's  hand,  he  would  wait 
until  it  was  his  own  turn  to  play, 
and  then  ask,  before  playing, 
"Partner,  can  you  one?"  This 
was,  in  effect,  saying  to  partner: 
"I  bold  two  honors,  but  am  not 
strong  enough  otherwise  to  ask  for 
an  original  lead  of  trumps.  Use 
your  judgment  as  to  what  is  best 
under  the  circumstances."  Ad- 
miral Burney  thought  this  was  "  an 
intrusion  on  the  plainness  and  in- 
tegrity of  whist,"  but  added  that, 
"having  been  allowed,  and  gener- 
ally practiced,  it  now  stands  and  is 
to  be  received  as  part  of  the  game." 
When  the  ten-point  game  went  out 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


455 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


of  fashion,  calling  for  honors,  and 
with  it  the  old  way  of  calling  for 
trumps,  went  out  also. 

The  more  modern,  and  now  gen- 
erally practiced,  call  for  trumps,  or 
trump  signal,  was  invented  by  Lord 
Heiiry  Bentinck,  and  first  intro- 
duced by  him  at  Graham's  Coffee- 
House,  87  James  street,  London,  in 
1834.  He  had  noticed  or  employed 
the  common  artifice  whereby  a 
high  card  is  played  on  the  adversa- 
ries' lead  to  induce  the  belief  that 
you  can  trump  next  round,  and 
thereby  get  trumps  led  to  stop  a 
supposed  impending  ruff.  Being 
very  particular  and  chary  of  throw- 
ing away  good  cards,  and  a  firm 
believer  in  the  utility  of  small 
cards,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he 
might  bring  about  a  lead  of  trumps 
on  the  part  of  his  partner  by  sim- 
ply playing  the  low  cards  in  the 
inverted  order,  a  higher  before  a 
lower  one.  The  contrivance  was 
first  humorously  dubbed  the  "  blue 
peter"  (q.  v.),  and  is  first  men- 
tioned by  "  Czelebs"  in  his  "Laws 
and  Practice  of  Whist"  (1851),  as 
follows:  "Generally,  whenever  a 
higher  card  is  seen  to  fall,  pas- 
sively— *.  e. ,  without  a  substantive 
object — before  a  lower,  exhaustion 
of  the  suit  may  be  expected.  *  *  * 
Many  persons  adopt  another  theory 
with  regard  to  playing  the  higher 
card  first,  viz. ,  that  it  is  an  intima- 
tion of  wishing  trumps  to  be  led." 
In  the  third  edition  of  his  book 
(1858)  "  Cselebs"  speaks  more  pos- 
itively on  the  subject,  as  follows: 
"Whenever  a  superior  card  is  un- 
necessarily played  before  an  infe- 
rior— e.g.,  the  trey  before  deuce — it 
is  the  strongest  indication  of  the 
player  wishing  for  trumps.  This 
signal,  metaphorically  termed  the 
'blue  peter,'  is  in  diametrical  an- 
tagonism to  the  theory  in  '  Major 
A.'s'  period,  when  playing  the 
higher  card  first  indicated  exhaus- 


tion of  the  suit  and  a  wish  to  ruff." 
As  ' '  Caelebs' '  must  have  been  well 
acquainted  with  the  Portland  Club, 
then  the  headquarters  of  whist, 
Pole  thinks  that  the  quoted  pas- 
sages establish  an  important  histor- 
ical fact,  namely,  that  in  1851  the 
device  was  not  in  general  use 
there,  but  that  before  1858  it  had 
become  an  acknowledged  rule  of 
play. 

The  signal  was  accepted  as  part 
of  the  game  by  all  succeeding 
writers  on  whist,  although  under 
protest  by  some,  who  declared  that 
Lord  Bentinck  himself  had  in  later 
life  abandoned  it  and  regretted  its 
invention.  The  London  Field  of 
February  13  and  27,  1864,  con- 
tained a  full  discussion  of  the  new 
convention,  and  many  articles  ap- 
peared concerning  it  in  other  Eng- 
lish publications,  including  the 
leading  reviews  and  magazines,  and 
a  great  deal  of  hostility  was  mani- 
fested towards  it.  One  writer  in 
the  Westminster  Papers  very*:  "It 
can  scarcely  be  called  whist  any 
longer,  but  a  new  game,  'peter;' 
for  your  partner  calls  upon  you  to 
abandon  your  game  and  blindly 
play  his  by  leading  him  a  trump. 
Your  opponents  immediately  aban- 
don the  legitimate  game,  and  direct 
all  their  efforts  to  thwarting  your 
intentions,  and  all  the  rules  of  the 
game  are  cast  aside." 

Many  good  players  at  first  ob. 
jected  to  the  signal,  but  were  forced 
to  adopt  it  when  it  came  into  gen- 
eral use.  In  France  it  was  severely 
condemned.  James  Clay,  whose 
opinion  carried  great  weight,  while 
he  did  not  like  it  personally,  de- 
clared it  to  be  open  to  no  objection 
on  the  score  of  unfairness,  although 
he  thought  it  greatly  diminished 
the  advantage  of  skill  by  simplify- 
ing the  game.  He  considered  it  so 
natural  that  he  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  if  a  tribe  of  savages  were 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


456 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


taught  whist  they  would  arrive  at 
the  signal  in  course  of  time  by 
their  own  intuition. 

The  trump  signal  is  made  by  any 
player  except  the  first  hand  or 
leader,  who,  if  he  wants  trumps 
led,  can  lead  them  himself.  The 
question,  When  is  a  player  justified 
in  signaling  ?  is  one  that  cannot 
be  answered  by  any  hard  and  fast 
rule.  Good  judgment  is  required, 
but  in  a  general  way  it  may  be 
stated  that  a  hand  that  you  would 
lead  trumps  from  is  a  good  one  to 
signal  from.  A  player  ought  to 
have  four  trumps  containing  two 
honors,  or  five  trumps  containing 
one  honor,  and  reasonable  strength 
in  other  suits,  so  that  there  is  no 
danger  of  a  suit  being  brought  in 
against  him  by  the  adversaries. 
The  signal  should  be  used  only 
when  partner  is  in  a  position  to  ob- 
tain the  lead.  When  the  signal  is 
made  later  in  the  hand,  after  the 
player  employing  it  has  himself 
had  the  lead,  or  had  an  opportunity 
to  signal  without  doing  so,  the 
command  to  partner  is  not  impera- 
tive, nor  does  the  signal  in  that 
case  denote  the  same  strength  on 
the  part  of  the  signaler  as  if  made 
at  the  first  opportunity. 

In  responding  to  the  trump  sig- 
nal, care  should  be  taken  by  be- 
ginners not  to  mistake  for  it  an 
effort,  on  the  part  of  second  hand, 
to  win  the  trick.  Lead  your  part- 
ner the  best  trump,  if  you  hold  it, 
or  one  of  the  second  and  third  best 
if  you  hold  them.  Otherwise  give 
him  the  highest  from  less  than  four, 
the  fourth  best  from  four  or  more. 

The  trump  signal  is  also  made  in 
two  other  ways  by  many  good 
players.  One  consists  in  discard- 
ing from  an  unopened  suit  a  card 
not  lower  than  a  nine,  although 
George  W.  Pettes,  who  originated 
it,  also  used  the  eight  for  the  pur- 
pose. (See,  "  Single-Discard  Call 


for  Trumps.")  The  other  signal 
consists  in  refusing  to  trump  an  ad- 
verse winning  card.  It  is  some- 
times unadvisable  to  employ  the 
latter  mode,  especially  when  the 
adversaries  are  in  position  to  con- 
tinue to  lead  winning  cards  in  the 
same  suit.  In  such  case  the  best 
thing  is  to  accept  the  force  and 
make  the  best  of  it. 

Foster  says:  "  By  some  short-suit 
players,  the  lead  of  a  five,  four, 
three,  or  two  is  considered  a  posi- 
tive call  for  trumps  if  an  honor  is 
turned;  not  otherwise."  In  the 
Howell  (short-suit)  system,  how- 
ever, the  lead  of  any  of  the  cards 
mentioned  indicates  the  long-suit 
game,  and  commands  partner,  if  he 
gets  in  early,  to  lead  trumps,  irre- 
spective of  the  turning  of  an 
honor. 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  leads 
showing  number,  the  lead  of  the  ace, 
then  king,  then  small,  was  a  call  for 
trumps.— JR.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},  "Whist  Tac- 
tics." 

Many  good  players  are  more  cautious 
in  asking  for  trumps  than  in  leading 
them,  and  will  not  signal  unless  they  hold 
at  least  one  honor. —  William  Pole  [L. 
A+}. 

The  trump  call  must  be  used  with  dis- 
cretion. It  should  only  be  given  when 
you  are  convinced  that  a  trump  lead 
would  be  for  your  advantage.— Fisher 
Ames  [L.A.]. 

The  signal  for  trumps  is  now  so  con- 
stantly in  use,  that  we  must  set  aside  all 
discussion  as  to  whether  whist  has  been 
improved  or  impaired  by  its  invention. — 
R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.}. 

It  has  not  only  done  good  to  those  who 
profit  by  it,  but  has  also  improved  the 
play  generally  by  requiring  more  atten- 
tion to  be  paid  to  the  fall  of  the  cards, 
particularly  of  small  ones. —  William  Pole 
\L.  A  +],  "Evolution  of  Whist." 

If  your  object  be  to  win  at  whist,  never 
"call"  for  trumps,  or  "  echo"  in  reply.  If 
your  partner  "calls,"  use  your  discretion. 
If  your  adversaries  "  call,"  they  will  pro- 
bably give  you  a  chance  of  saving  a  game 
you  might  otherwise  have  easily  lost. — 
William  Cusack-Smith  [L.  O.]. 

In  a  game  that  has  so  much  of  the  rtiff- 
ing  element  about  it,  the  player  should 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


457 


TRUMP  SIGNAL ' 


prepare  a  trump-call  early,  if  he  want 
to  have  trumps  led  by  partner.  There- 
fore we  use  the  call  perhaps  oftener  than 
the  long-suiters.— Edwin  C.  Howell  [S. 
If.}  " Whist  Openings." 

This  conventional  sign  consists  in 
throwing  away  an  unnecessarily  high 
card.  *  *  *  The  origin  of  this  prac- 
tice is  so  perfectly  in  the  spirit  of  our 
game,  when  well  played,  that  I  am  sur- 
prised at  the  length  of  time  which  was 
required  to  reduce  it  to  an  understood 
signification.— -James  Clay  [L.  O+~\. 

Asking  for  trumps  means  playing  a 
totally  unnecessarily  high  card,  when  by 
subsequent  play  you  show  you  could  have 

Klayed  a  lower  card.  You  must  be  care- 
il  to  distinguish  between  a  totally  un- 
necessarily high  card,  and  a  card  played 
to  cover  another  card,  or  to  protect  your 
partner.—  A.  IV.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The 
Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

"  We  do  not  know  whether  any  one  has 
ever  kept  a  record  of  the  number  of  tricks 
lost  by  petering.  During  the  past  year, 
in  the  whist  we  have  witnessed,  we  feel 
confident  that  more  tricks  have  been  lost 
than  won  by  this  practice." — Westminster 
Papers  (Old  School).  After  many  years 
of  further  experience  I  am  quite  of  the 
same  opinion.  —  "Pembridge"  [L+O.], 
' '  Whist,  or  Bumblepuppy  ?" 

Among  some  players  the  lead  of  a 
strengthening  card,  when  an  honor  is 
turned,  is  a  call  for  trumps  to  be  led 
through  that  honor  at  the  very  first  op- 
portunity, but  it  is  not  good  play.  Pass- 
ing a  certain  winning  card  is  regarded  by 
most  players  as  an  imperative  call  for 
trumps.  The  discard  of  any  card  higher 
than  a  seven  is  known  as  a  single-card 
call.  —  R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.},  "Complete 
Hoyle." 

An  article  which  the  doctor  [William 
Pole]  contributed  to  the  Fortnightly  Re- 
view, in  April,  1879,  on  "Conventions  at 
Whist,"  merits  notice.  In  it  he  argues 
against  the  fairness  of  the  call  for  trumps, 
and  seems  to  doubt  the  propriety  of  some 
other  modern  developments  of  the  game. 
But  he  has  long  since,  I  believe,  become 
a  convert  to  the  lawfulness,  if  not  to  the 
expediency,  of  the  call. —  W.  P.  Courtney 
[L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

Many  players  contend  that  the  leader 
cannot  call  for  trumps  on  his  lead,  and 
that  he  should  lead  them  himself,  if  that 
is  what  he  wants.  But  there  are  many 
positions  in  which  such  a  course  would 
be  injudicious.  The  leader  may  lie  ten- 
ace;  he  may  want  to  know  his  partner's 
best  trump;  he  may  want  a  lead  through 
the  turn-up;  or  he  may  hope  to  win  the 
second  or  third  round  by  not  leading  first 
himself.  —  /?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  "Whist 
Tactics." 


It  is  a  common  artifice,  if  you  wish  a 
trump  to  be  led,  to  drop  a  high  card  to 
the  adversary's  lead,  to  induce  him  to  be- 
lieve that  you  will  trump  it  next  round, 
whereupon  the  leader  will  very  likely 
change  the  suit,  and  perhaps  lead  trumps. 
*  *  *  By  a  conventional  extension  of 
this  system  to  lower  cards  it  is  understood 
that,  whenever  you  throw  away  an  unne- 
cessarily high  card,  it  is  a  sign  (after  the 
smaller  card  drops)  that  you  want  trumps 
led. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.\,  "Laws  and 
Principles  of  Whist." 

When  you  do  this  \i.  e.,  call  for  trumps] 
— when  you  ask  partner  to  play  your 
game— you  should  be  reasonably  certain 
of  making  the  odd  trick  at  least.  The 
mere  fact  of  holding  four,  five,  or  even 
six  trumps,  is  not  sufficient  reason  for  is- 
suing such  an  arbitrary  command.  Your 
only  object  in  drawing  trumps  is  to  enable 
you  to  bring  in  a  long  suit,  or  to  protect 
master  cards  in  other  suits;  and  without 
these  features  of  strength  you  should  not 
call,  even  though  you  may  be  strong  in 
trumps.  —  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.}, 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

When  everything  is  going  nicely,  and 
your  partner  making  the  tricks,  that  you 
should  interfere  with  this  merely  because 
you  have  five  trumps— or  nine,  for  the 
matter  of  that— is  the  height  of  absur- 
dity. It  may  be  an  interesting  fact  for  him 
to  know,  on  the  second  round  of  a  plain 
suit,  that  you  hold  five  trumps,  just  as 
there  are  other  interesting  facts  which  he 
may  also  ascertain  at  the  same  time — 
e.  g.,  that  you  have  led  a  singleton,  that 
you  hold  no  honor  in  your  own  suit,  and 
so  on — but  none  of  them  justifies  him  in 
ruining  his  own  hand,  and  devoting  his 
best  trump  to  destruction. — "Pembndge" 
[L+O.],  "Whist,  or  Bumblepuppy  ?" 

Fort5r  years  ago  calling  for  trumps  con- 
stituted the  whole  art  and  practice  of  sci- 
entific whist.  The  man  who  could  see  a 
trump  signal  without  looking  at  the  last 
trick  was  a  genius,  and  the  player  who 
would  notice  such  a  little  one  as  a  three 
played  before  a  deuce  was  a  marvel.  The 
story  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  trump 
signal  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  chap- 
ters in  the  history  of  the  game.  Like  the 
love  of  money  in  life,  it  has  been  the  root 
of  all  evil  in  play.  From  it  has  sprung 
that  poisonous  undergrowth  of  private 
conventions  that  has  choked  up  all  the 
individuality,  all  the  dash  and  brilliancy, 
all  the  keen"  perception  that  is  proper  to 
the  game.  Although  at  first  it  was  be- 
lieved to  be  a  benefit  to  good  and  bad 
players  alike,  its  injurious  influence  was 
soon  recognized,  and  no  one  regretted  its 
introduction  more  than  its  inventor. — R. 
F.  Foster  [S.  O.},  New  York  Sun,  Decem- 
ber 12,  i8yj. 


TRUMP  SIGNAL 


458 


"TRUMPS" 


Trump  Signal  to  Show  no 
More  of  a  Suit. — It  has  been  sug- 
gested by  some  players  that  it 
might  be  well  to  make  a  trump 
signal  mean:  "I  have  no  more  of 
this  suit  and  want  to  ruff  it."  Mil- 
ton C.  Work,  in  "  Whist  of  To- 
day," punctures  the  suggestion  as 
follows:  "When  it  is  considered 
that  such  a  plan  would  probably 
make  one  trick  in  one  deal,  while 
a  trump  signal  was  making  several 
in  each  of  a  dozen  deals,  the  im- 
becility of  the  idea  at  once  becomes 
apparent." 

Trump    Strength,    Showing. — 

The  showing  of  trump  strength  is 
a  very  important  feature  of  the 
partnership  game.  Modern  players 
deem  it  essential  to  the  success  of 
their  play  to  indicate  such  strength 
not  only  by  leading  or  calling  for 
trumps,  but  by  echoing  in  various 
ways  to  show  the  exact  number 
which  can  be  relied  upon  from  part- 
ner. Foster,  in  his  "Whist  Man- 
ual" (third  edition,  1896),  says: 

"Some  of  our  best  players, 
among  them  Milton  C.  Work,  are 
of  the  opinion  that  the  chief  char- 
acteristic of  the  whist  of  the  future 
will  be  the  indication  of  trump 
strength.  In  addition  to  the  usual 
methods  of  passing  doubtful  tricks, 
signaling,  forcing  a  partner,  etc., 
all  of  which  show  trump  strength, 
an  artifice  known  as  the  four-signal 
is  frequently  used." 

He  then  proceeds  to  describe  this 
convention,  and  also  the  trump- 
showing  leads,  for  a  time  adopted 
by  the  Hamilton  team,  under  Mr. 
Work's  leadership.  The  Capital 
Bicycle  Club  used  much  the  same 
idea  some  years  ago;  but,  continues 
Foster,  "I  think  the  system 
advocated  by  Mr.  E.  C.  Howell,  of 
Boston,  better  than  any  of  these. 
It  is  based  on  the  principle  that 
with  trump  strength  you  should 


give  your  partner  as  much  informa- 
tion as  possible  concerning  your 
best  suit,  whereas  with  weakness  in 
trumps  it  may  pay  you  to  conceal 
its  exact  character.  With  strong 
trumps  he  opens  the  game  in  reg- 
ular conventional  manner;  but 
with  weak  trumps  he  follows  a 
schedule  of  'reversed  leads.'  He 
gives  the  system  in  full  in  Whist, 
May,  1894.  The  'Albany  lead'  is  a 
strengthening  card  originally,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  showing  four 
trumps,  apart  from  any  other  indi- 
cation. The  objection  to  all  these 
systems  is  that  they  are  not  under 
control  of  the  judgment  of  the 
player.  If  he  gives  no  sign,  his 
partner  infers  negatively,  and  is 
misled.  The  advantage  of  the 
trump  signal  is  that  one  can  signal 
with  two  trumps,  if  he  wants 
trumps  led,  or  refrain  from  signaling 
with  ten,  if  he  feels  so  disposed. 
The  moment  you  compel  a  man  to 
play  whist  by  machinery,  you  de- 
stroy the  chief  beauty  of  the  game 
— individuality  of  thought  and  ex- 
pression." (See,  also,  "Trump- 
Showing  Leads.") 

Trump  Suit. — The  suit  to  which 
the  card  belongs  which  the  dealer 
last  dealt  from  the  pack  and  turned 
up,  in  the  regular  course  of  play; 
the  suit  whose  cards,  for  that  hand, 
will  take  the  cards  of  any  other 
suit  regardless  of  rank. 

Were  it  not  for  the  existence  of  the 
trump  suit,  whist  would  lose  a  great  por- 
tion of  its  charm  and  popularity,  and 
would  rank  much  lower  as  a  game  of 
skill.— E.  /.,  in  Westminster  Papers,  May 
/,  1878. 

"  Trumps." — A  pseudonym  used 
by  William  Brisbane  Dick,  who 
published  a  "  Handbook  of  Whist," 
New  York,  1884.  He  also  edited 
"The  American  Hoyle, "  published 
in  New  York  about  1863  (thir- 
teenth edition  in  1880),  and  the 


TRUMPS 


459 


TRUMPS 


"Pocket  Hoyle"  (1868).  In  speak- 
ing of  his  "  Standard  Hoyle," pub- 
lished about  1887,  W.  P.  Courtney 
says:  ' '  It  is  remarkable  through  the 
circumstance  that  the  contents  of 
the  sections  on  whist  are  innocent 
of  any  connection  with  Hoyle." 

Trumps. — The  cards  of  a  suit 
which  have  been  given  a  higher 
value  or  trick-taking  power  than 
the  three  remaining  suits,  by  the 
turning  of  the  trump  card  on  the 
part  of  the  dealer;  the  trump  suit. 

George  W.  Pettes  called  trumps 
"the  artillery  of  the  hand,"  and 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  in  carrying  out 
the  same  idea,  says:  "They  are 
the  ordnance — the  heavy  guns— in 
the  engagement,  and  after  you 
have  silenced  the  enemy  with 
them,  you  may  gather  in  the  fruits 
of  victory  with  your  established 
suits."  The  possession  of  great 
trump  strength  and  a  good  plain 
suit  means  victory.  As  Lowell 
said  of  Phoebus,  in  his  "Fable  for 
Critics,"  he  was 

Quite  irresistible, 

I^ike  a  man  with  eight   trumps  in  his 
hand  at  a  whist-table. 

The  main  uses  of  trumps  are:  To 
disarm  the  opponents,  to  make 
tricks  by  trumping,  and  to  play  and 
make  tricks  the  same  as  with  cards 
in  plain  suits.  By  exhausting  the 
adverse  trumps,  establishing  a 
strong  plain  suit,  and  regaining  the 
lead  and  bringing  it  in,  you  use 
trumps  to  the  best  possible  advan- 
tage. Trumps  are  also  used  to  ob- 
struct the  efforts  of  the  opponents 
to  bring  in  a  suit.  When  strong  in 
trumps  you  lead  them;  when  weak, 
you  endeavor  to  make  good  use  of 
what  you  have  by  trumping  in. 

It  is  important  to  count  the 
trumps  as  they  are  played,  in  order 
that  you  may  know  how  many  are 
still  unplayed.  Partner's  lead  of 


trumps  should,  as  a  rule,  be 
promptly  returned,  and  his  trump 
signal  responded  to  at  the  first  op- 
portunity. 

If  weak  in  trumps,  keep  guard  on  your 
adversaries'  suits.  If  strong,  throw  away 
from  them. — Thomas  Mathews  [L.  O.]. 
"Advice  to  the  Young  Whist-Player,"  1804. 

Always  return  your  partner's  lead  in 
trumps,  unless  the  card  he  led  shows  he 
only  intended  to  strengthen  your  hand, 
or  to  lead  through  an  honor. — H.  F.  Mor- 
gan [O.]. 

The  trump-lead  is  so  much  more  im- 
portant than  any  other,  that  you 
should  almost  always  return  your  part- 
ner's lead  of  trumps  immediately,  except 
he  has  led  from  weakness,  when  you  are 
not  bound  to  return  it  unless  it  suits  your 
hand. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.},  "Laws  and 
Principles  of  Whist." 

The  skill  of  a  whist-player  is  shown 
more,  perhaps,  by  his  aptitude  in  select- 
ing the  proper  moment  when  trumps 
should  be  led,  or  the  enemy's  strength  in 
trumps  reduced  by  forcing,  or  their  lead 
of  trumps  delayed  by  properly  placing 
the  lead,  than  by  any  other  part  of  whist 
strategy.—/?.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

If  the  trumps  remain  divided  between 
you  and  your  partner,  and  you  have  no 
winning  card  yourself,  it  is  good  play  to 
lead  a  small  trump,  to  put  in  his  hand  to 
play  off  any  that  he  may  have,  to  give 
you  an  opportunity  to  throw  away  your 
losing  cards. —  Thomas  Mathews  [L.  O.], 
"Advice  to  the  Young  Whist- Player." 

If  you  find  one  of  the  adversaries  with- 
out a  trump,  you  should  mostly  proceed 
to  establish  your  long  suit,  and  abstain 
from  drawing  two  trumps  for  one;  to  say 
nothing  of  the  probability  that  the  ad- 
versary who  has  not  renounced  is  unu- 
sually strong  in  trumps. — "Cavendish" 
[L.  A.~\,  "Laws  and  Principles  of  Whist," 

The  objection  evinced  by  a  great  ma- 
jority ot  players  to  part  with  their 
trumps  is  quite  incomprehensible.  They 
will  not  understand  that  the  grand  object 
is  not  to  make  as  many  tricks  in  trumps 
as  possible,  but  by  skillfully  wielding 
them,  to  establish  superiority  and  com- 
mand in  other  suits. — '' Lieutenant- Colonel 
B»  [L.  O.}. 

Trumps  are  the  controlling  factors  in 
the  game,  and  their  proper  handling  is  to 
every  whist-player,  no  matter  how  pro- 
ficient, a  matter  of  profound  mental  con- 
cern. They  are  the  ordnance— the  heavy 
guns— in  the  engagement,  and  after  you 
have  silenced  the  enemy  with  them  you 
may  gather  in  the  fruits  of  victory  with 
your  established  suits.*  *  *  If  you 


TRUMPS,  NOT  LEADING      460         TRUMPS,  REPEATING 


have  no  master  cards  to  make,  it  is,  as  a 
rule,  better  to  keep  your  batteries  masked 
for  the  middle  or  end  play,  or  until  the 
master  cards  have  declared  their  pres- 
ence in  partner's  hand.  *  *  *  With 
the  best  players,  trumps  are  used  only  for 
distinct  purposes.  The  object  in  leading 
trumps  must  be  apparent  iroin  the  hand 
or  developed  by  the  play. — C.  D.  P.  Ham- 
ilton [L.  A.},  "Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

Trumps,  Not  Leading. — While 
exceptional  hands  may  be  held 
from  which  an  expert  would  not 
lead  trumps  originally  if  holding 
five  with  an  honor,  players,  as  a 
rule,  are  admonished  by  the  au- 
thorities to  make  such  a  trump- 
lead  at  the  first  opportunity,  or  to 
signal  partner  to  lead.  The  im- 
portance of  making  the  lead  has 
been  frequently  and  solemnly  im- 
pressed upon  beginners  and  upon  a 
certain  class  of  players  who  might 
aptly  be  termed  trump-misers,  be- 
cause they  invariably  hoard  them 
up  until  the  close  of  the  hand,  un- 
less drawn  by  other  players.  "  Four 
you  may — five  you  must,"  is  a 
maxim  frequently  recited  for  their 
benefit. 

In  times  gone  by  women  whist- 
players  were  generally  suspected 
of  this  tendency  to  keep  back 
trumps,  and  the  London  Spectator 
once  related  the  story  of  an  emi- 
nent whist-player  who,  whenever 
he  found  himself  seated  at  the 
whist-table  with  ladies,  was  wont 
to  tell  them  the  following  tale  as  a 
kind  of  prologue  to  the  game:  "  I 
once  knew  a  lady  who  held  five 
trumps  in  her  hand,  and  who  failed 
to  lead  them.  She  ended  sadly," 
and  here  his  voice  sank  to  an  im- 
pressive whisper — "  she  died  in  the 
workhouse."  Whether  or  not  this 
precautionary  measure  was  attended 
with  success  tradition  does  not  say. 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  B.,"  in  his 
"Whist-Player"  (1856),  has  this: 
"  I  once  heard  a  first-rate  whist- 
player  say  that,  with  four  trumps 


in  your  hand,  it  was  mostly  right 
to  lead  them ;  but  that  he  who  held 
five,  and  did  not  lead  them,  was  fit 
only  for  a  lunatic  asylum." 

The  most  impressive  and  widely 
circulated  utterance  on  the  subject, 
however,  is  that  correctly  attributed 
to  James  Clay  (q.  v.}.  It  was  first 
published  in  "  Sans  Merci,"  a  pop- 
ular novel  in  its  day  in  England,  in 
which  Clay  appears  under  the  name 
of  Castlemame.  He  is  asked  by  a 
young  man,  who  has  just  lost 
heavily  on  a  game  (heavy  stakes 
being  then  the  rule  in  Europe), 
whether  with  knave,  five,  he  ought 
to  have  led  trumps.  "It  is  com- 
puted," replies  Castlemaine,  with 
great  calmness  and  dignity,  "that 
eleven  thousand  young  English- 
men, once  heirs  to  fair  fortunes, 
are  wandering  about  the  continent 
in  a  state  of  utter  destitution,  be- 
cause they  would  not  lead  trumps 
with  five  and  an  honor  in  their 
hand." 

"  When  you  have  five  trumps  it  Is  al- 
ways right  to  lead  them."  Tins  old  rule 
for  trump-leading  has  many  exceptions. 
*  *  *  It  is  nearly  always  right  to  lead 
trumps  when  the  trump  suit  is  your  only 
long  suit,  because  if  you  are  weak  in  all 
plain  suits  it  is  only  fair  to  presume  that 
your  partner  is  the  more  likely  to  be 
strong  in  them.  *  *  *  In  many  cases 
[where  just  five  trumps  are  held]  there  is 
a  better  lead  than  the  trump-lead  for  the 
original  lead.  Suppose  (as  original 
leader)  you  hold  five  trumps  (hearts), 
ace  and  four  small  diamonds,  two  small 
clubs,  and  a  small  spade.  You  should 
open  your  fourth-best  diamond  and  await 
developments.  Again,  you  hold  five 
trumps  (hearts),  ace,  king,  knave,  and 
small  diamonds,  two  small  each  in  spades 
and  clubs.  You  open  with  king  of  dia- 
monds, showing  your  suit,  then  a  trump, 
if  you  deem  it  best.  It  is  generally  best 
with  any  five  trumps  to  show  your  suit 
first,  especially  if  not  longer  than  five 
cards.— C".  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.A.],  "Modern 
Scientific  Whist." 

Trumps,  Repeating  the  Signal 
to  Show  Six. — A  player  who  sig- 
nals successively  in  two  different 
plain  suits  thereby  is  considered  by 


TRUMPS,  RETURNING        461  TRUMPS,  SHOWING 


some  to  show  his  partner  six  trumps. 
Milton  C.  Work  deems  the  play 
wise  for  those  who  do  not  desire,  in 
such  a  case,  to  use  the  plain-suit 
signal  (q.  v.)  in  the  second  suit 

Trumps,  Returning. — Careful 
attention  to  partner's  strength  or 
weakness  in  trumps,  and  prompt- 
ness in  returning  his  lead  of 
trumps,  or  in  leading  them  in  re- 
sponse to  his  signal,  marks  the 
modern  scientific  player  who  plays 
twenty-six  instead  of  thirteen  cards. 
The  bumblepuppist  who  plays  his 
hand  as  if  partner  did  not  exist, 
has  no  use  for  any  rule  in  this  or 
any  other  whist  matter. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  adhere  to 
any  iron-clad  rule,  and  say  that 
under  every  circumstance,  without 
exception,  partner's  trump-lead 
must  be  returned  instantly.  The 
general  rule  is  to  so  return  trumps, 
and  should  be  adhered  to  unless  an 
intelligent  and  excellent  reason  ex- 
ists for  not  so  doing.  For  instance, 
it  may  be  expedient  for  a  player 
holding  a  great  suit  to  show  this 
suit,  by  a  lead  from  it,  before  re- 
turning his  partner's  trump-lead. 
Hamilton  also  lays  down  the  fol- 
lowing cases  in  which  a  player 
would  be  justified  in  not  returning 
partner's  lead  of  trumps:  (i)  When 
partner  has  led  trumps  from  four 
simply  because  it  was  his  only  four- 
card  suit;  (2)  when  jrou  win  the 
trick  cheaply,  and  it  is  demon- 
strable that  your  right-hand  oppo- 
nent must  hold  over  your  partner 
with  a  strong  tenace;  (3)  when  an 
honor  is  turned  up  to  }7our  right, 
and  you  win  by  a  deep  finesse;  (4) 
when  partner  has  led  from  evident 
weakness  and  finds  you  weak. 

It  is  an  aphorism  of  traditional  respec- 
tability that  the  only  excuses  for  not  re- 
turning partner's  trump  are  a  fit  of 
apoplexy  or  not  having  any,  and  the  same 
applies  in  the  case  of  trumps  being  asked 
for.— Arthur  Campbell- Walker  [/,.  (?.]. 


In  the  first  place,  suppose  your  partner 
leads  trumps.  You  infer  that  he  wants  to 
get  them  put;  and  it  is  your  duty  to  help 
him  in  this  object.  Hence,  *  *  *  you 
are  bound  to  return  trumps  immediately. 
This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  imperative  of 
all  whist  rules.—  William  Pole  \L.  A+], 
"Philosophy  of  Whist." 

Trumps,  Showing  Number  of, 
After  a  Signal. — "When  a  player 
has  signaled,  and  his  partner  leads, 
in  answer  to  that  signal,  a  high 
trump  which  the  signaler  decides 
to  pass,"  says  Milton  C.  Work,  "  he 
by  one  method  plays  his  fourth  best 
in  order  to  most  accurately  show 
both  size  and  number,  while  by 
another  plan  he  makes  a  signal  in 
such  a  case  only  to  show  six  or 
more  trumps.  Some  players  object 
to  both  these  plays,  believing  it  to 
be  unwise.under  the  circumstances, 
to  give  any  accurate  information, 
as  the  suit  is  not  partner's,  and  one 
of  the  adversaries  may  be  strong  in 
it.  In  view  of  the  latter  possibil- 
ity, the  writer  doubts  the  wisdom 
of  always  playing  the  fourth  best, 
but  sees  no  harm  in  allowing  a 
player  the  option  of  showing  six  in 
such  case  by  a  signal,  if  for  any 
reason  he  thinks  it  wise  to  do  so." 

Trumps,  Showing  Number  of, 
by  Signal. — There  are  many  who 
believe  with  "Cavendish"  that 
every  system  of  showing  less  than 
four  trumps  by  signal  is  bad,  be- 
cause it  exposes  to  the  adversaries 
the  weakness  of  the  signaler's 
hand.  But  others  consider  that 
this  is  fully  compensated  for  by 
other  advantages,  and  especially 
the  knowledge  imparted  to  partner. 
Such  is  the  position  taken  by  W. 
S.  Fenollosa,  of  Salem,  Mass.,  who 
has  devised  a  system  of  showing  the 
number  of  trumps  when  partner 
has  led  or  signaled.  It  is  made  by 
utilizing  any  three  small  cards  in  a 
plain  suit  by  playing  them  in  the 
following  manner: 


TRUMPS,  SHOWING 


462 


TURN-UP 


PLAY. 

First  Trick. 

Second  Trick. 

Third  Trick. 

Two. 

Four. 

Six 

Two. 

Six. 

Four. 

Three  trumps    

Four. 

Six. 

Two. 

Four. 

Two. 

Six. 

Five  or  more  trumps  

Six. 

Four. 

Two. 

Milton  C.  Work,  in  his  "Whist 
of  To-day,"  tells  of  a  somewhat 
similar  scheme  which  he  adopted 
in  connection  with  the  four-signal, 


to  indicate  short  trumps,  and  four, 
five,  six,  and  seven  or  more.  The 
schedule  prepared  by  him  is  as 
follows: 


PLAY. 


First  Trick. 

Second  Trick. 

Third  Trick. 

Short  trumps  

Two. 

Four. 

Six 

Four  trumps  

Four. 

Six. 

Two. 

Four. 

Two. 

Six. 

Six  trumps  

Six. 

Two. 

Four. 

Seven  or  more  trumps  

Six. 

Four. 

Two. 

About  the  same  period  a  good  deal  of 
Ingenuity  was  expended  in  in  venting  sys- 
tems to  show  two,  three,  or  four  trumps. 
They  may  be  briefly  dismissed.  The  an- 
swer to  most  of  them  (with  the  exception 
of  the  sub-echo)  is,  that  exhibition  of 
weakness  in  trumps  is  more  likely  to  be 
of  advantage  to  the  adversaries  than  to 
the  exhibitor.  —  "Cavendish."  [L.  A.], 
Scribner's  Magazine,  July,  1897. 

Trumps,  Showing  Number  of, 
on  Adversary's  Lead. — Here  is 
another  elaboration  of  the  trump- 
showing  ideas  of  modern  whist,  as 
described  by  Milton  C.  Work  in  his 
"  Whist  of  To-day:"  ' '  As  there  are 
occasions  when  it  is  advantageous 
to  show  the  number  of  trumps  held 
by  the  player  when  the  adversary 
is  leading  (such  as  when  the  lead  is 
probably  a  weak  one,  or  when  it  is 
known,  by  reason  of  an  honor 
turned,  that  the  partner  will  win 
the  second  trick,  and  there  is  a  suit 


the  player  can  ruff),  it  has  been 
suggested  that  an  echo  on  the  ad- 
versary's lead  of  trumps  should 
show  no  more.  The  play  is  not  re- 
commended as  a  universal  rule,  as 
the  information  it  gives  is  apt  to  be 
of  more  value  to  the  adversary  than 
to  the  partner.  *  *  *  The  prac- 
tical difficulty  would  be  to  have 
two  partners  understand  just  when 
it  was  to  be  used  and  when  not. 
For  this  reason  it  seems  a  danger- 
ous innovation." 

Turf    Club. —  See,    "Arlington 
Club." 

Turning  Trump.— See,  "Trump 
Card." 

Turn -Up. — The  jlast  card  of  a 
deal  turned  and  p  aced  face  up  on 


TWELFTH  CARD 


463 


TWO-SPOT 


the  table,  where  it  is  allowed  to  re- 
main during  the  first  round;  the 
trump  card.  (See,  "  Trump  Card." ) 

Sometimes  the  turn-up,  or  trump-card, 
is  thrown  down  without  being  turned  up 
or  shown;  this  card  is  of  such  importance 
that  the  punishment  of  making  the  deal 
lost  cannot  be  dispensed  with  in  this 
case.  —  Deschapelles  [O.],  "Traite  du 
Whiste,"  Article 31. 

As  the  dealer  has  no  right  to  show  the 
turn-up  card  before  it  is  turned,  he  has 
still  less  right  to  look  at  it  himself.  He  is 
then  more  guilty  than  another  in  yielding 
to  a  spirit  of  caviling;  he  deserves  a  more 
severe  punishment,  and  we  have  inflicted 
it  on  him  by  making  him  lose  his  deal. — 
Deschapelles  [O.],  "Traitedu  Whiste." 

Twelfth   Card. — One  of  the  two 

cards  remaining  in  a  suit  after 
eleven  have  been  played.  If  the 
lower  one  is  in  your  right-hand  ad- 
versary's hand,  the  lead  of  the  win- 
ning twelfth  will  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity for  partner  to  discard  or 
overtrump.  In  case  it  is  the  lower 
card,  it  can  be  led  for  the  purpose 
of  throwing  the  lead.  If  both  are 
held  by  yourself  and  partner, 
neither  should  be  led  until  the  ad- 
verse trumps  are  first  exhausted. 

The  twelfth  card  may  be  either  a  master 
or  a  losing  card  of  anv  two  cards  of  a  suit 
in  play.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.],  "Mod- 
ern Scientific  Whist." 

If  no  trumps  are  in,  the'twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth are  led  at  once.  If  the  leader  has 
the  best  he  leads  it,  if  trumps  are  out;  if 
trumps  are  not  all  out,  he  may  lead  it 
through  the  best  trump  on  his  left,  or 
through  the  losing  trump  on  his  left,  if 
he  knows  that  partner  can  overtrump. — 
Fisher  Ames  \L.  A.].  "Practical  Guide  to 
Whist." 

When  it  is  the  best,  and  you  know  D 
has  the  smaller,  the  twelfth  will  of  course 
win,  unless  trumped  by  C.  But  you  run  a 
risk  in  playing  this  card  of  a  discard  from 
C,  that  may  very  much  influence  your 
next  lead.  For  this  reason  much  care 
must  be  taken  in  the  management  of  the 
twelfth.— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.],  "Ameri- 
can Whist  Illustrated." 

Before  you  play  a  twelfth  card,  whether 
it  be  the  best  or  not  the  best,  note  whether 
you  hold  any  winning  cards  which  you 
can  make  before  leading  the  twelfth  card, 
and  which  a  discard  from  the  adversary 
might  prevent  your  making.  When  the 


twelfth  card  which  you  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  playing  is  the  lower  of  the  two 
remaining,  or  if  the  thirteenth  card  be  lo- 
cated in  the  hand  of  your  left  adversary, 
*  *  *  the  play  of  the  twelfth  card  is 
dangerous,  unless  you  want  to  give  your 
partner  the  chance  of  making  a  trump, 
which  chance  might  not  otherwise  occur. 
— A.  W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The  Art  of 
Practical  Whist." 

Two-Handed    Whist.— See, 

"  Double-Dummy,"  and  "  German 
Whist." 

Two-Spot. — A  card  containing 
two  spots  or  pips;  the  deuce;  the 
lowest  card  in  the  pack. 

In  the  system  of  American  leads 
it  figures  as  a  fourth-best  lead,  and 
in  the  Ho  well  (short-suit)  system  it 
indicates  the  long-suit  game  and 
commands  partner,  if  he  gets  in 
early,  to  lead  trumps — sharing  this 
distinction  with  the  five,  four,  and 
three.  The  two-spot  is  also  fre- 
quently useful  in  completing  a 
trump-signal  or  echo,  and  when  the 
suit  to  which  it  belongs  is  estab- 
lished, it  frequently  rises  to  the 
highest  dignity  as  a  trick-taker. 
Similarly,  when  it  forms  one  of  the 
trump-suit,  it  is  higher  than  an  ace 
in  plain  suits. 

I'm  just  a  little  two-spot, 

And  yet  I'd  like  to  tell 
Of  uses  I  am  put  to 

By  people  who  play  well. 

If  first  I  make  my  entree 
Each  one  will  understand 

The  leader  has  no  long  suit, 
But  only  four  in  hand. 

If  I  should  make  my  bow  when 
A  high  card's  first  been  played, 

The  hand  for  trumps  is  calling, 
I<et  them  not  be  delayed. 

When  once  a  suit's  established, 
Trumps  out  and  you  have  me, 

I  am 'a  sure  trick-taker 
As  any  card  can  be. 

Yes,  I'm  a  little  two^spot 

With  many  a  special  use; 
Pray,  heed  what  I  have  told  you, 

In  giving  them  the  deuce. 
—Margaretta  Wetherill  Wallace. 


TWO  FOR  ONE 


464 


UNBLOCKING 


Two  Trumps  for  One. — Draw- 
ing two  trumps  for  one  is  one  of  the 
resources  of  whist  strategy,  fre- 
quently made  use  of  and  highly 
commended.  When  a  player  finds 
his  partner  without  trumps,  this  is 
one  of  the  best  uses  to  which  he  can 
put  whatever  trump-strength  he 
himself  possesses.  If  he  cannot 
exhaust,  he  may  at  least  weaken, 
his  opponents,  especially  if  his  own 
trumps  are  trick- winners. 

Unblocking.— Getting  rid  of  the 
commanding  card,  or  cards,  of 
partner's  long  plain  suit,  when  you 
hold  a  less  number  of  the  same 
suit,  thereby  enabling  him  to  keep 
or  regain  the  lead  and  make  the 
most  out  of  his  suit.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  helping  him  to  get  into  the 
lead  again,  you  retain  your  small- 
est card,  if  you  held  exactly  four 
in  the  suit,  playing  third  best  on 
the  first  round,  second  best  on 
second  round  (unless  calling  for 
trumps),  and  highest  on  third 
round. 

This  play  is  almost  as  old  as  whist 
itself,  Hoyle  having  illustrated  its 
theory  and  practice  in  a  number  of 
positions.  It  had  fallen  into  great 
neglect,  however,  until  taken  up, 
improved,  and  brought  into  promi- 
nence by  "Cavendish,"  in  1885. 
In  his  book  on  "  American  Leads" 
he  first  called  it  the  "plain-suit 
echo,"  but  this  was  changed  to 
"unblocking  game"  in  subsequent 
editions,  as  the  more  appropriate 
designation.  The  unblocking  game, 
according  to  "  Cavendish,"  applies 
only  when  ace,  queen,  jack,  or  ten 
is  led  originally,  and  the  third  hand 
(the  one  to  unblock)  holds  four 
cards  of  the  suit  exactly,  all  of 
them  lower  than  the  one  led. 
When  the  king  is  led  originally  it 
indicates  a  suit  of  four,  and  on  this 
the  third  hand  does  not  unblock 
unless  he  holds  the  ace.  Otherwise 


he  plays  his  lowest  on  the  first 
round,  unless  obviously  and  neces- 
sarily trying  to  win  the  trick. 

It  is  in  the  matter  of  failing  to 
unblock  on  the  king-lead  that 
"  Cavendish's"  system  has  been 
strongly  objected  to  by  Foster  and 
others.  They  make  no  exception, 
and  treat  the  king-lead  the  same  as 
any  other  high-card  lead,  unblock- 
ing and  retaining  their  lowest  card 
when  holding  exactly  four. 

This  order  of  play  is  sometimes,  but  in- 
correctly, called  "the  plain-suit  echo." — 
Charles  E.  Coffin  [L.  A.],  "The  Gist  of 

This  is  the  art  of  knowing  when  a  card 
that  you  hold  in  your  partner's  suit  may 
prevent  him  from  making  his  established 
small  cards,  and  so  getting  rid  of  it  at  the 
right  moment.—^.  F.  Foster  \S.  O.], 
"Whist  Tactics." 

When  a  player  leads  a  card  which  indi- 
cates that  he" holds,  or  may  hold,  five  of 
the  suit,  his  partner  holding  four  should 
play  his  third  best.  This  is  known  as  the 
unblocking  game.  The  purpose  of  the 
play  is  both  to  unblock  partner's  suit,  if 
necessary,  and  also  to  show  that  you  hold 
four  of  his  suit. —  Whist  [L.  A.],  June, 
rf». 

There  is  no  novelty  in  this  play.  It  is 
as  old  as  Hoyle,  but  it  is  strangely  ne- 
glected by  modern  players.  *  *  *  A 
rnust  further  bear  in  mind  that  unblock- 
ing on  the  first  round  is  only  attempted 
when  B  holds  four  of  the  suit  exactly.  A 
must  not  therefore  assume,  because  B 
plays,  say,  the  deuce  to  the  ace,  that  B 
has  but  two  or  three  of  the  suit.  B  may 
hold  five,  or  more.  The  only  certainty  is 
that  B  did  not  originally  hold  four 
exactly.  —  "Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  "Whist 
Developments"  1891. 

When  you  see  that  your  high  card  of 
partner's  suit  is  going  to  take  the  third 
trick,  for  instance,  and  you  have  no  way 
of  giving  him  the  lead,  and  it  is  evident 
that  if  your  high  card  were  out  of  the  way 
he  could  make  one  more  trick  in  the  suit, 
y9u  should  throw  your  high  card  on  his 
higher  one,  or  get  rid  of  it  on  a  discard  if 
possible,  to  get  out  of  his  way.  Too  little 
attention  is  usually  paid  to  this  point. 
Get  rid  of  the  control  of  partner's  suit. 
Keep  that  of  opponents'  and  trumps  as 
long  as  possible. — Fisher  Ames  [L.  A.}. 

This  preserves  in  the  third  hand  a  low 
card,  which  the  original  leader  can  al- 
ways take  if  led  to  him,  or  which  will  not 
block  his  long  suit  if  be  is  in  the  lead  him- 


'  UNBLOCKING 


465 


UNDERPLAY 


self.  If  the  highest  card  is  kept  until  the 
last  it  may  prevent  the  original  leader 
from  bringing  in  several  smaller  cards 
•which  he  may  have  established.  The 
original  leader  can  usually  detect  the  un- 
blocking, and  for  that  reason  it  is  called  a 
plain-suit  echo,  for  it  shows  him  that  his 
partner  has  four  cards  of  the  suit.  —  Val. 
W.  Starnes  [S.  O.],  "Short-Suit  Whist." 

If  the  partner  is  a  long-suit  player,  and 
you  have  four  cards  exactly  of  a  suit  of 
which  he  leads  originally  the  king,  keep 
the  lowest  of  your  four,  and  play  your 
third  best,  no  matter  what  four  cards 
they  are.  "  Cavendish"  does  not  agree 
with  this  rule,  and  prefers  to  change  the 
entire  system  of  leads  rather  than  un- 
block on  a  king  led.  I  regret  that  I  am 
unable  to  agree  with  him  in  his  analysis 
of  the  position,  as  this  is  one  of  the  few 
points  on  which  the  master  and  his  dis- 
ciple have  seriously  differed.—  .tf.  F.  Foster 
[S.  O.],  "Whist  Strategy:' 

There  are  but  comparatively  few  cases 
in  which  it  is  necessary  to  at  once,  on  the 
original  lead  of  the  suit,  start  to  unblock. 
These  cases,  however,  are  important  and 
easily  mastered.  With  exactly  four  cards 
of  a  suit  which  your  partner  opens,  unless 
his  original  leads  show  but  four,  you  may 
play  your  third  best  on  the  first  trick, 
your  second  best  on  the  second  trick  (un- 
less in  either  instance  you  have  to  play 
your  best  in  order  to  try  to  win  the  trick), 
and  on  the  third  trick  you  can  play  your 
highest  or  lowest,  as  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation  demand.  —  Milton  C.  Work  \L. 
A.  H.~[,  "Whist  of  To-day." 

In  the  Fieldof  October  u,  1884,  appeared 
the  first  of  nine  articles  on  "The  Play  of 
Third  Hand,"  a  masterly  and  exhaustive 
piece  of  whist  analysis,  by  which  "  Cav- 
endish" reduced  the  unblocking  plav  to  a 
system,  called  by  him  the  "plain-suit 
echo."  This  consists  in  retaining  the 
lowest  card  of  your  partner's  long  suit, 
when  you  hold  four  exactly,  by  which 
play  you  often  clear  his  suit,  and  gain  one 
or  more  tricks  for  the  partnership.  This, 
together  with  American  leads,  and  the 
new  play  of  not  covering  an  honor  (ex- 
cept, of  course,  with  the  ace),  as  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  Pole,  was  embodied  by 
"Cavendish"  in  his  well-known  work, 
"Whist  Developments."  published  in 
188.5.—  N.  B.  Trist  [L.  A.},  Harper's  Mag- 
azine, March,  1891. 

He  ["Cavendish"]  accordingly  devised, 
by  a  masterly  process  of  reasoning,  a  way 
by  which,  if  my  partner  uses  ordinary 
care,  he  could  see  beforehand  when  his 
high  card  would  be  likely  to  be  obstruct- 
ive, and  might  get  rid  of  it  in  time.  This 


. 

he  called  "  unblocking,"  and  the  proces 
by  which  it  was  effected  the  "  unblockin 
game."  It  was  published  in  his  "  Whist 


Developments,"  in  1885.  It  depended  al- 
most entirely  on  the  indications  given,  by 
the  American  leads,  as  to  the  number  of 
cards  held.  *  *  *  "  Cavendish"  de- 
vised the  following  short  rule  for  un- 
blocking purposes:  When  your  partner 
leads  originally  either  ace,  queen,  knave, 
ten,  or  nine  (not  the  king),  and  you  hold 
exactly  four  cards  of  the  suit,  retain  your 
lowest  card  on  the  first  and  second  rounds. 
—  William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolution  of 
Whist." 

The  unblocking  game  only  applies 
when  ace,  queen,  knave,  or  ten  is  led 
originally,  and  the  third  hand  holds  four 
cards  of  the  suit  exactly,  all  lower  than 
the  one  led.  Therefore,  when  king,  or 
nine,  or  a  lower  card  is  led  originally,  if 
B  does  not  attempt  to  win  the  first  trick, 
he  plays  his  lowest  card,  whatever  num- 
ber of  "cards  he  holds  in  the  suit.  *  *  * 
If  the  king  is  led,  and  B  does  not  hold  the 
ace,  B  should  not  attempt  to  unblock,  as 
the  lead  is  from  four  cards  only.  What- 
ever the  number  or  value  of  his  small 
cards,  B  must  play  his  lowest  to  the  king. 
*  *  *  When  a  low  card  is  led  origi- 
nally. B's  play  proceeds  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  lead  is  at  least  from  four 
cards,  three  of  them  being  higher  than 
the  card  led.  When  the  third  hand  has 
at  most  three  of  the  suit  his  play  is  obvi- 
ously to  head  the  trick  if  he  can:  other- 
wise to  play  his  lowest  card,  unless  he 
calls  for  trumps. — "Cavendish"  [L.  A.], 
"  Whist  Developments,"  i8gi. 

Underplay. — A  kind  of  finesse 
•which  consists  in  leading  a  smaller 
card  when  the  conventional  play 
would  be  to  lead  the  best,  which  is 
concealed  in  the  hand  and  retained 
for  more  effective  use  later  on. 
Underplay  is  also  employed  to 
throw  the  lead,  by  holding  up  the 
best  card  and  allowing  another 
player  to  win  the  trick.  (See,  also, 
>' Holding  Up.") 

Underplay  is  often  effectively 
used  toward  the  end  of  a  hand  to 
make  a  much-needed  trick.  Any 
player  at  the  table  may  employ  it 
in  a  well-calculated  effort  to  make 
a  trick  or  more  than  ordinary  play 
would  give  him.  It  requires  skill, 
however,  to  make  it  succeed. 

What  is  called  underplay  is  usually 
adopted  in  order  to  gain  command  of  a 
suit.— R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.}. 


30 


UNDERTRUMPING 


466 


UP  AND  DOWN 


Underplay  is  a  powerful  weapon,  but  if 
the  adversary  is  alert  it  seldom  succeeds. 
— R.  F.  Foster  [5.  <?.],  "  Whist  Tactics." 

The  prospect  of  making  the  eleventh, 
twelfth,  and  thirteenth  tncks  is  the  usual 
incentive. — "Aquarius"  [£.  <?.],  "The 
Hands  at  Whist." 

Properly  manipulated,  underplay  can 
be  made  serviceable.  But  probable  suc- 
cess demands  keen  management.— G.  W. 
Pettes  [L.  A.  P.],  "American  Whist  Illus- 
trated." 

This  is  sometimes  advantageous  in 
trumps,  or  in  plain  suits  when  strong  in 
trumps,  or  when  trumps  are  out,  but  such 
a  ruse  must  be  used  sparingly  and  with 
care.— Arthur  Campbell- Walker  [L.  O.]. 

It  is  a  very  obvious  ruse,  and  therefore 
a  favorite  with  moderate  players,  who 
rarely  lose  an  occasion  of  employing  it. 
Yet  it  should  be  used  sparingly  and  with 
care.  A  trick  too  often  played  is  sus- 
pected and  defeated.  In  trumps  this 
manoeuvre,  like  all  others,  is  much  more 
justifiable  than  in  the  common  suits,  in 
which  it  is  dangerous. — James  Clay  [L. 
0+]. 

To  successfully  underplay,  you  must 
have  a  keen  perception,  and  a  full  under- 
standing of  the  situation.  *  *  *  There 
is  more  merit  in  gaining  a  single  trick — 
by  well-judged  underplay  or  any  other 
species  of  finesse — that  does  not  by  com- 
mon play  belong  to  the  cards  than  there 
is  in  winning  a  thousand  games  with 
master  hands.— C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.], 
"Modern  Scientific  Whist." 

Suppose  you  hold  ace,  queen,  and  a 
small  card  in  hearts,  your  left-hand  ad- 
versary leads  the  two  of  hearts,  your 
partner  plays  six,  third  player  plays 
knave,  and  you  win  with  queen.  You 
now  may  fairly  conclude  that  neither 
king  nor  ten  is  in  the  hand  of  your  right 
adversary.  Your  partner  may  hold  one 
or  both  of  these,  but  he  may  hold  the  ten, 
and  left  adversary  the  king.  If  you  play 
out  your  ace,  the  king  must  make  next 
round.  If,  however,  you  play  your  small 
heart,  left-hand  adversary,  believing  the 
ace  to  be  to  his  left,  will  probably  not  play 
his  king  second  in  hand.  Then  if  partner 
holds  the  ten  it  makes,  and  your  ace  still 
is  held  over  the  king.  This  is  termed  un- 
derplay.—/!. W.  Drayson  [L+A+],  "The 
Art  of " Practical  Whist." 

Undertrumping. — This  strata- 
gem consists  in  playing  a  low 
trump  on  a  higher  one  with  which 
partner  has  already  trumped  the 
trick,  the  sacrifice  being  made  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  lead 


tinder  certain  circumstances  when 
to  obtain  it  would  be  more  disad- 
vantageous. (See,  "  Grand  Coup.") 

Unscientific  Play.  — Play  in 
which  the  science  of  combining  the 
hands  and  making  the  most  out  of 
them  by  partnership  is  ignored; 
haphazard  or  ignorant  play;  bum- 
blepuppy. 

Unscientific  whist— whist  where  there 
is  no  co-operation,  and  each  of  the  four 
adversaries  strives  for  tricks— is  as  near 
no  game  as  it  is  possible  to  imagine. — C. 
D.  P.  Hamilton  [L.  A.]. 

Up-and-Back  Game. — At  dupli- 
cate whist,  the  original  and  the  over- 
play of  an  agreed-upon  number  of 
hands,  at  a  sitting.  By  the  up-and- 
back  game  (especially  at  mnemo- 
nic or  single-table  duplicate)  the 
players  possessing  the  best  memo- 
ries are  sometimes  able  to  gain  a 
decided  advantage  by  remembering 
the  special  features  of  certain 
hands  when  they  receive  them  for 
the  duplicate  or  overplay. 

For  instance,  it  may  be  agreed  to  play 
twelve  hands,  "  up-and-back."  The  com- 
pletion of  the  number  agreed  on  ends  the 
play.—/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  <?.],  "Duplicate 
Whist,"  1894. 

Memorizing  the  hands  has  become  such 
an  intolerable  nuisance,  that  many 
players  in  our  leading  clubs  will  no  longer 
)lay  the  up-and-back  game.  —  Whist 
L.  A.],  September,  1896. 


I 


Up  and  Down.— The  idea  of 
playing  long  suits  not  headed  by  a 
sequence  up,  and  weak  suits  down, 
is  one  which  dates  back  to  the 
early  days  of  whist.  To-day  it  is  a 
principle  of  play  generally  recog- 
nized by  long-suit  players,  who, 
when  leading  from  a  long  suit 
which  contains  no  combination 
from  which  a  high  card  should  be 
led,  begin  with  the  fourth  best,  and 
then  shape  their  plav  so  that,  with 
partner's  help,  the  high  cards  in  the 
adversaries'  hands  may  be  gotten 


VALUE  OF  GOOD  PLAY        467         VIENNA  GRAND  COUP 


out  of  the  way.  Forced  leads  are, 
•with  rare  exceptions,  made  from 
the  top  of  short  suits,  and  the  suits 
are  played  down.  This  does  not 
interfere  with  the  trump-signal, 
which  is  also  played  down  ( i.  e. ,  a 
higher  card  being  followed  by  a 
lower  one),  because  it  is  generally 
made  with  very  small  cards,  and 
never  by  the  original  leader.  (See, 
also,  "  Top  of  Nothing,  Lead  from 
the.") 


Playing  strong  suits  u] 
down  is  based  on  a  func 
pie  of  the  game — that  of 
suits  to  the  partner  and 
suits  in  your  own  hand, 
derlying  principle  of  the  ' 
game.—  R.  F.  Foster  \S. 
Sun,  December  12,  1 


>  and  -weak  suits 
.amental  princi- 
sacrificing  weak 
keeping  strong 

This  is  the  un- 
'top-of-nothing" 

O.],  New  York 


Value  of  Good  Play. — It  was  to 

ascertain  the  value  of  good  play  as 
opposed  to  bad  that  "  Cavendish" 
and  his  friends,  in  1857,  undertook 
an  experiment  which  proved  to  be 
the  beginning  of  duplicate  whist 
(q.  v. ).  This  mode  of  play  is  the 
best  test  yet  devised,  although  the 
value  of  good  play  must  also,  to  a 
certain  extent,  manifest  itself  in 
the  long  run  in  straight  whist.  For 
instance,  out  of  30,668  rubbers, 
played  from  January,  1860,  to  De- 
cember, 1878,  "  Cavendish"  gained 
in  all  4431  points,  and  Proctor, 
commenting  on  this,  says  it  is  prac- 
tically impossible  that  so  large  a 
balance  in  his  favor  should  be  due 
to  mere  chance.  The  difference 
must  have  been  due  to  good  play. 
(See,  also,  "Chances  at  Whist," 
and  "Skill.") 

Varian,  S.  T. — The  inventor  of 
"whist  cards  for  practice"  upon 
which  a  patent  was  granted  him, 
June  13,  1893.  Ifl  that  year  ne  be- 
came  greatly  interested  in  the  mod- 
ern scientific  game,  and  especially 
American  leads,  and  made  notes  in 
a  condensed  form  for  his  own  use. 


These  he  subsequently  published  in 
47-page  form,  under  the  name  of 
"American  Whist  Condensed." 
Mr.  Varian  resides  at  East  Orange, 
N.  J.  ( See,  ' '  Whist  Patents. ' ') 

Vautre,  Baron  de. — A  French 
whist-player  and  author,  whose 
book,  "  G£nie  du  Whist,"  was 
published  in  1843.  In  this  book 
he  announces  that  he  teaches  the 
mode  of  playing  with  twenty-six 
cards,  and  not  with  thirteen;  in 
other  words,  he  inculcated  partner- 
ship play,  being  one  of  the  very 
first  to  recognize  its  great  value. 
He  was  a  general  in  the  French 
army — it  is  thought  the  same  artil- 
lery officer  who  composed  the  first 
rhyming  rules  which  inspired  Dr. 
Pole  to  make  his  famous  effort 
in  English.  (See,  ' '  Rhyming 
Rules.") 

General  de  Vautre,  author  of  a  treatise 
on  "Le  G6nie  du  Whist,"  was  promi- 
nent among  whist-players,  but  this  dis- 
tinction brought  its  pain  with  it.  The 
drop  of  bitterness  which  rises  from  the 
midst  of  the  fountain  of  bliss,  seemed  to 
spoil  the  whole  draught.  He  used  bitterly 
to  complain  that  more  than  one  of  his 
friends  declined  to  sit  down  at  the  same 
card-table  with  him,  and  the  reason 
which  they  gave  was:  "  If  I  am  your 
partner  I  get  scolded;  as  your  adversary  I 
lose."-Jf./>.  Courtney  [L  +  O.~\,  "English 
Whist." 

Vice-Tenace.  —  A  combination 
of  cards  which  will  become  a  ten- 
ace  in  effect  if  certain  cards  fall  on 
the  first  round  of  the  suit;  as,  ace, 
jack;  ace,  ten,  etc.  So  named  by 
Val.  W.  Starnes  in  his  "Short-Suit 
Whist." 

Vienna  Grand  Coup. — The  story 
goes  that  one  of  the  most  celebra- 
ted whist-players  of  Vienna,  while 
playing  a  game  of  double-dummy 
in  one  of  the  clubs  of  that  city,  had 
a  phenomenal  hand  dealt  to  him, 
which  led  to  a  curious  bet.  The 
deal  was  as  follows: 


VIENNA  GRAND  COUP        468       WAGER-SMITH,  MRS.  E. 


A's  HAND. 

*  A,    2. 

^?    6. 

*  A,  K,  Q,  5. 

0    A,  Q,  6,  5,  4,  2. 

Y's  HAND. 

*  K,  8. 

V    io,  9,  5,  4,  3. 

*  8,  7,  2. 
0    J,  io-  7- 


B's  HAND. 

*  J,  io,  6. 

<y   A,  K,  Q,  J,  2. 

+    6,  4,  3. 
0    8,  3. 

Z's  HAND. 

*  9,  7,  5,  4,  3,  2- 
<9  8,  7. 

*  J,  io,  9. 
0  K,  9. 


The  ten  of  clubs  was  turned  by 
Z.  On  seeing  the  cards  exposed 
the  gentleman  who  had  to  play  the 
hands  A-B  exclaimed,  "I  shall 
make,  with  my  dummy,  all  the 
thirteen  tricks. "  There  were  large 
bets  made  on  the  game,  as  all  of 
Y  and  Z's  suits  were  guarded 
with  the  exception  of  trumps.  A, 
however,  won,  the  play  being  as 
follows  (the  underlined  card  win- 
ning the  trick,  and  the  card  under 
it  being  led  next) : 


to 

I 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 

2 
3 

4 

5 
6 
7 
3 
9 
IO 
11 
12 
13 

*  A 

*  2 

*7 

*  8 

<?  3 
8  * 
<?  4 
V  5 
V  Q 
VIO 
8  0 

100 

J  0 
K* 

*  3 
*  4 
*  6 
3  0 
6  » 
<3  J 

*  9 
+  10 

*  J 
V  7 
2  * 
<2  8 
3  * 
4  * 
5  * 
7  * 
9  0 
KO 
9  A 

+  K 

*_Q 

*  5 

A  * 

<?  6 
Q  * 

2  0 
4  0 
5  0 
QO 
A  0 
6  0 

<2  A 

<3  K 

V  Q 

V  2 

7  0 
10* 
J   * 

The  key  to  this  problem,  interesting  as 
having  occurred  in  actual  play — though 
we  venture  to  demur  to  the  statement 
that  the  holder  of  the  winning  hands  said 


he  should  make  every  trick  as  soon  as  he 
had  seen  the  hands — consists  iu  forcing  the 
opposite  hands  to  discard  from  one  or 
other  of  the  suits  which  seem  to  be  per- 
fectly guarded.  A  takes  out  three  rounds 
in  trumps,  then  leads  his  small  trump. 
If  now  second  player  discards  either  a 
spade  or  a  diamond  there  is  no  difficulty, 
as  he  thereby  unguards  the  -suit  from 
which  he  discards.  If  second  player  dis- 
cards a  heart  at  the  fourth  round  he 
equally  unguards  that  suit,  but  owing  to 
the  position  of  the  other  two  suits  it 
would  not  do  for  A  now  to  lead  a  heart. 
He  must  first  lead  the  ace  of  spades,  then 
a  heart,  discarding  queen  of  spades  at  first 
opportunity.  The  rest  is  obvious.  One  of 
the  features  of  this  double-dummy  puzzle 
is  that  it  is  easy  to  suppose  one  has  solved 
it  when  one  really  has  not. — K.  A.  Proctor 
[L.  0.],  "How  to  Play  Whist." 

Visiting  Team. — The  challengers 
in  a  whist  match.  They  must  meet 
the  challenged  team  upon  the  lat- 
ter's  ground.  The  latter  is  usually 
spoken  of  as  the  home  team. 

Void. — Having  failed  to  receive 
any  cards  of  a  certain  suit  in  the 
deal,  a  player  is  said  to  be  void  in 
that  suit.  When  he  has  played  all 
that  were  dealt  to  him,  he  is  ex- 
hausted. 

Wager-Smith,    Mrs.   Elizabeth. 

— A  graceful  and  versatile  writer  on 
whist  subjects  (chiefly  historical), 
and  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
woman's  whist  movement  in  Phila- 
delphia. Mrs.  Wager-Smith  played 
whist  as  a  child,  and  was  selected 
by  three  elderly  whist-players  as 
worthy  of  their  attention.  General 
Thomas  Besant  was  her  partner  and 
coach,  and  so  well  was  she  drilled 
in  the  game  that  she  was  always 
chosen  as  a  partner  by  those  who 
knew  her  play.  This  continued 
later  in  her  search  for  health  in 
Illinois,  Boston,  Canada,  Florida, 
and  elsewhere.  She  first  studied 
American  leads  in  Texas,  in  1889, 
and  joined  a  ladies'  whist  club 
there,  making  the  highest  score  of 
the  season.  She  was  threatened 
with  loss  of  sight  in  1894,  and  this 


WAITING  GAME 


469         WALLACE,  MRS.  H.  E. 


stopped  all  whist  activity  for  a 
time. 

Mrs.  Wager-Smith  organized  the 
Kate  Wheelock  Whist  Club,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  represented  that 
club  at  the  first  congress  of  the 
Woman's  Whist  League,  in  whose 
organization  she  was  also  active. 
She  wrote  and  published  in  the 
Philadelphia  Inquirer,  in  October, 
1896,  an  appeal  to  the  whist-playing 
women  of  the  city  to  call  an  initial 
meeting  with  the  object  of  forming 
a  league.  She  has  given  innumer- 
able talks  to  players,  and  written 
on  the  literary  side  of  whist  and  its 
history  for  the  Inquirer,  Bulletin, 
Press,  and  Times,  of  Philadelphia. 
She  is  also  a  regular  contributor  to 
Whist. 

Waiting     Game.— One    of     the 

chief  forms  of  short-suit  strategy, 
especially  when  the  player  holds 
tenace  strength;  the  tenace  game. 
Generally  speaking,  a  backward 
game;  the  game  of  the  weak  hand; 
a  defensive  game. 

'   Wallace,  Mrs.  Henry  Edward. — 

Among  the  many  women  who  de- 
vote their  talents  to  the  advance- 
ment of  whist,  Mrs.  Wallace 
(widely  known  through  her  writ- 
ings on  the  game  as  Margaretta 
Wetherill  Wallace)  occupies  an 
eminent  place.  She  is  equally  at 
home  in  prose  and  verse,  and  is 
also  well  and  favorably  known  as  a 
whist-teacher.  She  had  played 
whist  for  twenty  years,  when,  in 
1893,  she  began  its  scientific  study. 
After  taking  four  or  five  lessons  she 
had  so  thoroughly  mastered  the 
modern  ideas  on  the  game  that  she 
wrote  her  "American  Leads  in 
Rhyme"  (see,  "Rhyming  Rules") 
to  help  a  friend  who  had  found  dif- 
ficulty in  learning  the  leads  from 
the  books.  The  rhymes  were 
printed  for  private  circulation 


among  friends,  and  subsequently 
found  their  way  into  the  press,  and 
were  reprinted  in  many  cities. 

Possessing  the  gift  of  versification 
and  a  ready  wit,  Mrs.  Wallace  next 
turned  her  attention  to  composing 
satirical  rhymes  on  the  fads  of  the 
day  and  the  idiosyncrasies  of  mod- 
ern whist-players,  always  aiming 
at  principles,  however,  rather  than 
at  individuals.  Her  humorous 
skits  were  published  from  time  to 
time  in  Whist,  beginning  with 
1894,  and  were  largely  copied  in 
other  journals  devoting  space  to 
the  game.  She  commenced  her 
prose  writing  on  the  game  in  1894, 
in  a  series  of  articles  written  for 
the  New  York  Sunday  Herald,  and 
in  1896  was  asked  to  take  Miss  Ger- 
trude E.  Clapp's  place  as  a  con- 
tributor to  Vogue,  the  latter  being 
too  busy  with  her  whist  teaching 
to  continue  to  furnish  articles. 
Mrs.  Wallace  began  by  a  series  of 
very  acceptable  articles,  containing 
a  course  of  instruction  for  begin- 
ners. She  wrote  her  first  article  on 
whist  for  the  New  York  Evening 
Post  in  January,  1896,  and  was 
special  correspondent  for  that 
journal  at  the  sixth  and  seventh 
annual  congresses  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  and  also  at  the  first 
congress  of  the  Woman's  Whist 
League,  in  Philadelphia,  in  1897. 
She  has  written  a  regular  weekly 
column  on  whist  for  the  Post  ever 
since  the  sixth  congress,  her  whist 
department  being  continued  the 
year  round.  In  the  summer  of 
1897  she  wrote,  by  special  rqeuest, 
a  series  of  articles,  giving  defensive 
play,  etc.,  against  the  short-suit 
game.  She  was  the  first  weman  in 
the  United  States  who  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  writing  on  the 
technicalities  of  whist. 

Mrs.  Wallace  began  teaching 
whist,  for  love  of  the  game,  in 
1894,  her  object  being  to  develop 


WALTON,  JOHN  M. 


470 


WALTON,  JOHN  M. 


•whist  in  Staten  Island  (her  resi- 
dence is  at  New  Brighton).  She  be- 
fan  teaching  regularly  in  1896,  and 
ad  thirty-five  pupils  in  1897.  In 
October  of  that  year  she  organized 
the  Kate  Wheelock  Whist  Club,  of 
Staten  Island,  of  which  she  is  presi- 
dent She  has  also  been  recently 
made  a  member  of  the  Woman's 
Whist  Club,  of  Brooklyn.  She  en- 
tered the  woman's  pair  champion- 
ship contest  at  the  Woman's  Whist 
League  congress,  in  April,  1897, 
playing  for  Staten  Island,  with  Mrs. 
Sidney  F.  Rawson  for  partner. 
They  qualified  for  the  finals  in  that 
event  with  the  highest  score  of  any 
competing  pair,  tied  with  Boston 
for  first  place,  and  lost  the  match 
by  one  trick,  taking  second  prize. 
It  was  the  largest  whist  match  on 
record,  there  being  112  pairs  en- 
gaged. 

Mrs.  Wallace  teaches,  plays,  and 
believes  in  the  strict  long-suit  game 
and  American  leads.  On  February 
22,  1897,  she  was  elected  an  asso- 
ciate member  of  the  American 
Whist  League. 

Walton,  John  M — Second  presi- 
dent of  the  American  Whist 
League,  was  born  in  Stroudsburg, 
Pa.,  June  24,  1842.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Moravian  school  at 
Lititz,  Lancaster  county.  In  1867 
he  was  appointed  second  lieutenant 
of  the  Fourth  United  States  Cav- 
alry, and  retired  as  first  lieutenant 
in  1878,  the  result  of  disabilities  re- 
ceived in  active  service  on  the  fron- 
tier. He  subsequently  served  for 
thirteen  years  in  the  Common 
Council  of  Philadelphia,  and,  in 
1895,  was  made  City  Controller, 
which  position  he  occupies  at  the 
present  writing  (1897). 

Captain  Walton  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
first  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  at  Milwaukee,  in 


1891,  and  contributed  largely  to  the 
success  of  that  now  historic  gath- 
ering. "  In  the  debate  upon  the 
code,"  says  Whist,  "he  gave  the 
closest  attention,  and  was  able  to 
bring  to  the  aid  of  the  congress  a 
wide  and  varied  experience,  and  a 
judgment  that  was  remarkably 
logical  and  correct."  He  was  one 
of  the  delegates  to  the  congress 
from  the  famous  Hamilton  Club, 
of  Philadelphia,  the  others  being 
E.  Price  Townsend  (president), 
Eugene  L.  Ellison,  and  William  S. 
Kimball. 

So  long  as  Eugene  S.  Elliott,  the 
founder  of  the  American  Whist 
League,  could  be  prevailed  upon  to 
accept  he  was  annually  re-elected 
as  the  head  of  the  organization, 
but  in  1894  he  positively  refused  to 
allow  his  name  to  be  presented 
again,  and  the  choice  immediately 
and  unanimously  fell  upon  Captain 
Walton.  As  the  chief  executive 
officer  of  the  League  he  did  much 
to  advance  the  cause  of  good  whist, 
and  the  sentiments  and  advice  con- 
tained in  his  annual  address,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  will  always  be  remem- 
bered and  heeded  by  American 
whist-players. 

Captain  Walton  has  been  a  whist- 
player  for  many  years.  He  first 
became  interested  in  the  game 
about  the  year  1870,  while  serving 
on  the  frontier.  While  the  duties 
of  official  life  tie  him  down  to  a 
daily  routine,  and  preclude  his  par- 
ticipation in  whist  events  away 
from  home,  he  manages  pretty 
regularly  to  play  his  evening  rub- 
ber (or,  perhaps  more  strictly 
speaking,  game)  at  the  Hamilton 
Club,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the 
founders  and  vice-president.  Whist 
is  his  chief  relaxation  from  the 
cares  and  labors  of  the  day.  The 
Hamilton  Club  House,  by  the  way, 
is  said  to  be  the  finest  in  this  coun- 
try devoted  entirely  to  whist.  It  is 


WASHINGTON  TROPHY       471    "  WESTMINSTER  PAPERS" 


situated  on  Forty-first  street,  near 
Spruce,  and  was  built  in  1889  from 
designs  drawn  by  one  of  its  own 
members  —  William  H.  Kimball. 
Here  Captain  Walton  and  his  fel- 
low-members are  always  ready  to 
extend  a  cordial  welcome  to  visiting 
whist -players,  and  here,  too,  some 
of  the  most  famous  of  whist-players 
regularly  congregate. 

Washington  Trophy. — A  trophy 
presented  to  the  Woman's  Whist 
L/eague  at  the  first  annual  congress, 
Philadelphia,  1897,  by  the  women 
of  Washington.  The  trophy  is  in 
the  shape  of  a  silver  shield, 
crowned  with  card  emblems,  beau- 
tifully enameled,  and  inscribed: 
"1897.  The  Washington  Trophy, 
W.  W.  L.,  Championship  Won  by 
Fours."  It  is  to  be  competed  for 
at  each  annual  congress  of  the 
League,  and  must  be  won  three 
times  in  order  to  entitle  the  winners 
to  permanent  possession.  At  the 
first  congress  of  the  League,  in 
April,  1897,  it  was  won  by  the  team 
of  four  from  the  Trist  Whist  Club, 
of  Philadelphia — Mrs.  Frank  Sam- 
uel, Mrs.  Rodman  Wister,  Mrs. 
Eugene  L.  Ellison,  and  Mrs.  Harry 
Toulmin. 

Weak  Move. — A  misplay  based 
on  an  error  of  judgment,  which  gives 
the  opposite  side  an  advantage. 
For  instance,  it  is  a  weak  move  to 
lead  from  ace  and  king  with  no 
other  cards  in  suit.  It  is  a  weak 
move  to  force  your  partner,  if  you 
are  weak  in  trumps. 

The  prettiest  games,  both  at  chess  and 
whist,  arise  from  a  weak  move  of  the  ad- 
versary.— Westminster  Papers  [L  +  O.]. 

Weakness. — The  poor  quality  of 
a  hand  at  whist  which  makes  it  in- 
advisable for  the  holder  to  play  an 
open,  aggressive  game;  lack  of  high 
cards  and  trumps  necessary  to  win. 


Mathews,  as  early  as  1804,  said: 
"  Conceal  weakness  as  far  as  pos- 
sible." 

Weakness,  as  soon  as  learned  by 
the  adversaries,  must  be  taken  ad- 
vantage of  in  their  play.  The  strat- 
egy of  weakness,  therefore,  is  con- 
cealment, as  long  as  possible,  from 
the  opposing  players,  a  reliance  on 
partner  to  take  the  initiative,  and  a 
readiness  to  sacrifice  the  weak  hand 
in  an  endeavor  to  benefit  him. 

Lead  to  the  weakness  of  your  right- 
hand  adversary.  We  have  seen  fairly 
good  whist-players,  in  great  number,  just 
fall  short  of  a  strong  game  by  failing  to 
appreciate  the  tremendous  advantage  of 
this  truth. — Cassius  M.  Paine  [L.  A.], 
Whist,  November,  1892. 

Weak  Suit. — A  suit  which  is  de- 
void, or  nearly  so,  of  high  cards, 
and  is  very  poorly  suited  for  an 
opening  lead.  A  suit  may  be  weak 
in  the  number  as  well  as  the  quali- 
ty of  the  cards  held  in  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  long  suit  may  be 
much  weaker  than  a  shorter  suit 
containing  high  cards.  Weak  suits 
are  generally  the  most  vulnerable 
points  of  attack.  (See,  "Short 
Suit.") 

.There  is  no  information  at  whist  more 
us'eful  than  that  which  tells  where  the 
weak  suits  of  the  enemy  lie. — R.  A.  Proc- 
tor [L.  O.]. 

West. — The  player  who  is  the 
partner  of  east,  at  duplicate  whist; 
the  fourth  hand,  or  "Z,"  on  the 
first  round  of  a  game. 

"Westminster     Papers." — A 

monthly  journal  devoted  to  whist, 
as  well  as  chess  and  other  games, 
which  was  owned  and  edited  for 
eleven  years  by  Charles  Mossop.  It 
was  first  started  in  the  interest  of 
chess,  but  whist  was  made  its  main 
feature  when  Mr.  Mossop  was  placed 
in  control,  which  was  shortly  after  its 
birth,  the  first  number  being  issued 


WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE      472      WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE 


in  April,  1868.  The  contributors 
were  mainly  from  the  Westminster 
Chess  Club,  which  had  rooms  in 
the  Caledonia  Hotel,  Adelphi  Ter- 
race, London,  but  in  the  course  of 
its  brilliant  career  contributions, 
we  are  told,  also  came  to  it  "  from 
India,  Siberia,  Jamaica,  Pernam- 
buco,  with  a  host  of  communica- 
tions from  the  United  States." 
The  journal  was  discontinued  by 
Mr.  Mossop,  in  1879,  owing  to  his 
entrance  upon  public  office,  which 
claimed  all  his  time. 

Wheelock,  Miss  Kate.— The  first 
woman  to  teach  whist  profession- 
ally in  America;  also,  the  leading 
whist-player  as  well  as  teacher 
among  her  sex,  and  a  whist  author 
of  note.  She  is  a  native  of  Green 
Bay,  Wis.,  but  was  a  resident  of 
Milwaukee  when,  in  the  year  1886, 
she  first  gave  evidence  of  her  re- 
markable aptitude  for  teaching. 
In  response  to  our  request  for  an 
accurate  account  of  her  first  expe- 
riences, and  her  career  as  a  teacher, 
up  to  that  time,  she  said,  in  1895: 

"I  belonged  to  a  whist  circle 
composed  of  twelve  ladies,  which 
met  one  afternoon  in  each  week. 
Three  of  the  members  were  con- 
sidered good  players,  myself  among 
them,  and  we  soon  found  ourselves 
in  the  position  of  acting  as  instruct- 
ors for  the  rest.  The  royal  road  to 
learning  proved  pleasant,  and  it 
was  suggested  that  we  place  it  upon 
a  professional  basis.  Having  had 
more  experience  in  business  than 
the  others,  I  was  chosen  as  in- 
structor. At  first  I  refused  the 
offer,  but  later  accepted,  and  was 
fortunate  enough  to  interest  my 
pupils.  As  they  began  to  realize 
the  intellectual  part  of  the  game, 
they  soon  discovered  it  was  not 
merely  an  idle  pastime,  but  quite 
the  contrary.  My  classes  multi- 
plied, and  soon  I  had  more  than  I 


could  teach.  Miss  Gardner,  of 
Boston,  began  teaching  the  game 
in  the  East  at  nearly  the  same  time. 
At  that  time  the  teaching  of  whist 
was  almost  unheard  of,  as  it  had  not 
been  taught  for  nearly  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  or  since  the  time  of 
Hoyle.  When  it  was  revived  it 
opened  up  a  new  avenue  of  work, 
peculiarly  suited  to  women,  so  that 
at  present  there  are  many  instruct- 
ors of  whist. 

"My  personal  experience  has 
been  delightful.  After  teaching  in 
Milwaukee  four  years,  I  began,  in 
the  fifth  year,  to  devote  one  day  in 
the  week  to  Chicago,  and  after  a 
few  weeks  discovered  that  it  would 
be  wise  to  permanently  remove 
there.  My  teaching,  both  in  Mil- 
waukee and  Chicago,  was  done 
very  quietly,  having  four  in  a  class, 
and  teaching  in  the  home  of  one 
of  my  pupils.  I  taught  both  men 
and  women,  having  more  women 
than  men.  Within  the  past  eight- 
een months,  I  have  twice  taught  in 
most  of  the  principal  cities  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  as  well 
as  in  many  of  the  smaller  ones." 

On  January  19,  1893,  Miss  Whee- 
lock was  made  an  associate  member 
of  the  American  Whist  League — a 
high  tribute  to  her  skill,  as  she  was 
the  first  woman  so  honored.  At 
the  third  congress,  in  Chicago,  in 

1893,  she  played  in   one    of   the 
whist    matches    with    Walter    H. 
Barney  as  partner,  and  in  the  next 
congress,     at      Philadelphia,      she 
again  played,  winning  second  place 
in  a  match  with  Robert  H.  Weems 
as  partner. 

The  first  one  of  her  tours  across 
the  continent  occurred  early  in 

1894,  and    in    San    Francisco   her 
pupils  outnumbered  those   in  the 
East.      She     relates     an     incident 
which  illustrates  how  her  reputation 
as  a  teacher  and  player  had   pre- 
ceded her.     Tired  and  travel- worn, 


WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE      473      WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE 


she  reached  Portland,  Oregon.  No 
preparation  had  been  made  for  her 
coming — and,  as  she  expressed  it: 
"I  did  not  know  a  soul  in  the 
place;  so  you  can  imagine  how  I 
felt  when  I  found  away  off  there  a 
club,  composed  of  sixty  women, 
called  the  Kate  Wheelock.  It  was 
the  most  touching  compliment  I 
ever  had  paid  me."  Many  other 
clubs  have  since  been  named  in  her 
honor. 

Miss  Wheelock  has  taught  in 
every  State  in  the  Union  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  her  pupils 
numbering  over  four  thousand. 
After  her  first  California  tour  was 
ended,  she  first  gave  lessons  in 
Brooklyn,  then  in  Philadelphia. 
She  made  a  second  trip  to  the 
Pacific  coast  in  1895,  traveling 
from  the  extreme  southern  point, 
San  Diego,  to  Portland,  Oregon. 
It  was  upon  the  termination  of  her 
stay  in  San  Francisco  at  that  time 
that  her  pupils  presented  her  with 
the  ruby  and  diamond  ring  which 
she  always  wears,  while  her  Oak- 
land scholars  gave  her  a  pin  con- 
sisting of  a  four-leaved  clover  set 
in  pearls  and  diamonds. 

The  title  of  "the  whist  queen," 
by  which  she  is  popularly  known, 
was  conferred  on  her  by  "Caven- 
dish," with  whom  she  played  in 
Boston,  during  his  first  American 
tour,  in  1893.  The  great  esteem  in 
which  she  is  held  by  the  members 
of  the  American  Whist  League,  in 
whose  interests  she  has  been  an 
earnest  and  indefatigable  worker, 
will  appear  from  the  following  in- 
cident. At  the  fifth  congress  of  the 
League,  at  Minneapolis,  in  1895, 
Ex-President  Eugene  S.  Elliott 
said:  "I  was  told,  just  before  ris- 
ing, that  the  '  daughter  of  the 
League,'  Miss  Kate  Wheelock,  de- 
sired me  to  speak,  which  reminds 
me  that  the  '  daughter  of  the 
League'  is  about  leaving  us  for 


Europe,  where  she  will  meet  our 
honorary  members,  'Cavendish,' 
Pole,  and  Drayson,  and  I  move  you 
that,  by  her  hands,  we  send  the  re- 
grets of  this  congress  that  they  are 
unable  to  be  present,  together  with 
assurances  of  our  esteem  and  sin- 
cere regard."  This  was  loudly  ap- 
plauded and  unanimously  adopted. 
Miss  Wheelock  delivered  the  greet- 
ing in  due  time,  and  that  she  also 
made  a  most  pleasing  impression 
in  England  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  a  letter  of  regret 
at  his  inability  to  come  over  and 
attend  the  next  congress  of  the 
League,  sent  by  General  A.  W. 
Drayson:  "It  would  really  be 
worth  a  trip  to  America  to  see  Miss 
Kate  Wheelock,  whom  I  had  the 
honor  of  meeting  here,  and  whose 
intellectual  intensity  was  delight- 
ful." 

Besides  the  American  Whist 
League,  the  Pacific  Coast  Whist 
Association  and  the  New  England 
Whist  Association  have  also  elected 
Miss  Wheelock  an  associate  mem- 
ber. She  is  an  honorary  member 
of  a  large  number  of  whist  clubs 
throughout  the  country. 

In  the  line  of  whist  authorship 
she  made  her  first  beginning  with  a 
small  whist  catechism,  entitled, 
"The  Fundamental  Principles  and 
Rules  of  Modern  American  Whist 
Explained  and  Compiled  by  a  Mil- 
waukee Lady."  It  was  published 
anonymously,  in  1887,  by  the  pas- 
senger department  of  the  Chicago, 
Milwaukee,  and  St.  Paul  Railroad, 
and  ran  through  three  editions  of 
many  thousands  of  copies  in  the  ag- 
gregate. Her  next  effort  was  "Whist 
Rules,"  published  in  1896,  in  which 
her  ideas  were  set  forth  in  a  man- 
ner that  largely  reflected  her 
method  of  teaching,  based  on  the 
long-suit  game,  with  American  leads 
and  other  modern  conventions.  The 
idea  was  to  supply  a  book  of  in- 


WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE     474      WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE 


structions  especially  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  women  whist-players,  and 
it  met  with  great  favor,  so  that  a 
new  and  partially  revised  edition 
was  published  in  the  fall  of  1897. 

The  question,  How  does  Miss 
Wheelock  teach  whist?  is  one  that 
is  of  interest  to  every  lover  of  whist. 
In  addition  to  her  pupils,  other 
teachers  are  frequently  among  her 
listeners,  and  are  always  freely  wel- 
comed by  her.  She  believes  in 
making  knowledge  accessible  to 
all,  and  always  has  a  word  of  en- 
couragement for  those  who  try  to 
learn,  and  properly  fit  themselves 
for  the  instruction  of  others.  In 
order  that  an  authentic  and  perma- 
nent record  of  her  method  of  teach- 
ing might  be  made,  we  recently 
asked  Miss  Wheelock  to  give  us 
her  own  description,  which  she  did, 
as  follows: 

"  At  present  (1898)  I  teach  four, 
six,  and  eight  pupils  at  a  time,  and, 
upon  rare  occasions,  twelve  and 
sixteen.  My  method  of  instructing 
them  varies  according  to  their  ad- 
vancement If  beginners,  I  first 
teach  them  when  the  trump  and 
plain  suits  are  led  the  same;  then 
the  rules  for  the  five  high  cards, 
and  fourth-best  card  lead.  After 
dealing  certain  hands,  they  are  re- 
quired to  find  the  suit  and  card  to 
lead.  I  always  give  the  reason  for 
the  rule.  After  a  time  the  four  at 
table  begin  playing  a  hand,  apply- 
ing the  rules  they  know;  and 
then  second  and  third-hand  plays, 
and  rules  for  returning  partner's 
suit,  etc.,  are  started.  As  my 
pupils  advance  I  give  them  during 
the  lesson,  besides  the  hands  they 
deal,  a  few  hands  selected  for  the 
purpose  of  illustrating  some  point 
in  play  which  they  have  recently 
been  taught,  as  well  as  to  begin 
their  inference  drawing. 

"  With  those  who  are  more  than 
moderate  players  I  can  discuss  the 


innovations  of  the  day,  not  ignor- 
ing the  fact  that  from  them  some 
good  will  come;  but  my  advice  is 
not  to  try  them  until  the  expert 
players,  and  those  in  authority, 
have  proven  which  are  trick-win- 
ners. One  of  the  best  selected 
hands  I  have  is  taken  from  '  Whist 
With  and  Without  Perception,'  by 
'  B.  W.  D.'  and  '  Cavendish.'  It  is 
hand  number  one,  with  two  varia- 
tions." 

We  give  the  play  of  the  hand 
herewith  in  one  table,  without  the 
extended  comments  which  may  be 
found  in  the  book.  Miss  Wheelock 
employs  the  method  of  the  book, 
which  is  to  expose  Y's  hand  first, 
and  then  show  the  play,  trick  by 
trick,  with  explanations  and  the 
weighing  of  probabilities,  pro  and 
con,  as  to  the  cards  in  the  other 
hands.  The  hand  as  played  in  its 
entirety,  the  first  time,  shows  how 
tricks  may  be  lost  through  want  of 
perception,  without  any  ridiculously 
bad  play.  The  three  of  clubs  is 
turned  by  Z: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
1O 
11 
12 
13 

QO 

*_Q 

KO 

4  4 
4  9 
Q  * 
410 

AO 

6  0 
4  3 
4  A 

4  2 
4  K 

K  * 

*  7 
2  + 
100 
7  * 
<?  2 
<9  4 
3  0 
V  9 
J  0 

6  * 
80 
8  * 
10* 

7  0 
3  * 
5  * 
4  6 

A  » 

4  * 
9  + 
4  J 

J    * 
4  5 
V  8 
9  0 
<?1O 
<?  K 

4  8 
V  A 

<?  5 
<?  6 
C>  7 
V  Q 

2  0 
<3?  3 
9  J 

5  O 

4  0 

Score  :  A-B,  8;  Y-Z,  5. 


WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE      475      WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE 


Y  has  played  the  hand  fairly 
well,  and  drawn  certain  inferences 
correctly,  but  he  has  failed  in  the 
higher  whist  strategy  of  putting 
his  information  together  with  in- 
telligence, and  loses  two  where  he 
ought  to  win  the  odd  trick,  as  will 
appear  when  the  hand  is  played 
with  perception,  beginning  with 
the  fifth  trick,  where  B  leads: 


«i 

^4 

0 

•c 

H. 

A 

Y 

B 

z 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 

100 

V  5 
*10 
A  * 

7  0 
2  0 
3  * 

*  6 
5  * 
*  8 

8  0 
90 
8  • 
*  5 
10* 

J  0 
7  * 
30 
4  0 
5  0 
V  9 
<3  2 
<?  4 

*  J 

4  * 
9  * 

<?  Q 

V  7 

v  e 

J   + 

V  8 
<9  K 

V  3 
V  J 

<y  A 

<910 

Score:  A-B,  6;  Y-Z,  7. 

The  second  variation,  again  com- 
mencing with  trick  five,  is  as  fol- 
lows, B  leading,  as  before: 


Tricks. 

A 

Y 

B 

Z 

5 
6 

7 
8 
9 

<y  2 

7  + 
V  4 
3  0 

100 

*10 

*  6 
3  * 

5  * 
*  8 

*  5 
8  * 
10* 

A  + 

4  * 
9  + 
<9  5 

J   * 
80 

7  0 

1O 
11 

J  0 

C9   9 

*  J 

2  0 
<5  3 

90 

<y  a 

<?  Q 

12 
13 

4  0 
5  0 

^?  7 
<9  6 

^?  J 

<9  A 

V  K 

(510 

Score:  A-B,  6,  Y-Z,  7. 

"Nearly  four  years  ago,"  con- 
tinues  Miss   Wheelock,  "I    con- 


ceived the  idea  of  departing  from 
the  present  method  of  teaching 
whist  for  beginners.  Instead  of 
dealing  hands  for  them  to  play  at 
a  table,  I  proposed  substituting 
stereopticon  pictures,  which  should 
illustrate  my  lectures.  I  feel  sure  I 
can  instruct  more  beginners  within 
a  given  time,  by  means  of  lectures 
illustrated  with  fac-simile  whist- 
hands  thrown  upon  a  screen,  than 
in  any  other  way.  When  I  was  in 
Portland,  Ore.,  in  April,  1895,  Miss 
Annie  Blanche  Shelby  urged  me 
to  give  the  lectures  in  the  club- 
room  offered  me  by  the  men.  At 
first  it  did  not  seem  possible  for 
me  to  make  the  lectures  interesting 
without  the  pictures,  but  I  con- 
sented to  try,  and  gave  three.  They 
were  successful,  and  convinced  me 
that  the  line  I  was  working  on  is  a 
good  one.  I  repeated  with  success 
the  same  lectures  in  Seattle,  Wash- 
ington. But  it  was  not  until  the 
spring  of  1896  that  I  had  good  re- 
sults in  the  way  of  pictures.  Being 
new  to  the  photographers,  the  prog- 
ress made  was  necessarily  slow.  At 
one  of  the  homes  in  Morristown,  N. 
J.,  in  1896,  I  gave  the  first  talk  with 
the  pictures,  and  was  pleased  to  dis- 
cover that,  with  the  colored  fac- 
similes of  the  cards  thrown  upon 
the  screen  for  the  pupils  to  look 
at,  I  could  get  much  better  answers 
to  my  questions  than  at  the  table. 

"  At  Providence,  in  March,  1897, 
I  gave  the  first  public  lecture  un- 
der the  auspices  of  the  Athletic 
Club,  and  the  following  April  gave 
a  lecture  in  Brooklyn,  dividing  the 
proceeds  with  a  charity  which  the 
patronesses  of  the  lecture  were  in- 
terested in.  While  the  pictures 
and  lectures  were  successful,  it  will 
be  nearly  another  year  before  I  can 
get  my  plan  in  full  working  order, 
just  as  I  wish  it.  I  have  it  ready 
for  beginners,  and  use  it  in  my 
class  work,  but  I  want  it  for  ad- 


WHEELOCK,  MISS  KATE      476 


WHIST 


vanced  players  as  well.  I  want  one 
hand  exposed,  and  each  card 
played  on  the  screen,  the  trick  to 
disappear  and  another  to  be  started, 
as  in  regular  play.  With  the  little 
time  I  have  at  my  disposal,  it  is 
hard  to  tell  when  it  will  be  com- 
pleted." 

The  idea  is  a  most  ingenious, 
original,  and  important  one.  It 
promises  so  much  for  the  better  in- 
struction of  whist  pupils  that  we 
sincerely  hope  Miss  Wheelock  will 
not  fail  to  push  it  to  completion. 
In  these  days  of  kinetoscopes,  bio- 
graphs,  and  various  other  kinds  of 
moving  pictures,  it  certainly  seems 
feasible  to  throw  the  cards  of  a 
hand  upon  a  screen,  in  their  natu- 
ral colors  and  in  their  proper  order 
of  play.  The  whistograph  (if  we 
may  be  permitted  so  to  name  it)  is 
the  invention  of  Miss  Wheelock, 
and  must  be  perfected  for  the  glory 
and  advancement  of  the  game. 
We  had  the  pleasure  of  inspecting 
her  present  mode  of  throwing  the 
hands  upon  the  screen,  during  her 
fall  term  of  instruction  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  November,  1897,  and 
while  the  idea  is  as  yet  only  car- 
ried out  on  a  limited  scale  for  be- 
ginners, it  is  extremely  attractive, 
commands  attention  at  once,  and 
impresses  upon  the  beholder  in  the 
strongest  manner  the  cards,  situa- 
tions, and  plays  referred  to  in  her 
lecture.  It  marks  a  distinct  ad- 
vance in  the  art  of  teaching  whist. 

Miss  Wheelock's  method  of  teaching  is 
her  own;  the  whist  she  teaches  is  that  of 
"  Cavendish."—  Whist  \_L.  A.},  July,  1891. 

Miss  Wheelock  has  since  earned  a  very 
wide  reputation.  *  *  *  She  has  turned 
out  many  distinguished  pupils,  and  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "whist 
queen."—  William  Pole  [L.  A+],  "Evolu- 
tion of  Whist." 

"Daughter  of  the  league"  and  the 
"whist  queen,"  as  she  was  first  called  by 
"Cavendish,"  are  the  two  names  by  which 
Miss  Kate  Wheelock  is  universally 
known.  Her  reputation  as  a  woman 


whist-player  is  unquestioned,  and  no 
higher  compliment  can  be  paid  to  one  of 
her  sex  than  to  tell  such  a  one  that  she 
plays  just  as  strong  a  game  as  Kate 
Wheelock. 

The  pioneer  In  teaching  the  game,  her 
perseverance  made  easy  the  path  for 
others  to  follow.  Her  success  as  a  teacher 
is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  she  possess- 
es a  peculiar  talent  for  imparting  knowl- 
edge, added  to  what  General  Drayson,  in 
speaking  of  her,  calls  "her  intellectual 
intensity."  Her  charm  of  manner,  great 
personal  magnetism,  and  simplicity  of 
character,  are  among  the  attributes  that 
have  assured  her  success  as  a  teacher, 
and  made  her  beloved  as  a  woman. 

With  a  singular  modesty  in  one  who 
stands  high  in  the  esteem  of  such  masters 
at  whist  as  "  Cavendish,"  Trist,  and  Dray- 
son,  and  who  is  eagerly  sought  as  a  part- 
ner, Miss  Wheelock  claims  that  her  forte 
lies  not  in  playing,  but  in  teaching. — 
Margarelta  Wetherill  Wallace  [L.  A.], 
Vogue,  January  and  July,  1897. 

"Whisk   and    Swabbers."— A 

name  given  to  one  of  the  primitive 
forms  of  whist.  The  "swabbers" 
consisted  of  the  ace  of  hearts,  the 
jack  of  clubs,  and  the  ace  and 
deuce  of  the  trump  suit  (See, 
"Whist,  History  of.") 

Whist. — A  game  of  cards  of  Eng- 
lish origin  gradually  evolved  from 
several  older  games  which  suc- 
ceeded each  other  under  the  name 
of  triumph,  trump,  ruff  and  hon- 
ours, whisk  and  swabbers,  whisk, 
and,  finally,  whist.  Most  diction- 
aries correctly  agree  with  Webster 
and  Worcester  that  whist  is  so 
called  because  of  its  requiring 
silence  and  close  attention.  The 
Century  Dictionary  and  some  other 
authorities  say  this  is  an  error,  be- 
cause the  game  was  originally 
called  whisk,  in  allusion  to  the 
rapid  action  or  sweeping  of  the 
cards  from  the  table  as  the  tricks 
were  won.  This  seeming  contra- 
diction can  easily  be  harmonized 
if  we  bear  in  mind  the  evolution 
of  the  game  and  the  fact  that  when 
whist  was  as  yet  only  whisk,  it  was 
undoubtedly  played  with  the  rapid 


WHIST 


477 


WHIST 


and  boisterous  action  which  char- 
acterized the  latter.  But  in  its 
later  development,  when  whisk  be- 
came whist,  and  was  lifted  from  its 
tavern  surroundings,  it  no  longer 
meant  whisk,  but  whist,  and  was 
no  longer  played  as  whisk,  but 
whist.  In  other  words,  the  new 
game  required  a  new  name,  and 
the  new  name  hit  upon,  by  design 
or  accident,  was  the  best  that  could 
possibly  have  been  selected.  It 
meant  that  henceforth  silence  and 
close  attention  were  necessary  for 
its  proper  play.  And  this  is  more 
than  ever  true  to-day,  when  whist 
is  held  by  some  to  be  not  only  an 
art,  but  a  fine  art,  as  well  as  a  sci- 
ence. (See,  also,  "Whist,  History 
of.") 

Rudiments  of  the  Game. — For 
the  benefit  of  the  novice  we  may 
state  that  whist  is  played  with  a 
full  pack  of  fifty-two  cards,  by  four 
persons,  two  of  them  as  partners 
against  the  other  two,  also  partners. 
Partnership  is  determined  by  agree- 
ment or  cutting.  If  by  agreement, 
two  players,  one  on  each  side,  cut 
for  deal;  if  by  cutting,  the  two  who 
cut  the  lowest  cards  become  part- 
ners, and  the  first  deal  belongs  to 
the  player  who  cut  the  lowest  card. 
Two  packs,  of  different  color  or 
pattern,  are  generally  used  in  deal- 
ing, one  by  each  pair  of  partners. 
This  saves  time,  one  pack  being 
shuffled  while  the  other  is  being 
dealt.  At  the  clubs  the  use  of  two 
packs  is  an  invariable  rule. 

After  the  pack  is  shuffled,  the 
player  on  the  right  of  the  dealer 
cuts,  and  the  dealer,  beginning 
with  the  player  on  his  left,  deals 
one  card  at  a  time  to  each  player 
till  the  pack  is  exhausted,  the  last 
card  being  turned  up  on  the  table 
at  his  right  hand,  where  it  must 
remain  until  it  is  his  turn  to  play 
to  the  first  trick.  This  card  is 
known  as  the  trump  card,  and  the 


suit  to  which  it  belongs  is  the 
trump  suit;  the  other  three  suits 
are  known  as  plain  suits. 

The  thirteen  cards  belonging  to 
each  player  are  known  as  his  hand, 
and  the  term  is  also  applied  to  the 
player  himself;  as,  "  secondhand," 
"third  hand,"  "fourth  hand." 
The  eldest  hand,  or  player  on  the 
left  of  the  dealer,  begins  the  play 
by  placing  one  of  his  cards,  face 
upward,  upon  the  table.  The  three 
other  players  each  play  a  card  to  it 
in  rotation,  commencing  with  the 
second  hand,  or  player  to  the  left 
of  the  leader,  the  dealer  being  the 
last  to  play.  Each  is  obliged  to 
follow  suit — that  is,  play  the  suit 
which  was  led,  if  he  can — the  fail- 
ure to  do  so  being  known  as  a  re- 
voke, and  involving  a  penalty.  If 
a  player  is  unable  to  follow  suit  he 
is  at  liberty  to  play  any  other  card 
he  pleases.  The  highest  card  of 
the  suit  led,  or  the  highest  trump 
played,  takes  the  trick.  The  trick 
is  gathered  by  the  partner  of  the 
winner;  the  four  cards  are  made 
into  a  packet,  and  placed,  face 
downward,  at  his  left  hand,  on  the 
table.  The  tricks  are  laid  one  upon 
another,  but  a  little  overlapping,  so 
that  they  may  be  easily  counted. 
The  winner  of  the  first  trick  be- 
comes the  leader,  and  the  routine 
is  continued  until  all  the  cards  are 
played. 

Inasmuch  as  the  pack  consists  of 
fifty-two  cards,  and  four  cards  con- 
stitute a  trick,  there  are  thirteen 
tricks  in  all.  A  game,  in  America, 
consists  of  seven  points,  and  each 
trick  above  six  counts  a  point  upon 
the  score,  the  score  being  the  record 
of  the  number  of  points  thus  made. 
The  nearest  approach  to  an  equal 
division  is  six  points  to  one  side 
and  seven  to  the  other.  In  such 
case  the  latter  are  said  to  score  the 
odd  trick.  If  the  tricks  are  less 
evenly  divided  the  winners  score 


WHIST 


478 


WHIST 


two,  three,  or  more  points,  as  the 
case  may  be.  In  the  rare  event  of 
either  party  winning  all  thirteen 
tricks  they  score  seven  by  tricks, 
and  their  performance  in  such  case 
is  known  as  a  slam.  Sometimes 
players  prefer  to  play  a  certain 
number  of  hands  during  an  even- 
ing, or  sitting,  and  to  keep  a  record 
of  all  the  tricks  won  and  lost  by 
each  side,  the  side  having  the  high- 
est score  winning.  Where  more 
than  one  table  is  engaged  in  such 
contest,  as  in  a  club  in  which  ladies 
and  gentlemen  meet  socially  and 
play,  prizes  are  frequently  awarded 
to  the  couple  making  the  best 
score. 

In  play,  the  ace  is  the  highest 
card;  the  king,  queen,  jack,  and 
ten  being  also  high  cards;  the 
nine  to  two  inclusive  are  low  cards. 
The  ace,  king,  queen,  and  jack  of 
trumps  are  called  honors,  but  have 
no  special  value  as  such  in  the 
American  game.  (For  information 
concerning  laws,  penalties,  etc., 
see,  "  Laws  of  Whist.") 

After  the  hands  have  been  dealt, 
arrange  the  cards  in  each  suit,  ac- 
cording to  their  value  from  lowest 
to  highest,  for  convenience,  and  in 
order  to  avoid  mistakes.  Then 
count  your  cards  and  see  that  you 
have  the  full  number  you  are  enti- 
tled to.  Practice  will  enable  you 
to  attend  to  these  little  details  with 
much  less  loss  of  time  than  is  occa- 
sioned by  a  player  who  holds  his 
cards  all  mixed  up,  and  is  continu- 
ally fumbling  them  over  to  see 
what  he  has. 

The  Lead,  or  Play  of  First 
Hand. — You  are  now  prepared  to 
lead,  or  to  play  to  a  lead  made  by 
some  one  else.  The  opening  lead 
is  especially  important,  as  it  con- 
veys information  to  partner,  and 
largely  determines  the  character  of 
the  game,  whether  bold  or  cautious, 
offensive  or  defensive. 


Your  first,  or  original,  lead  should, 
as  a  rule,  be  made  from  your  long- 
est or  strongest  suit.  Pole,  "Cav- 
endish," and  other  advocates  of  the 
long-suit  game,  particularly  favor 
the  longest  suit,  and  never  lead 
from  a  suit  of  less  than  four  cards 
if  they  can  possibly  help  it.  For 
exceptional  cases,  what  are  known 
as  forced  leads  are  provided.  These 
are  made  from  short  suits — *'.  e.t 
suits  containing  three  cards  or 
less.  Some  players  make  frequent 
use  of  leads  from  short  suits,  and 
are  known  as  short-suiters.  The 
beginner  will  do  well  first  to  master 
the  long-suit  game,  which  is  the 
fundamental  method  of  playing 
whist.  (See,  also,  "Long -Suit 
Game,"  "Short-Suit  Game,"  and 
"Strengthening  Cards.") 

In  a  general  way,  we  may  give 
the  following  advice:  Your  first, 
or  original,  lead  should  be  from 
your  strongest  suit.  Should  you 
have  six  or  more  trumps  in  a  suit, 
lead  them  first  of  all.  Your  next 
choice  would  be  to  lead  from  five 
trumps,  unless  they  are  low,  and 
you  have  no  good  cards  in  your 
other  suits.  The  next  best  lead 
would  be  from  four  trumps,  pro- 
viding you  have  at  least  two  plain 
suits  containing  high  cards.  If  you 
have  none  of  the  above  combina- 
tions, lead  from  your  best  plain  suit 
of  five  cards  or  more.  Not  having 
such,  the  next  most  desirable  lead 
would  be  from  four  trumps,  with 
three  cards  in  each  of  your  plain 
suits,  especially  if  your  trumps  are 
high  ones.  Your  next  best  choice 
is  to  lead  your  best  four-card  suit. 
If  the  four  cards  are  low  ones,  and 
you  have  no  strength  in  trumps, 
lead  from  your  best  three-card  suit 
in  preference. 

If  your  best  suit  was  opened  by 
your  right  hand  adversary,  before 
you  had  a  chance  to  lead  it,  lead 
from  your  next  best  suit. 


WHIST 


479 


WHIST 


Never  lead  a  singleton  as  an  orig- 
inal lead  from  plain  suits  until 
you  have  advanced  far  enough  in 
the  game  to  be  able  to  set  all  rules 
aside  in  exceptional  or  critical  situ- 
ations. In  trumps,  it  is  sometimes 
considered  permissible  to  lead  a 
singleton  if  the  rest  of  the  hand 
contains  very  high  cards  in  all  plain 
suits. 

In  opening  your  long  suit,  as  the 
first  hand  or  original  leader,  you 
should  lead  your  cards,  first  and 
second  round,  in  a  manner  that  will 
convey  positive  information  to  your 
partner  concerning  your  hand,  in 
order  that  he  may  shape  his  play 
accordingly.  You  can  do  this  by 
means  of  what  are  known  as  the 
old  leads  (q.  v.),  or  the  American 
leads  (q.  v.}.  The  latter  are  very 
extensively  used  in  this  country. 
By  their  means  you  accurately  tell 
your  partner  the  number  and  char- 
acter of  the  cards  in  your  best  suit. 
Whist  is  a  partnership  game,  and 
can  best  be  played  by  utilizing  the 
resources  of  both  hands,  each  player 
playing  not  only  the  thirteen  cards 
in  his  own  hand,  but,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  twenty-six  cards  em- 
braced in  the  partnership.  The  one 
who  has  the  stronger  hand  takes 
the  initiative,  and  the  other  assists 
him  all  he  can. 

Having  led  from  your  best  suit 
you  continue  to  do  so  unless  it 
should  be  found  disastrous;  as,  for 
instance,  if  an  adversary  is  out  of 
the  suit  and  ready  to  trump  it,  or 
partner  is  weak  and  right-hand  ad- 
versary stronger  than  you.  In 
abandoning  the  suit  you  can  lead 
from  four  trumps  to  prevent  adver- 
sary from  trumping  in;  or  lead  from 
your  next  best  suit;  or  return  your 
partner's  suit  if  he  has  led;  or  lead 
a  suit  opened  by  your  left-hand  op- 
ponent, if  right-hand  opponent  ap- 
pears weak  in  it;  or,  if  weak  in 
trumps,  as  a  last  resort,  lead  a  sin- 


gleton or  the  remaining  card  of  a 
suit  which  has  been  around  but 
once. 

In  returning  partner's  lead,  play 
the  master  card  at  once,  if  you  hold 
it;  otherwise,  indicate  your  own 
best  suit  by  leading  from  it  before 
returning  his  lead,  unless  you  have 
but  one  card  of  his  suit  left,  and 
wish  to  trump  it.  With  an  original 
suit  of  three  or  less,  you  return 
partner  your  best,  and  with  four  or 
more  you  return  your  lowest.  Re- 
turn his  trump-lead,  or  lead  trumps 
in  response  to  his  signal,  at  the  very 
first  opportunity.  (See,  "  Trump 
Signal.") 

Play  of  Second  Hand. — Second 
hand  low  is  a  general  rule  which  it 
is  well  for  beginners  to  follow,  but 
there  are  important  exceptions  to 
it.  Among  these  are  the  following: 
If  you  hold  the  master  card,  take 
the  trick.  If  you  hold  a  sequence 
of  high  cards,  put  the  lowest  of  the 
sequence  on  a  high  card  led.  Cover 
an  honor  led  with  the  ace,  if  you 
hold  it.  If  you  hold  king,  queen, 
or  jack,  and  one  small  card  only, 
cover  an  original  lead  of  a  nine 
or  higher  card;  otherwise,  play  low. 
In  case  a  low  card  is  led,  play  a  high 
card  if  you  hold  an  original  com- 
bination from  which  a  high-card 
lead  is  proper;  otherwise,  play  low. 
The  foregoing  exceptions  apply 
equall}'  to  plain  suits  and  trumps, 
except  that  in  trumps  a  more  back- 
ward game  is  played,  as  trumps 
win  on  their  merits  at  any  time. 

If  strong  enough  in  trumps  to 
lead  them,  were  you  in  a  position 
to  do  so,  it  is  generally  right  to  sig- 
nal to  partner. 

If  you  are  strong  in  trumps,  re- 
frain from  trumping  a  doubtful 
trick,  second  hand,  which  will  be 
understood  by  partner  as  a  signal 
to  lead  them ;  but  if  you  have  but 
few  trumps,  use  them  freely  in 
trumping  plain  suits.  With  great 


WHIST 


480 


WHIST 


trump  strength  (holding  six  or 
more),  trump  in  and  then  lead 
trumps. 

Play  of  Third  Hand.— Third 
hand  high  is  a  good  general  rule  to 
follow.  On  partner's  lead  of  a  low 
card  from  a  strong  suit,  you  play 
your  highest  card  (or  the  lowest  of 
a  sequence  of  high  cards).  There 
are  exceptions,  however,  and 
among  these  are  the  following: 
With  ace,  queen,  jack,  and  low, 
you  finesse  with  the  jack;  and  with 
ace,  queen,  and  low,  you  finesse 
with  the  queen.  You  do  this  hop- 
ing that  the  next  higher  cards  are 
on  5'our  right,  and  that  if  you  win 
the  trick  you  can  lead  your  highest 
and  probably  make  a  gain  thereby. 

On  partner's  lead  of  a  high  card 
you  generally  play  low,  except  that 
if  you  hold  the  ace  and  he  leads  the 
ten,  you  cover  with  the  ace.  If  the 
second  hand  plays  over  partner's 
lead  you,  of  course,  try  to  play 
higher. 

In  general  you  must  strive  to  win 
the  trick,  if  not  already  secured  by 
partner's  lead,  but  take  it  as  cheap- 
ly as  possible.  Also  remember  to 
get  rid  of  your  high  cards  in  your 
partner's  suit,  as  soon  as  possible, 
in  order  that  you  may  not  block  it 
for  him.  (See,  "Unblocking.") 
It  is  well  to  retain  a  small  card  in 
partner's  strong  suit,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  lead  it  to  him  as  a  card  of  re- 
entry, should  he  need  it  in  order  to 
regain  the  lead. 

On  the  second  round  of  a  suit  it 
is  generally  safer  to  play  the  win- 
ning card  than  to  finesse. 

Play  of  the  Fourth  Hand.—  The 
fourth  player  has,  with  few  excep- 
tions, merely  to  win  the  trick,  if 
against  him,  and  should  win  it  as 
cheaply  as  possible;  if  unable  to 
take  the  trick,  play  a  low  card,  un- 
less calling  for  trumps.  Having 
none  of  the  suit  led,  trump  the 
trick,  if  against  you;  otherwise,  dis- 


card. The  exceptions  to  the  gen- 
eral play  for  the  fourth  hand  occur 
in  advanced  strategy,  when,  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  game,  the 
position  of  the  cards  calls  for  some 
special  play;  as,  refusing  to  take 
the  trick  in  order  to  place  the  lead 
with  your  opponents,  to  your  or 
partner's  advantage;  or,  playing  a 
high  card  on  a  higher  led  to  avoid 
taking  a  subsequent  trick  for  the 
same  reason,  or  so  as  not  to  block 
partner's  suit.  At  times,  however, 
it  may  be  policy  for  you  to  take  the 
trick  already  partner's,  so  as  to  get 
high  cards  out  of  his  way,  or  so  as 
to  give  you  the  lead  when  it  is  im- 
portant for  you  to  have  it. 

Concerning  the  Discard. — When 
you  cannot  follow  suit,  and  do  not 
wish  to  trump,  or  cannot  trump, 
you  must  discard  from  some  plain 
suit  other  than  the  one  led.  The 
general  rule  is  to  discard  first  from 
your  weakest  suit,  unless  the  op- 
ponents have  shown  superiority  in 
trumps  by  leading  or  calling  for 
them,  when  your  first  discard 
should  be  from  your  best-protected 
suit,  generally  your  strongest.  Dis- 
cards after  the  first  require  skill 
and  judgment,  and  should  be  for 
the  purpose  of  protecting  and 
strengthening  the  hand  as  much  as 
possible. 

When  you  are  obliged  to  discard 
from  a  suit  of  which  you  have  en- 
tire command,  you  inform  partner 
of  the  fact  by  discarding  your  best 
card.  The  discard  of  the  second- 
best  card  of  a  suit  indicates  that 
you  have  no  more  of  that  suit. 

In  discarding,  do  not  unguard  an 
honor,  as  it  might  be  made  to  take 
a  trick.  Do  not  leave  an  ace  blank 
or  bare,  as  by  so  doing  you  may 
block  partner's  suitor  find  yourself 
obliged  to  take  a  trick  when  it 
would  be  better  for  partner  to  do  so 
and  get  the  lead.  Do  not  discard  a 
singleton  early  in  the  game,  as  you 


WHIST 


481 


WHIST 


may  need  it  to  play  to  partner  and 
give  him  the  lead. 

Management  of  Trumps. — The 
special  uses  of  trumps  are:  (i)  To 
exhaust  and  disarm  your  opponents, 
and  prevent  them  from  trumping 
your  winning  cards.  (2)  To  trump 
in  and  take  the  trick  from  the  ad- 
versaries. (3)  To  obtain  the  lead. 
(4)  To  stop  a  cross-ruff.  (5)  To 
play  the  same  as  plain  suits  for  the 
purpose  of  making  tricks. 

When  you  are  strong  in  trumps, 
but  do  not  have  a  chance  to  lead, 
give  the  trump  signal,  or  call,  to 
partner  by  playing  an  unnecessa- 
rily high  card  followed  by  a  lower 
one.  (See,  "Trump  Signal.") 
When  partner  signals  for  trumps, 
lead  them  at  the  first  opportunity; 
and  if  you  hold  four  or  more,  in- 
form him  by  means  of  the  echo. 
(See,  "Echo.") 

Here  are  some  trump  maxims 
which  should  always  be  borne  in 
mind: 

Force  your  partner,  if  you  are 
strong  in  trumps,  or  he  is  weak,  the 
idea  being  to  enable  him  to  take 
tricks  with  his  trumps,  which  oth- 
erwise would  be  lost  when  trumps 
are  led. 

Do  not  trump  a  doubtful  trick,  if 
strong  in  trumps;  use  them  to  ex- 
haust opponents'  trumps. 

Force  a  strong  trump  hand  of  the 
adversary. 

Stop  leading  trumps  when  an  ad- 
versary has  renounced,  and  then 
endeavor  to  make  your  own  and 
partner's  trumps  separately. 

Lead  from  three  trumps  or  less 
to  stop  a  cross-ruff. 

Finesse  deeply  in  trumps. 

With  three  trumps  or  less,  trump 
freely. 

Do  not  forget  to  return  partner's 
trump-lead  as  soon  as  possible. 

There  is  as  much  art  in  whist  as  in  di- 
plomacy.— Prince  Metternich. 

31 


Whist  is  a  language,  and  every  card 
played  an  intelligent  sentence.—; James 
Clay[L.O+}. 

Whist  is  a  game  of  calculation,  obser- 
vation, and  position  or  tenace. — Thomas 
Mathews  [L.  O.]. 

Whist,  sir,  is  wide  as  the  world;  'tis  an 
accomplishment  like  breathing. — Robert 
Louis  Stevenson. 

The  greatest  pleasure  in  life  is  winning 
at  whist;  the  next  greatest  pleasure, 
losing. — Major  Aubrey. 

Whist  is  the  gentleman's  game,  the 
scholar's  recreation,  the  thoughtful  man's 
amusement.— C.  E.  Coffin  [L.  A.}. 

Whist  is  the  best  game  of  mingled  skill 
and  chance  ever  devised.  All  others,  by 
comparison,  are  within  narrow  bounds. 
— G.  W.  Pettes  [L.  A.  P.}. 

Whist,  properly  played,  is  the  finest  of 
all  card  games;  perhaps — not  even  ex- 
cepting chess — the  finest  of  all  sedentary 
games.— >?.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.}. 

Whist,  as  now  practiced,  after  nearly 
three  centuries  of  elaboration,  stands  un- 
rivaled at  the  head  of  all  indoor  recre- 
ations.— William  Pole  [L.  A+]. 

Whist  is  assuming  the  position  of  a 
great  social  element  which  Mr.  Herbert 
Spencer  will  soon  have  to  reckon  with  in 
his  principles  of  sociology. —  William  Pole 
[L.  A+],  Whist,  February,  iSo6. 

Whist,  when  scientifically  played,  is 
essentially  a  game  of  inferences,  rapidly 
drawn,  from  adherence  to  recognized 
leads  or  enforced  deviations. — Frederic 
H.  Lewis  [L.  O.],  The  Field^  Feb.  15,  1870. 

Whist,  for  the  majority  of  players  (those 
who  neither  live  to  play  whist  nor  play 
whist  to  live),  must  ever  be  not  so  much 
a  Greco-Roman  struggle  of  intellects  as  a 
pleasant  recreation  and  amusement. — 
Emery  Boardman  [L+A.]. 

A  man  may  play  whist  for  several 
weeks.  He  will  then  find  it  necessary  for 
him  to  apply  his  knowledge  for  three  or 
four  years  before  he  discovers  how  diffi- 
cult a  game  it  is. — Deschapelles  [O.], 
"Traitt  du  Whiste"  (fragment  of  chapter 
xv.}. 

Whist  excludes  all  thoughts  of  every- 
thing except  itself,  banishes  for  the  time 
all  the  cares,  perplexities,  and  anxieties 
of  daily  life,  and  hence  becomes  for  the 
professional  man,  the  business  man,  the 
mechanic,  or  the  laborer,  in  a  degree 
known  to  no  other  amusement,  reno- 
vating, refreshing,  restful. — Col.  W.  S. 
Furay,  Whist,  March,  1893. 

Whist  certainly  cannot  boast  the  line- 
age of  chess.  But  among  civilized  beings 
it  is  admitted  that  the  simple  accident  of 
birth  should  be  no  bar  to  social  distinc- 
tion. *  *  *  It  is  the  glory  of  whist  that 


1  WHIST ' 


482 


1  WHIST 


it  has  broken  through  the  ties  of  caste, 
and  that  it  owes  its  present  position,  as 
the  king  of  card  games,  entirely  to  its 
intrinsic  merits. — "Cavendish"  \L.  A.], 
'Thf.Whist  Table." 

The  simplest  aims  [of  whist]  are:  (i)  To 
bring  in  either  your  own  or  your  part- 
ner's powerful  suit.  (2)  To  trump  with 
one  hand  and  make  with  the  other,  alter- 
nately. (3)  To  establish  a  sustained 
cross-ruff.  (4)  Merely  to  win  the  odd 
trick  in  any  way,  in  a  close  contest.  (5) 
To  make  the  early  odd  trick  with  the 
least  risk.  (6)  To  defeat  your  opponents' 
attempts  to  carry  out  any  of  the  above 
five  aims  for  themselves. — "Aquarius" 
[L.  0.1,  "  The  Hands  at  Whist,"  1884. 

The  following  amusing  explanation  of 
the  origin  of  the  word  whist  is  translated 
from  a  French  work  oti  the  game:  "At  a 
time  when  French  was  the  current  lan- 
guage in  En  gland,  the  people  had  become 
so  infatuated  with  one  of  their  games  at 
cards  that  it  was  prohibited  after  a  cer- 
tain hour.  But  parties  met  clandestinely 
to  practice  it;  and  when  the  question, 
4  Voulez-vous  jouer  ?'  was  answered  by 
'  Oui!'  the  master  of  the  room  added  the 
interjection,  '  St!'  to  impose  silence.  This 
occurred  so  often  that  '  Oui-st '  became  at 
length  the  current  appellation  of  the 
game!" — Anon. 

"Whist."— A  monthly  journal 
devoted  to  the  game,  started  in 
June,  1891,  at  Milwaukee,  Wis., 
where  it  is  regularly  issued.  Its 
projectors  and  publishers  were  Eu- 
gene S.  Elliott,  Cassius  M.  Paine, 
and  George  W.  Hall,  who  associated 
themselves  under  the  name  of  the 
Whist  Publishing  Company.  Mr. 
Hall  died  on  October  2,  1891.  and 
the  enterprise  was  continued  by 
Messrs.  Elliott  and  Paine  until 
1896,  when  Mr.  Paine  became  sole 
proprietor. 

Whist  was  the  outgrowth  of  the 
first  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  which  was  held  at 
Milwaukee  in  April,  1891,  and  was 
made  the  official  organ  of  the 
League.  It  has  from  the  beginning 
prospered  under  the  excellent  edi- 
torial management  of  Mr.  Paine, 
who  is  a  firm  adherent  of  the 
"Cavendish"  school  of  whist,  in- 
cluding the  long-suit  game  and 


American  leads.  This  has  not  pre- 
vented him  from  giving  a  full  and 
courteous  hearing  in  his  journal  to 
those  who  uphold  other  theories. 
His  position  is  tersely  stated  as  fol- 
lows, in  Whist  of  April,  1897: 

"  Because  we  have  not  railed  at 
the  short-suit  system  of  playing 
whist,  some  of  our  readers  seem  to 
think  that  we  have  given  a  tacit 
approval  to  that  style  of  game.  It 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  point  out 
the  fallacy  of  such  an  inference. 
We  have  but  to  refer  to  our  answers 
to  questions  of  play  under  our 
heading  of  'Whist  Catechism,'  to 
show  our  position;  and  reference 
thereto  cannot  fail  to  convince  the 
observer  that  we  adhere  in  general 
to  the  conservative  principles  of 
the  game. 

"But  notwithstanding  that  we 
approve  of  and  are  firmly  attached 
to  the  long-suit  game,  we  have  felt 
it  our  duty  to  be  fair  to  the  short- 
suit  school,  and  so  have  given  its 
votaries  equal  opportunity  to  pre- 
sent their  arguments  and  declare 
their  faith,  because  we  want  our 
readers  to  gain  a  full  understanding 
of  both  sides  of  the  controversy, 
and  decide  the  question  for  them- 
selves as  far  as  possible.  In  doing 
so,  we  would  suggest  to  them  that 
it  is  evidence  of  a  higher  mind  to 
search  for  reconcilement  rather 
than  for  contradiction.  When  the 
difference  between  alternative 
propositions  is  so  small  as  to  leave 
the  judgment  in  doubt,  it  can  mat- 
ter but  little  which  side  is  espoused. 
Instead  of  proceeding  in  this  spirit, 
the  expounders  of  the  different 
methods  have  seemed  to  consider 
that  the  two  schools  are  in  violent 
opposition  to  each  other,  even  in 
minor  details,  and  they  appear  to 
hold  it  a  crime  for  either  to  borrow 
from  the  other.  This  is  all  wrong. 
Let  us  look  at  the  matter  a  little 
more  thoughtfully,  and  a  great  deal 


1  WHIST" 


483 


WHIST  ANALYST 


of  the  contention  will  be  cleared 
away.  One  has  but  to  read  '  Cav- 
endish' to  discover  that  after  laying 
down  the  principles  of  the  long- 
suit  game,  he  deals  largely  in  short- 
suit  tactics  under  the  considerations 
of  strategy  and  perception.  It  is 
our  opinion  that  after  the  opening 
lead  the  development  should  guide 
the  play  almost  entirely,  and  this 
principle  allows  a  range  of  tactics 
which  is  only  limited  by  the  al- 
most illimitable  combinations  of 
the  cards."  (See,  also,  "  Paine,  C. 
M.") 

Very  soon  after  the  formation  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  a  monthly  jour- 
nal, Whist,  which  is  devoted  exclusively 
to  the  game,  was  started  in  Milwaukee. 
The  first  number  appeared  in  June,  1891, 
and  it  has  been  the  vade  mecum  of  whist- 
players  ever  since,  being  now  the  official 
organ  of  the  League.  It  is  edited  by  Cas- 
sius  M.  Paine,  and  has  so  far  followed  the 
fashion  in  whist  matters,  being  in  its 
earlier  years  a  devoted  supporter  of  the 
number-showing  school,  and  having  no 
little  weight  in  confirming  the  tenden- 
cies of  American  whist-players  in  that 
direction.—  R.  F.  Foster  \S.  O.],  Monthly 
Illustrator,  1806. 

When  this  journal  was  established, 
now  nearly  four  years  ago,  a  very  zealous 
•whistman,  himself  a  writer  of  no  mean 
ability,  predicted  that  the  venture  would 
soon  die  of  inanition,  and  probably  he 
was  not  alone  in  thinking  that  the  game 
was  of  top  limited  scope  to  justify  pro- 
tracted discussion.  It  did  seem  then  as 
if  a  year  or  two  of  debate  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  settle  all  disputed  points,  when, 
since  there  would  be  nothing  left  to  quar- 
rel about,  Whist  must  needs  stop  talking. 
But  we  know  better  now.  We  know  that 
instead  of  subjects  of  discussion  becom- 
ing exhausted,  the  horizon  of  our  dis- 
putes is  continually  enlarging,  and  that 
our  wordy  wars  •will  never  end  so  long 
as  individuals  have  individual  eyes  and 
individual  brains. —  Whist  [L.  A.],  March, 
1895- 

It  was  natural,  as  whist  had  become  so 
popular  in  the  States,  that  it  should  be 
taken  up  by  the  press.  There  had  for 
some  time  been  "whist  columns"  in  the 
newspapers:  but  after  the  first  congress 
it  was  thought  desirable  to  start  a  special 
organ  for  it.  Accordingly,  in  June,  1891, 
there  was  published  in  Milwaukee  the 
first  number  of  a  handsome  large  quarto 
periodical,  entitled,  "  Whist,  a  Monthly 


Journal  Devoted  to  the  Interests  of  the 
Game."  And  on  the  occasion  of  the 
second  congress,  this  was  adopted  as  the 
accredited  organ  of  the  American  Whist 
League.  It  has  appeared  regularly  since, 
and  contains  matter  of  much  interest: 
Notices  of  the  congress  proceedings; 
essays  on  all  kind  of  topics  affecting  the 
game;  contributions  and  letters  from 
whist-writers  and  whist-players;  por- 
traits and  biographies;  examples  of 
hands  and  interesting  situations;  discus- 
sions of  difficult  and  controverted  points; 
club  news  and  announcements;  and  gen- 
erally a  monthly  repository  of  whist 
jottings.  The  advantage  of  such  a  jour- 
nal in  keeping  up  the  interest  in  the 
game  is  highly  appreciated,  and  the 
author  of  the  present  work  has  to  ac- 
knowledge much  information  and  many 
extracts  from  it  in  regard  to  whist  in 
America.  The  journal  is  ably  conducted 
by  Mr.  Cassius  M.  Paine,  a  well-known 
whist-player  in  Milwaukee.  —  William 
Pole  [L.  A  +],  '•'Evolution  of  Whist." 

Whist  Analyst. — One  who  pos- 
sesses the  ability  to  critically  analyze 
any  whist-play  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  its  merits  or  demerits. 
The  analytical  faculty  is  possessed 
by  all  the  leading  writers  on  the 
game,  and  by  expert  whist-players 
generally,  to  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree. In  England  the  names  of 
"  Cavendish,"  Clay,  Pole,  Drayson, 
Proctor,  and  Whitfeld  stand  out 
prominently  among  modern  whist 
analysts,  and  the  first-named  is  un- 
doubtedly the  greatest  England  has 
ever  produced. 

In  America  there  are  many  whist 
analysts  of  fine  ability,  as  not  only 
the  books  on  the  game  originating 
here,  but  the  daily,  weekly,  and 
monthly  whist  discussions  in  the 
press  testify.  Among  the  names 
which  will  readily  occur  to  any  one 
familiar  with  the  history  and  litera- 
ture of  the  game  in  this  country 
are  those  of  N.  B.  Trist,  C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton,  John  H.  Briggs,  Milton 
C.  Work,  George  L,.  Bunn,  R.  F. 
Foster,  Fisher  Ames,  John  T.  Mit- 
chell, Charles  M.  Clay,  E.  C.  How- 
ell,  Bond  Stow,  Emery  Boardman, 
W.  S.  Fenollosa,  and  others.  Not 


WHIST:  A  POEM 


484     WHIST  AS  AN  EDUCATOR 


all  of  these  have  worked  in  the 
same  direction,  not  all  of  them 
agree  in  their  theories,  and  several 
have  distinguished  themselves  more 
in  the  mathematical  and  problem- 
atical side  of  whist  than  in  the  do- 
main of  analysis  pure  and  simple. 
However,  in  the  group  as  a  whole 
will  be  found  talent  sufficient  to 
solve  any  question  that  may  arise 
in  whist  and  whist  practice. 

Whist:  a  Poem  in  Twelve  Can- 
tos.— An  elaborate  epic  which  was 
published  in  London  in  1791.  It 
was  written  by  Alexander  Thom- 
son, a  Scotchman,  and  met  with  so 
much  success  that  a  second  edition 
was  called  for.  It  gives  a  mythical 
account  of  the  introduction  of  play- 
ing cards,  and  the  invention  of  the 
game;  then  follows  a  versification 
of  the  laws  and  rules,  and  a  de- 
scription of  the  play  of  a  hand. 
The  author  next  philosophizes  on 
the  character  and  merits  of  the 
game,  and  closes  with  the  following 
rhapsody: 

Nor  do  I  yet  despair  to  see  the  day 
When    hostile    armies,    rang'd    in    neat 

array, 

Instead  of  fighting,  shall  engage  in  play. 
When  peaceful  whist  the  quarrel  sha'll 

decide, 
And  Christian  blood  be  spilt  on  neither 

side. 
Then  pleas  no  more  shall  wait  the  tardy 

laws, 
But  one  odd  trick  at  once  conclude  the 

cause. 
(Tho'  some  will  say  that  this  is  nothing 

new, 
For  here  there  have  been  long  odd  tricks 

enow !) 
Then  Britain  still,  to  all  the  world's  sur- 

Erise, 
i  great  science   shall   progressive 
rise. 

Till  ages  hence,  when  all  of  each  degree 
Shall  play  a  game  as  well  as  Hoyle  or  me! 

(See,  also,  "  Poems  on  Whist.") 

Whist  as  a  Home  Game.— Whist 
in  America  was  placed  on  a  higher 
plane  than  it  had  ever  occupied  be- 


fore, by  the  action  of  the  American 
Whist  League  in  abolishing  many 
objectionable  features,  especially 
the  custom  of  playing  for  stakes. 
The  higher  ideals  concerning  the 
game  which  animated  the  League 
are  outlined  as  follows  in  an  ad- 
dress which  President  Eugene  S. 
Elliott  delivered  before  its  third 
annual  congress:  "It  is  because 
whist  is  a  great  home  game  that  it 
endears  itself  to  the  hearts  of  our 
people,  and  renders  itself  worthy 
of  our  regard.  It  is  because  it  is 
the  means  by  which  our  boys  may 
be  kept  under  those  tender  and 
loving  influences  which,  thank 
God,  are  and  always  will  be  the 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  our 
American  homes,  that  whist  ap- 
peals with  intensified  force  to  our 
zeal  and  devotion.  It  should  be 
our  object  to  bring  this  game  into 
every  home  in  America.  We  should 
make  it  fit  to  take  and  keep  a  place 
there;  consequently,  we  should  be 
careful  in  the  enactment  of  the  laws 
by  which  it  is  governed." 

Whist  as  an  Educator.— One  of 

the  surest  evidences  that  whist,  in 
its  purity,  is  a  game  which  tran- 
scends all  other  games  in  merit,  is 
found  in  the  frequency  and  earn- 
estness with  which  it  is  recom- 
mended and  advocated  as  a  means 
of  healthful  and  beneficial  mental 
discipline,  both  for  young  and  old. 
In  England,  during  the  high  tide 
of  Hoyle's  popularity,  it  is  said 
whist  was  taught  in  fashionable 
boarding-schools;  and  a  school  for 
the  instruction  of  young  ladies  in 
whistis  humorously  proposed  in  Col- 
man  and  Thornton's  Connoisseur, 
of  March  20,  1755.  The  usefulness 
of  the  game  in  another  direction 
was  pointed  out  in  an  article  in  the 
Centinel,  of  October  22,  1757,  by 
the  editor,  Rev.  Thomas  Francklin, 
who  suggested  that  ' '  the  plodding 


rauO 


-3T  AS  AN  EDUCATOR 


i:i  M-- 


hav-  worked    in   U»f      f^re,  by  the  action  of  the  American 

on,    not    %!t   ai    tbMt       Whist  League  in  abolishing  many 

r  the<.ri'^   •.•••..:  -*•,«••  r-il       objectionable    features,    especially 

iishe«i  tM»".  •«      the  custom  of  playing  for  stakes. 

em.'UK.i-  The  higher  ideals  concerning  the 

whiv  •'•  v  >       game  which  animated  the  League 

'•vv  •   •      '  are  outlined  as  follows   in  an  ad- 

%~.  -.  •<.-      dress  which   President  Eugene  S. 

Elliott  delivered    before  its  third 

<*r       amr.ial  congress:     "It   is  because 

whm  is  a  great  home  game  that  it 

s.*4fl<j«rs  itself  to  the  hearts  of  our 

i  »..  i     ii  nd  renders  itself  worthy 

»  ***       *  :'ut  regard.     It  is  because  it  is 

l>*.'  t;«.  *;i*  by  which  our  boys  may 

to  k*pt    tfinirr   those    tender   and 

j^.       vu**j:j;       :«£w;.i.es     which,    thank 

The  Famous  Hamilton  Team. 


»  .  then  follows  a  versification 

Milton  G.  Work,  i  d 
Aton    of  the   play  of  a  hand. 

phil<f§T9Jiib^.  'Mo 
character    and   merits  of    the 
e,  and  closes  with 


1  yet  dtspair  f 


I  he  clay 

.  ::?'•''•    in    neat 


(Tbv-  (tonic  will  &ay  thsil  thU  U  o«-hi;;t. 
ff>r  her*  there  ba»e  1>«-cn  long:  odd  tn-:l-» 
'J';ir-is  Hiitain  Mil!  t«  a!l  ih<- world's  «ui- 


Ju  this  great  science    shall 

rise, 

Till  ag«.-s  hence,  when  all  of  eac 
S'lall  i>\ay  a  game  as  well  as  Hoyle  or  me! 

(Sec,  also,  "  Poems  on  Whist.") 

Whist  as  a  Home  Game.— Whist 
i:;  America  was  placed  on  -\  higher 
plane  iJbau  it  had  ever  occupied  be- 


:>.at  vuist  ap- 
pe.'.N  with  intensific-d  fore?*  to  our 
zeal  and  devotion.  It  sbowlii  be 
our  object  to  bring  this  game  into 
even"  home  in  America.  Weshould 
j^gg  it  fit  to  take  and  keep  a  place 
Oiere';  consequently,  we  should  be 
ictment  of  the  laws 
>y*"wlin?n"""""  JVverued." 

WnJ'stas  an  educator. — One  of 

tlie  surest  evidences  that  whist,  in 
its  purity,   i*  a  game  which  tran- 
scends all  other  games  in  merit,  is 
fr»uri<l  in   the  frequency  and  earn- 
catB**'*    with    which    it   is   recum- 
'  a'ivocited  as  a  means 
S*w-{vUi  iieutal 

.1--.    j,i:|%. .  S  .-.v.«n  <unlold. 

In  >  •,       r*M'    high  tide 

of  K-  '»  i  -•>-lv".ty>  it  is  said 
whist  «  «.«  > •>•'••.  in  fashionable 
boar  !r-.  'v'sv  and  a  school  for 

the  in.--.  .)  *»  of  young  ladies  in 
whistis ;  x  r\  -"Hjsly  proposed  in  Col- 
utan  «f.  •  .rv-«>rnton's  Connoisseur, 
of  Marc>i  jf«,  1755-  Tlie  useful  nsss 
of  the  ;.'  ..n-«  in  another  direction 
was  pointed  out  in  an  article  in  the 
Centinel,  <>f  October  22,  1757,  by 
the  editor.  Rev.  Thomas  Francklin, 
who  suggested  that  ' '  the  plodding 


WHIST  AS  AN  EDUCATOR     485     WHIST  AS  AN  EDUCATOR 


game  of  whist  would  furnish  good 
heads  for  the  law. "  This  idea  was 
subsequently  enlarged  upon  by 
Sam  Warren,  in  his  "Popular  In- 
troduction to  I/aw  Studies."  Here 
he  tells  the  student  that  he  may 
make  his  amusement  take  a  share 
in  instructing  his  mind.  Whist  is 
picked  out  as  one  of  the  games 
calculated  to  aid  in  the  formation 
of  the  skilled  lawyer.  ' '  It  can  in- 
duce," he  says,  "  habits  of  patient 
and  vigilant  attention,  cautious  cir- 
cumspection, accurate  calculation, 
and  forecasting  of  consequences. " 
In  his  opinion  such  a  diversion  as 
whist  would  constitute  to  many 
minds  "  the  first  and  best  step  to- 
wards mental  discipline."  In  its 
practice  would  be  found  ' '  the  ef- 
ficient correctives  of  an  erratic  and 
voluble  humour  —  very  pleasant 
and  valuable  auxiliaries." 

In  this  country  the  value  of  whist 
as  an  educator  is  generally  recog- 
nized, and  the  minds  of  the  rising 
generation  are  largely  benefited  by 
private  tuition  and  training  in  the 
game.  But  many  would  go  further 
than  this.  Mrs.  M.  S.  Jenks,  the 
well-known  whist-teacher,  made  an 
earnest  and  able  argument  in  the 
Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  of  October  9, 
1892,  in  favor  of  adding  instruction 
in  whist  to  the  curriculum  in  the 
public  schools,  this  being,  so  far  as 
we  know,  the  first  public  advocacy 
of  such  a  course.  Mrs.  Jenks 
showed  how  admirably  the  game 
was  calculated  to  promote  the  three 
chief  aims  of  education,  which,  ac- 
cording to  President  Eliot,  of  Har- 
vard, are:  (i)  close  observation; 
(2)  accurate  recording;  (3)  cor- 
rect inference.  In  a  paper  read  at 
the  fourth  whist  congress,  and  pub- 
lished in  Whist  for  July,  1894,  P. 
J.  Tormey,  of  San  Francisco,  also 
advocated  the  idea,  chosing  for  his 
subject  the  title,  "Whist  in  Our 
Universities."  Whist,  in  comment- 


ing on  Mr.  Tormey 's  paper,  says, 
among  other  things:  "  It  may  seem 
reckless  to  make  the  assertion,  but 
we  maintain  and  believe,  and  can 
easily  prove,  that  the  proper  study 
of  whist  affords  higher  and  more 
satisfactory  mental  discipline  than 
is  obtained  by  the  great  majority 
of  studies  embraced  in  the  curricu- 
lum." 

As  a  means  of  cultivating  the  percep- 
tions and  the  reasoning  faculties,  I  have 
long  maintained  that  whist  was  a  better 
means  than  many  of  the  so-called  sci- 
ences.— A.  W.  Drayson  [L.+ A+]. 

Parents  obtain  foreign  professors  to 
teach  languages,  dancing-masters  to 
teach  dancing,  that  their  children  may 
shine  in  society,  but  never  think  that 
whist  should  be  learnt  like  other  elegant 
attainments. — "A.  Trump, JrJ'[L.  0.]. 

He  [A.  G.  Safford]  has  for  many  years 
advocated  the  study  and  practice  of  the 
game  as  a  means  of  mental  discipline, 
believing  it  to  rank  among  the  potent 
factors  in  that  regard,  quite  equal  to  the 
discipline  of  the  higher  mathematics,  but 
yielding  an  education  of  a  more  useful 
character  practically;  that  is  to  say,  that 
of  thinking  and  acting  surely. — C.  S, 
Boutcher  [L.  A.],  "Whist  Sketches,"  1892. 

Whist,  although  a  pastime  and  tending 
to  increase  social  intercourse,  is  yet  some- 
thing more.  It  brings  into  action  the 
faculties  of  memory,  observation,  judg- 
ment, patience,  and  knowledge  of  char- 
acter, all  of  which  are  necessary  as  means 
of  success  in  the  world;  thus  whist,  like 
some  branches  of  mathematics,  although 
not  practically  useful  in  everyday  life, 
yet  calls  into  action  those  mental  quali- 
ties which  every  observing  and  reasoning 
person  ought  to  possess. — A .  W.  Drayson 
[L+A+],  "The  Art  of  Practical  Whist." 

Whist  is  a  game  of  science,  a  game 
calling  for  the  exercise  of  keen  percep- 
tion, watchfulness,  memory,  patience, 
and  trust  in  the  established  laws  of 
probability.  It  may  sound  like  exagge- 
ration to  say  that  whist  is  far  better  cal- 
culated to  develop  the  mind  than  many 
things  at  school,  yet  many  a  man  can 
perceive  a  real  gain  to  his  mental  quali- 
ties from  whist  practice,  who  would  find 
it  hard  to  recognize  any  good  which  he 
had  obtained  from  learning  how  to  write 
Latin  verses,  with  due  attention  to  the 
niceties  of  the  ccssura.  A  course  of  whist- 
play  is  a  capital  way  of  training  the 
memory,  the  power  of  attention,  and  the 
temper;  but  nine  boys  out  of  ten  gain 
nothing  from  a  course  of  practice  in  de- 


WHIST  BOOKS 


486 


WHIST  CLUBS 


termining  the  greater  common  measure, 
and  the  least  common  multiples  of  alge- 
braic quantities. — R.  A .  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

Whist  Books.— See,  "Books  on 
Whist." 

Whist  Clubs. — A  whist  club  is  a 
club  at  which  whist  is  played  by 
the  members  of  the  organization 
and  such  visitors  as  may  be  admit- 
ted under  the  rules.  The  purposes 
of  a  club  are  to  promote  and  ad- 
vance whist  in  general;  to  develop 
and  perfect  the  whist-play  of  its 
members,  and  also  to  promote  good 
fellowship.  The  club  is  governed 
by  a  constitution  and  by-laws  sim- 
ilar to  those  of  other  social  clubs, 
with  special  provisions  concerning 
whist.  These  include  the  election 
at  each  annual  meeting  of  a  whist 
committee,  whose  duty  it  is  to  ar- 
range for  contests  within  the  club 
and  with  other  whist  clubs;  to  de- 
cide upon  points  of  play  and  inter- 
pretation of  whist  laws  and  rules 
adopted  by  the  club,  whenever  dif- 
ferences in  relation  thereto  are  sub- 
mitted to  them;  and  to  institute 
any  methods  they  may  deem  advis- 
able to  promote  the  efficiency  of 
the  players.  This  committee  also 
provides  playing  cards  and  score 
cards.  League  clubs  have  a  pro- 
vision to  this  effect:  "The  laws 
of  the  American  Whist  League 
shall  govern  the  play  of  this  club 
in  matches  played  at  the  club 
house.  The  whist  committee  shall 
not  be  called  upon  to  settle  any 
questions  except  such  as  arise 
under  these  laws  and  under 
the  rules  adopted  by  the  "club." 
Card-playing  for  money  is  invari- 
ably prohibited  by  provision  of  the 
by-laws.  Many  of  the  American 
whist  clubs  are  also  incorporated  by 
act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State. 
Some  of  them,  also,  of  recent 
years,  provide  a  test  for  the  admis- 
sion of  members,  in  addition  to 


their  good  moral  character.  A 
committee  is  appointed  on  the 
playing  abilities  of  a  candidate,  it 
being  deemed  a  proper  precaution 
in  order  that  only  those  who  un- 
derstand the  game  shall  be  admit- 
ted. ( See,  '  'Admission  to  Clubs. ' ' ) 

Many  clubs  exist  in  America  in 
which  whist  is  played,  but  is  not 
the  main  object.  These  are  social 
clubs  in  which  the  game  forms  an 
occasional  recreation,  or  in  which 
a  special  whist  coterie  is  formed  by 
members  devoted  to  the  game.  In 
some  of  these  clubs  whist  is  played 
after  the  English  fashion,  with 
table  stakes,  but  no  club  playing 
for  money  can  belong  to  the  Amer- 
ican Whist  League;  and,  besides, 
such  play  is  a  violation  of  law,  and 
if  carried  on  must  be  done  secretly, 
the  same  as  other  gambling.  There 
are  other  social  clubs  which  have  a 
duly  organized  whist  club  as  an 
adjunct,  and  many  such  whist 
branches  are  represented  by  mem- 
bership in  the  American  Whist 
League.  The  League,  at  its  annual 
meeting  in  1897,  had  a  total  mem- 
bership of  156  clubs,  of  which  but 
sixty-six  were  independent  whist 
clubs,  and  the  rest  social  clubs, 
departmental  whist  clubs,  chess  and 
whist  clubs,  and  athletic  clubs. 
The  total  membership  represented 
by  all  the  clubs  was  31,733,  of 
whom  8655  were  classed  as  active 
whist-players. 

No  other  country  under  the  sun 
possesses  a  network  of  clubs  equal 
to  the  above,  and  to  them  must  be 
added  hundreds  of  clubs  composed 
exclusively  of  women,  quite  a  num- 
ber of  which  already  belong  to  the 
Woman's  Whist  League  (q.  v.), 
which  was  organized  in  1897.  In 
no  other  country  is  whist  as  popu- 
lar and  as  well  played  as  in  Amer- 
ica. Canada  has  a  number  of  good 
clubs,  which  are  forming  an  ac- 
quaintance with  one  another  by 


WHIST  COMPARED 


487 


WHIST  COMPARED 


means  of  the  Canadian  Whist 
League  (q.v.),  which  was  organized 
in  1896,  and  promises  to  call  many 
other  clubs  into  existence  "across 
the  border." 

Of  whist  clubs  in  England  "  Cav- 
endish" said  in  an  interview,  dur- 
ing his  first  American  tour  in  1893: 
"  In  England  there  are  few  whist 
clubs — in  fact,  I  only  think  of  three 
organizations  formed  solely  for  the 
cultivation  of  whist.  They  are  the 
Portland  Club,  the  'Cavendish' 
Whist  Club,  and  the  Turf  Club. 
Of  course,  whist  is  played  in  all  of 
the  general  social  or  political  clubs, 
but  we  have  no  such  system  of 
whist  clubs  as  you  have  here.  It 
may  interest  you  to  know  that  the 
Portland  Club,  which  I  have  men- 
tioned, was  established  one  hundred 
and  six  years  ago,  and  is  regarded 
as  the  premier '  whist  club  of  the 
world.  It  now  has  a  membership 
of  two  hundred."  (See,  also, 
"American  Game,"  and  "Eng- 
land, Whist  in.") 

But  the  enormous  increase  in  whist 
clubs  and  membership  represents  but  a 
fraction,  numerically,  of  the  vast  numbers 
unorganized  who  have  been  added  to  the 
army  of  whist-players  in  the  past  six 
years.  These  constitute  the  players  in 
the  home  and  social  circles,  and  the  pro- 
portion of  women  is  greater  than  men. 
An  illustration  of  this  is  a  whist  game,  or 
sitting',  gotten  up  in  Boston,  in  February, 
to  provide  money  for  the  suffering  poor, 
at  which  there  were  one  thousand  tables, 
and  four  thousand  players,  mostly  ladies. 
— Charles  S.  Boutcher  [L.A.],  "BlackDia- 
mond  Express,"  March,  i8gf. 

Whist  Compared  With  Chess.— 
Chess  is  entirely  a  game  of  skill, 
and  as  such  it  is  confined  to  the 
few.  Whist  combines  chance  and 
skill  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make 
it  less  taxing  than  chess  to  those 
who  wish  to  play  a  simpler  game; 
and  yet,  in  its  highest  developed 
form,  it  affords  as  great  a  scope  and 
exercise  for  the  mental  powers  as 
chess.  In  fact,  scientific  whist,  and 


whist  as  a  fine  art,  require  genius 
fully  as  high  as  that  of  the  chess 
genius.  Besides  the  element  of 
chance,  be  it  great  or  small,  accord- 
ing to  style  of  game  played,  the 
very  nature  of  whist  makes  it  more 
attractive.  It  is  played  with  cards, 
in  which  there  is  the  constantly  re- 
curring shuffle  and  deal,  and  play 
of  the  hands,  until  each  game  is 
won  and  lost.  It  is  a  game  between 
four  people,  while  chess  is  a  nar- 
rower game  between  two.  There 
is  the  added  zest  of  partnership 
play,  with  legitimate  intercommu- 
nication of  play  between  partners; 
and  there  is  the  mystery  of  the  con- 
cealed hands  which,  despite  con- 
ventional signals,  fall  of  cards,  and 
shrewd  calculations  and  inferences 
on  the  part  of  experts,  always  holds 
the  attention  to  the  close  of  the 
hand,  and  frequently  presents  many 
surprises.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see 
at  a  glance  why  whist  is  popular 
with  high  and  low,  with  experts 
and  poor  players  as  well.  It  seems 
to  fill  a  universal  want  according  to 
the  capacities  of  the  players. 

Many  players  who  excelled  at 
chess  have  given  their  preference 
and  adherence  to  whist.  Descha- 
pelles,  the  chess  champion  of 
France  at  one  time,  is  better  re- 
membered by  his  achievements  at 
whist,  being  generally  regarded  as 
the  finest  whist-player  that  ever 
lived.  In  this  country  some  of  the 
leading  whist  authors  and  players 
likewise  have  won  distinction  at 
chess,  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  and  E.  C. 
Howell  among  others. 

The  changeableness  of  the  known  ele- 
ments to  which  analysis  can  be  applied  is 
one  of  the  special  charms  of  whist,  and  it 
introduces  variety  of  a  kind  to  which 
there  is  no  parallel  in  chess.  At  chess  the 
moves  are  suggested  by  the  application 
of  analysis  based  on  inspection;  at  whist 
the  play  results  from  exercise  of  judg- 
ment, based  on  observation  and  infer- 
ence.— "Cavendish"  [L.  A.],  "Card  Es- 
says." 


WHIST  EDITORS. 


488 


WHIST  EDITORS 


Whist  is,  without  question,  the  best  of 
our  domestic  games.  The  only  other  one 
which  could  lay  claim  to  such  a  distinc- 
tion is  chess,  but  this  has  the  disadvan- 
tage of  containing  110  element  of  chance 
in  its  composition,  which  renders  it  too 
severe  a  mental  labor,  and  disqualifies  it 
from  being  considered  a  game  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word.  Whist,  on  the 
contrary,  while  it  is  equal  to  chess  in  its 
demands  on  the  intellect  and  skill  of  the 
player,  involves  so  much  chance  as  to 
give  relief  to  the  mental  energies,  and 
thus  to  promote,  as  every  good  game 
should,  the  amusement  and  relaxation  of 
those  engaged.—  William  Pole  [L.  A+]. 

Another  point  which  should  be  im- 
pressed on  the  mind  of  the  student  is  that 
there  is  no  possibility  of  settling  moot 
questions  at  whist  by  mathematics.  All 
the  conditions  of  the  problem  cannot  be 
stated,  because  the  combinations  of  the 
game  are  beyond  computation.  In  a 
game  like  checkers,  in  which  there  are 
only  twenty-four  men,  and  all  have  equal 
powers,  it  is  possible  to  analyze  and 
record  the  results  of  every  possible  move. 
This  has  been  done  to  such  an  extent  that 
ninety  per  cent,  of  the  games  in  impor- 
tant matches  result  in  a  draw.  In  chess 
this  has  been  found  impossible  beyond 
the  first  ten  moves,  because  the  combina- 
tions of  thirty-two  men  of  widely  varying 
powers  is  beyond  the  mental  grasp  of  any 
one  human  being.  When  we  come  to 
whist,  with  its  fifty-two  pieces  of  various 
powers,  and  the  additional  complication 
of  the  trump  suit,  we  reach  the  infinite. — 
Jf.  P.  Foster  [5.  O.],  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Post- 
Express,  October  24, 1896. 

Whist  Editors.— The  game  of 
whist  occupies  more  attention  and 
space  in  the  American  press  than 
all  other  card  games  put  together. 
It  not  only  has  a  journal  entirely 
devoted  to  its  interests  ( Whist,  of 
Milwaukee,  edited  by  Cassius  M. 
Paine),  but  many  daily  papers  all 
over  the  country  have  whist  col- 
umns or  departments  during  the 
whist  season.  Many  of  the  leading 
players  are  regular  contributors  to 
or  entirely  conduct  such  depart- 
ments. 

Whist  has  always  received  a  large 
share  of  attention  in  the  public 
prints.  It  seems  to  have  been  first 
treated  as  a  regular  pastime  in  the 
pages  of  the  London  Sporting 
Magazine,  in  1793.  "  Cavendish" 


is  the  pioneer  among  modern  whist 
editors,  having  conducted  the  whist 
and  general  card  department  in  the 
London  Field  since  1864.  Next 
came  Charles  Mossop,  who  edited 
the  Westminster  Papers  (a  monthly 
journal  devoted  to  chess,  whist, 
and  other  games)  from  1868  to  1879. 
Knowledge  was  the  next  in  the 
field,  being  started  in  London  by 
the  late  Richard  A.  Proctor,  in 
1881. 

The  Australasian,  published  in 
Melbourne,  has  maintained  a  whist 
column  for  the  past  thirty  years. 
The  Indian  Mail,  Calcutta,  gives 
some  space  to  whist  every  week. 

In  this  country  whist  appears 
to  have  been  first  regularly  com- 
mented upon  and  written  about 
in  the  Boston  Daily  Herald,  its 
whist  department  being  conducted 
by  George  W.  Pettes,  the  author  of 
"American  Whist  Illustrated," 
who  was  also  the  first  American  to 
publish  an  original  book  on  the 
game. 

Early  in  the  nineties,  shortly 
after  the  formation  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  we  find  N.  B.  Trist, 
of  American  leads  fame,  contribut- 
ing whist  lore  to  the  New  South, 
of  New  Orleans;  Fisher  Ames  was 
doing  good  work  in  the  Brooklyn 
Eagle;  C.  S.  Boutcher  was  writing 
graceful  sketches  in  the  Easton 
(Pa.)  Free  Press;  John  H.  Briggs 
was  doing  valuable  work  in  behalf 
of  the  game  in  the  Minneapolis 
News-Tnbune,  P.  J.  Tormey  in  the 
San  Francisco  Chronicle,  Milton  C. 
Work  in  the  Philadelphia  Inquirer, 
and  Charles  H.  Doe  in  the  Worces- 
ter (Mass.)  Gazette.  The  ladies, 
too,  were  in  evidence.  Mrs.  Abbie 
E.  Krebs  was  editing  a  whist  de- 
partment in  a  San  Francisco  daily, 
and  Mrs.  M.  S.  Jenks  had  made  an 
enviable  record  in  the  Chicago  In- 
ter-Ocean, no  lessen  authority  than 
C.  D.  P.  Hamilton  declaring  that 


WHIST  EDITORS 


489 


WHIST  EDITORS 


her  department,  during  the  year 
and  a  half  that  she  conducted  it, 
contained  more  good  matter  for  the 
average  reader  than  he  had  seen  in 
any  whist  column  in  America. 

In  January,  1898,  we  are  able, 
from  reports  made  to  us  from  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  country,  to  give 
the  following  brief  description  of 
the  whist  situation  in  the  daily 
press: 

Albany,  N.  Y.— The  Evening 
Journal  publishes  a  regular  whist 
column,  which  was  established  in 
May,  1896,  and  appears  every  Sat- 
urday. Howard  J.  Rogers,  the 
editor  in  charge,  is  a  vigorous 
champion  of  the  long-suit  game, 
with  American  leads. 

Baltimore,  Md.  —  The  Daily 
News  has  a  whist  department, 
which  appears  regularly  each  week, 
under  the  editorship  of  Beverley 
W.  Smith,  an  expert  player  and 
writer  of  ability.  He  is  a  lawyer 
by  profession,  and  upholds  the 
long-suit  game  and  American  leads, 
with  certain  modifications  adopted 
by  his  team. 

Buffalo,  N.  Y. — The  papers  have 
no  regular  whist  departments,  al- 
though they  all  publish  the  scores 
made  at  local  tourneys,  and  other 
whist  news, 

Boston,  Mass. — The  late  George 
W.  Pettes  established  the  first  whist 
department  in  this  country  in  the 
Herald,  six  or  eight  years  ago. 
The  Herald's  present  department 
was  started  by  E.  C.  Howell,  the 
noted  short-suit  author  and  expert, 
in  February,  1897.  It  appears  daily 
and  Sundays.  The  Boston  Herald's 
services  in  the  cause  of  whist  de- 
serve to  be  specially  recognized. 
The  Boston  Transcript  also  has  an 
ably  conducted  and  widely  quoted 
department,  which  appears  once  a 
week,  under  the  direction  of 
Lander  M.  Bouve",  one  of  New 
England's  foremost  players. 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.— The  Daily 
Eagle  publishes  a  whist  column 
every  Wednesday,  edited  by  A.  E. 
Taylor,  one  of  the  strongest  play- 
ers in  Brooklyn.  Robert  H. 
Weems,  to  whom  more  than  to  any 
one  man  is  due  the  great  popularity 
which  whist  enjoys  in  Brooklyn, 
has  been  for  several  years  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  the  Eagle,  to 
which  paper  Fisher  Ames  and 
John  H.  Briggs  also  contributed  at 
times.  Elwood  T.  Baker,  the  well- 
known  teacher  of  whist,  edited 
whist  matters  in  the  Eagle  for 
some  years,  but  is  now  with  the 
Standard-Union,  which  publishes 
a  daily  column. 

Chicago,  111.— The  Chicago  In- 
ter-Ocean instituted  the  first  whist 
department  in  the  West,  and  it  was 
in  charge  of  the  late  G.  W.  Pettes, 
whose  last  work  was  done  for  it 
prior  to  his  death,  March  18,  1892. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  M.  S. 
Jenks,  for  a  year  and  a  half,  until 
her  engagements  as  a  whist-teacher 
prevented  her  further  continuation 
as  editor,  although  she  remains  a 
frequent  contributor.  The  depart- 
ment has  since  been  in  charge  of 
John  T.  Mitchell,  author  of  "  Du- 
plicate Whist  and  Modern  Leads," 
who  also  edits  the  whist  column 
each  week  in  the  Times-Herald. 

Des  Moines,  Iowa. — A  whist  de- 
partment was  established  in  the 
Leader  in  February,  1896,  and  has 
appeared  each  week  since  that 
time,  with  W.  S.  H.  Matthews,  M. 
D.,  in  charge. 

Fergus  Falls,  Minn. — H.  M. 
Wheelock  writes  concerning  the 
whist  department  in  his  paper, 
Wheelock1  s  Weekly:  "My  whist 
column  is  a  rather  desultory  affair, 
spreading  out  a  good  deal  when  I 
seem  to  have  some  ideas,  and  some- 
times disappearing  altogether.  I 
run  it  for  my  own  pleasure,  and  in- 
cidentally because  it  is  a  good 


WHIST  EDITORS 


490 


WHIST  EDITORS 


thing  for  the  interest  taken  in  the 
game  here.  It  has  been  running 
since  my  paper  started,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1895.  I  report  the  news  of  the 
Fergus  Falls  Whist  Club,  publish 
occasional  hands,  etc.,  and,  to  some 
extent,  keep  track  of  what  is  going 
on  in  the  whist  world  outside." 

Galesburg,  111. — A  weekly  whist 
department  appears  in  the  Republi- 
can-Register, in  charge  of  J.  B. 
Seeley,  a  well-known  lawyer. 

Haverhill,  Mass.— The  Gazette 
has  a  whist  department. 

Hudson,  N.  Y. — The  News's  in- 
teresting whist  department  is  edited 
by  A.  B.  Chase.  Also,  the  whist 
department  in  the  Sunday  Journal, 
which  was  commenced  in  the  latter 
part  of  1897. 

Minneapolis,  Minn. — For  a  year 
or  more,  up  to  the  time  of  his  leav- 
ing for  the  far  West,  in  1897,  John 
H.  Briggs,  considered  by  many  the 
best  whist-player  in  America,  was 
a  regular  contributor  to  the  Jour- 
nal, and  his  articles  exerted  a  wide 
and  beneficial  influence.  In  1897 
his  department  was  transferred  to 
the  Sunday  Times,  in  which  he 
started  a  series  of  articles  for  begin- 
ners. 

Newark,  N.  J. — The  Evening 
News  established  a  whist  depart- 
ment in  April,  1896,  in  charge  of  T. 
E.  Otis,  a  brainy  and  able  advocate 
of  good  whist.  J.  K.  Smith,  in 
March,  1897,  took  charge  of  the 
Sunday  Call's  whist  department, 
previously  conducted  by  Mr.  Otis. 
November  17,  1897,  Mr.  Smith  also 
began  a  whist  column  in  Wednes- 
day's and  Saturday's  issues  of  the 
Daily  Advertiser. 

New  York. — One  of  the  very  fore- 
most whist  departments  in  this 
country  is  that  conducted  by  R.  F. 
Foster,  in  the  New  York  Sun.  It 
was  established  by  him  December 
I5»  I895-  Articles  devoted  to  the 
discussion  of  moot  points  in  whist, 


with  illustrative  hands  and  expla- 
nations of  new  systems  of  play, 
appear  each  Sunday.  Problems  are 
a  specialty.  Results  of  important 
matches,  scores  made  in  local  clubs, 
tournaments,  etc.,  are  published 
during  the  week,  the  New  Jersey 
and  New  York  games  on  Fridays, 
and  the  A.  W.  L.  matches  on  Mon- 
days. Reflecting  Mr.  Foster's  whist 
ideas,  the  Sun  is  intensely  in  favor 
of  the  short-suit,  or,  as  now  called, 
common-sense,  game.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  long-suit  game  is  just  as 
earnestly  advocated  and  defended 
by  the  New  York  Evening  Post, 
whose  whist  department  has  been  a 
regular  Saturday  feature  since  the 
sixth  congress  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  1896.  Articles 
now  appear  on  Wednesday  also. 
It  is  ably  conducted  by  Mrs.  Henry 
E.  Wallace,  better  known  as  Mar- 
garetta  Wetherill  Wallace,  an 
interesting  and  ready  writer,  who 
is  the  first  woman  to  write  regu- 
larly on  the  technical  side  of  whist. 
Charles  R.  Keiley  has  at  various 
times  had  charge  of  whist  matters 
in  the  Evening  Telegram  and 
Herald.  The  Mail  and  Express's 
whist  department  is  conducted  by 
Milton  C.  Work,  of  Philadelphia; 
the  regular  articles  appear  on  Sat- 
urday, and  reports  of  A.  W.  L. 
matches  on  Mondays.  The  Com- 
mercial Advertiser  has  a  short 
whist  article  every  Saturday,  with 
one  of  Sam  Lloyd's  problems.  The 
Illustrated  American  has  two  col- 
umns every  week,  with  problems 
and  illustrative  hands,  contributed 
by  R.  F.  Foster. 

Philadelphia.  — During  1895,1896, 
and  part  of  1897,  the  EveningTele- 
graph  enjoyed  the  distinction  of 
being  the  only  paper  in  the  world 
containing  a  daily  whist  column, 
or  a  weekly  whist  page.  It  was  in 
charge  of  Milton  C.  Work,  the 
noted  whist  author  and  expert 


WHIST  EDITORS 


491 


WHIST  EDITORS 


player,  and  created  a  widespread 
interest  in  the  game  among  its 
readers.  One  of  its  whist  prize  con- 
tests, in  October,  1896,  called  forth 
twenty-five  thousand  answers.  In 
the  fall  of  1897  Mr.  Work  trans- 
ferred his  department  to  the  Phila- 
delphia Press,  where  it  now  appears 
every  day  in  the  week.  During 
the  season  of  i896-'97  the  Public 
Ledger\\z.^.  a  very  interesting  whist 
column,  which  appeared  three  times 
a  week,  with  Warren  A.  Hawley  in 
charge. 

Portland,  Oregon. — Whist  formed 
a  special  feature  in  the  Sunday  Ore- 
gonian  during  the  winter  of  1896- 
'97.  Miss  Annie  Blanche  Shelby 
was  in  charge  of  the  department. 

Providence,  R.  I. — The  Journal 
established  a  whist  department 
November  i,  1896,  with  William  A. 
Potter  in  charge.  It  appears  each 
Sunday,  and  is  widely  read.  While 
Mr.  Potter  personally  favors  the 
short-suit  game,  being  a  successful 
player  of  that  game,  his  work  in 
\hejoumal  is  conducted  on  broad 
and  liberal  lines. 

Rochester,  N.  Y.— The  Saturday 
whist  department  in  the  Post- 
Express,  started  in  1896,  is  in 
charge  of  W.  H.  Samson,  manag- 
ing editor  of  that  paper,  and  an 
able  and  accomplished  whister  as 
well  as  newspaper  man.  He  is 
also  secretary  of  the  Rochester 
Whist  Club,  an  organization  with  a 
membership  of  five  hundred.  A 
series  of  articles  on  whist,  by  R.  F. 
Foster,  formed  a  prominent  whist 
feature  of  the  Post-Express  during 
iS96-'97.  Its  department  runs 
thirty -five  weeks  each  season,  from 
November  to  July.  Among  the 
special  contributions  appearing  dur- 
ing 1897-' 98  are  articles  from  Fisher 
Ames,  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton,  T.  E. 
Otis,  R.  F.  Foster,  L.  M.  Bouve", 
W.  A.  Potter,  and  P.  J.  Tormey. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. — During  1896  an 


item  went  the  rounds  of  the  press 
stating  that  the  St.  Louis  Globe- 
Democrat  had  an  exclusive  novelty 
in  the  shape  of  a  Japanese  whist 
editor.  The  foundation  for  this 
statement  consisted  in  the  fact  that 
Alfred  Weiller,  the  whist  editor  in 
question,  had  for  a  number  of 
years  resided  in  Japan.  We  have 
seen  a  photograph  of  Mr.  Weiller 
taken  in  Japanese  costume.  In 
December,  1896,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  whist  committee  of  the  St. 
Louis  Office  Men's  Club.  , 

St.  Paul,  Minn.— The  whist  col- 
umn of  the  Globe  was  in  charge  of 
George  L.  Bunn  for  one  year,  up 
to  January  I,  1897,  when  his  elec- 
tion to  the  bench  obliged  him  to 
discontinue.  Under  his  charge  the 
department  was  one  of  the  best  in 
this  country,  and  a  veritable  long- 
suit  stronghold. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.— The  Call 
has  a  fine  whist  department,  which 
appears  once  a  week,  with  P.  J. 
Tormey  as  editor. 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. — A.  M.  Knick- 
erbocker, an  enthusiastic  and  well- 
known  whister,  edits  the  whist  de- 
partment in  the  Times,  and  pub- 
lishes syndicate  articles  on  the 
game,  notably  Howell's. 

Tacoma,  Wash. — The  Daily 
Ledger  has  a  weekly  whist  depart- 
ment, devoted  to  the  interests  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Whist  Asso- 
ciation. 

Toledo,  O.— The  whist  depart- 
ment of  the  Bee  was  established  in 
1895,  with  Tracy  Barnes  as  editor, 
and  continuea  by  him  each  Sunday 
for  two  years,  when  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Charles  H.  Lemmon,  a 
well-known  member  of  the  legal 
fraternity.  Mr.  Barnes's  whist  en- 
thusiasm next  found  vent  in  the 
Saturday  issue  of  the  Blade,  whose 
whist  department  he  started  on 
January  i,  1897.  During  the  sev- 
enth congress  of  the  American 


WHIST  EDITORS 


492 


WHIST  EDITORS 


Whist  League,  that  year,  he  con- 
ducted a  daily  whist  journal  called 
Echoes,  at  Put-in-Bay.  It  was  a 
remarkable  undertaking,  inasmuch 
as  the  place  is  far  removed  from 
any  printing  office.  It  was  also  re- 
markable as  being  the  first  distinct- 
ive daily  publication  with  which 
the  League  was  ever  honored.  Four 
printers  were  employed;  a  new 
press,  weighing  eighteen  hundred 
pounds,  was  transported  to  the 
scene,  and  the  paper  was  published 
in  the  Hotel  Victory,  the  whist 
type  and  illustrations  being  fur- 
nished by  the  Blade  management. 
Five  hundred  copies  of  Echoes 
were  issued  each  day  and  distrib- 
uted as  souvenirs.  The  publication 
made  a  great  hit. 

Washington,  D.  C.— The  Wash- 
ington Star  commenced  the  publi- 
cation of  whist  notes  in  connection 
with  chess  about  the  year  1894. 
Subsequently  Dr.  George  Walls, 
the  editor  in  charge,  disassociated 
whist  from  chess,  and  instituted  a 
separate  column  for  whist.  It  ap- 
pears regularly  on  Saturdays,  and 
is  followed  on  Mondays  with  notes 
of  matches  and  other  whist  news. 

West  Superior. — A  whist  depart- 
ment was  established  in  the  Inland 
Ocean,  in  January,  1897.  It  ap- 
pears each  week,  and  is  edited  by 
Charles  P.  White,  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  the  Superior  Chess  and 
Whist  Club. 

Wheeling,  W.  Va.— The  Wheel- 
ing Register  has  a  weekly  column, 
with  illustrative  hands  and  prob- 
lems. 

Of  the  editors  mentioned,  R.  F. 
Foster,  E.  C.  Howell,  C.  R.  Keiley, 
W.  H.  Samson,  E.  T.  Baker,  W. 
A.  Potter,  and  Dr.  George  Walls 
favor  the  short-suit  game.  Mr. 
Potter  says,  in  a  letter:  "  While  no 
attempt  is  made  to  advocate  any 
particular  system  of  play,  the  in- 
tention being  to  treat  everything 


with  perfect  fairness,  I  presume 
the  general  character  of  the  articles 
can  hardly  escape  being  tinged 
with  my  own  personal  preferences, 
which  are  for  the  modified  short- 
suit,  or  '  common  sense, '  game.  It 
is  now  about  five  years  since  I  be- 
came convinced  that  too  many 
tricks  were  lost  by  the  invariable 
opening  of  the  long  suit.  A  couple 
of  years  of  experimenting  fol- 
lowed, and  when  my  ideas  had 
boiled  down  to  something  definite, 
I  introduced  the  new  game  to  the 
club.  It  soon  became  evident  that 
nothing  short  of  a  knock-down 
argument  would  convince  anybody, 
so  the  duplicate  was  resorted  to. 
In  seventy-three  games  (one  sea- 
son's play)  the  new  game  won 
sixty-four  and  tied  two.  To-day 
practically  the  whole  club  member- 
ship play  the  modern  game.  Our 
team  has  been  in  every  New  Eng- 
land tournament  in  the  past  two 
years,  and  never  failed  to  land  well 
up  in  the  first  division.  Yet  it  does 
not  contain  a  single  player  of  the 
first  rank.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
new  style  of  game  is  not  well  un- 
derstood by  many  of  its  critics. 
There  is  not,  after  all,  much  differ- 
ence between  most  of  those  who 
claim  to  be  long-suiters  and  those 
who  reject  the  title.  One  side  has 
discovered  that  a  strengthening 
lead  is  better  than  fourth  best  from 
a  small-card  suit,  and  the  other  is 
always  ready  enough  to  lead  a  long 
suit  if  he  thinks  he  can  make  it." 

It  is  due  to  the  press  certainly,  as  much 
as  to  any  other  agency,  that  the  cause  of 
whist  has  advanced  with  such  rapid 
strides  since  the  organization  of  the 
League,  and  the  able  corps  of  editors 
who  have  discussed  whist  questions,  con- 
sidered whist  problems,  and  have  laid 
before  the  public  whist  subjects  for  study, 
is  not  only  to  be  commended  and  emu- 
lated, but'is  something  for  which  we  can 
hardly  find  words  with  which  to  express 
our  obligation  and  appreciation.— Presi- 
dent W.  H.  Barney  [L.  A.],  Annual  Ad- 
dress before  the  A,  W.  L.,  1897, 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF         493         WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


Whist,  History  of.— Whist,  the 
best  of  all  card  games,  is  undoubt- 
edly of  English  origin.  It  appears 
to  have  been  gradually  developed 
from  elements  previously  existing, 
and  to  have  been  the  product  of 
many  minds  who  added  changes 
and  improvements  from  time  to 
time.  Its  early  history  is  very  ob- 
scure, and  for  hundreds  of  years  it 
can  be  traced  only  by  what  must 
be  largely  inference  and  guess- 
work, but  nevertheless  its  history 
is  fascinating. 

As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  we  are  told,  a 
card  game  was  in  common  use  in 
England,  of  which  both  the  name 
and  chief  feature  subsequently  en- 
tered into  the  structure  of  whist. 
It  was  called  triumph,  then  cor- 
rupted into  trump,  and  its  essence 
was  the  predominance  of  one  par- 
ticular suit,  called  the  triumph  or 
trump  suit.  This  game  is  alluded 
to  in  a  published  sermon  by  Bishop 
Latimer,  which  he  preached  in 
1529.  Other  references  to  it  are 
found  in  "  Gammer  Gurton's 
Needle,"  the  first  English  comedy, 
and  in  Shakespeare's  "  Antony  and 
Cleopatra."  About  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  century  another 
term  was  added  to  the  game  of 
trump,  which  is  also  preserved  in 
whist,  namely,  ruff,  which  was  used 
synonymously  with  trump.  Then 
came  the  giving  of  certain  advan- 
tages or  "honors"  to  the  four 
highest  cards  of  the  trump-suit, 
and  the  game  was  called  "  ruff 
and  honours."  This  has  been 
called  "whist  in  an  imperfect 
form."  It  was  also  sometimes  al- 
luded to  as  "  slamm, "  which  term 
we  still  retain  in  the  making  of  a 
"slam."  Its  next  development, 
"whisk,"  is  first  mentioned  in 
1621,  in  some  published  verses  by 
Taylor,  "the  water  poet,"  and 
twenty-two  years  later,  in  the  second 


(spurious)  part  of  "  Hudibras,"  we 
first  come  across  the  word  as  it  is 
now  spelled,  "whist,"  although 
both  spellings  were  used  for  many 
years  afterward. 

Charles  Cotton,  in  "The  Com- 
pl eat  Gamester, "  published  in  1674, 
gives  a  description  of  "ruff  and 
honours."  Twelve  cards  were  dealt 
apiece  to  four  players,  the  remain- 
ing four  cards  being  left  for 
"stock."  The  uppermost  card  in 
the  stock  was  turned  up  as  a  trump 
card,  and  the  holder  of  the  ace  of 
trumps  was  entitled  to  "  ruff;  "  that 
is,  exchange  four  of  his  cards  for 
those  in  stock.  The  game  was 
"nine  up,"  or  nine  points,  honors 
counting,  as  in  England  to-day, 
and  the  call  at  the  point  of  eight 
was  already  known  as  "can  ye?" 
In  a  later  edition  (1680)  Cotton 
gives  the  first  attempt  at  a  descrip- 
tion of  whist  of  which  there  is  any 
record.  After  detailing  the  man- 
ner of  playing  "ruff  and  hon- 
ours, "he  says:  "Whist  is  a  game 
not  much  different  from  this,  only 
they  put  out  the  deuces  and  take  in 
no  stock,  and  it  is  called  '  whist,' 
from  the  silence  to  be  observed  in 
the  play." 

This,  it  seems  to  us,  should  solve 
the  difficulty  of  arriving  at  the 
correct  meaning  of  the  word. 
"Whisk"  was  undoubtedly  the 
older  term,  sometimes  also  varied 
as  "whisk  and  swabbers,"  but  it 
applied  to  a  crude  form  of  the  game, 
and  not  to  whist  proper  as  subse- 
quently played.  We  believe  Dr. 
Pole  to  have  hit  upon  the  right  ex- 
planation when  he  says:  "  It  is 
possible  that  when  the  game  took 
its  complete  form,  the  more  intel- 
lectual character  it  assumed  de- 
manded greater  care  and  closer  at- 
tention to  the  play;  this  was  in- 
compatible with  noise  in  the  room 
or  with  conversation  between  the 
players;  and  hence  the  word 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF         494         WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


'whist! '  may  have  been  used  in  its 
inter) ectional  form  to  insist  on  the 
necessary  silence;  and  from  the 
similarity  of  this  to  the  term  al- 
ready in  use,  the  modification  in 
the  last  letter  may  have  taken  its 
rise." 

Charles  Lucas,  in  his  work  on 
gamesters  (1714),  also  mentions 
"  whist"  as  "  a  game  so  called  from 
the  silence  that  is  to  be  observed  at 
it"  Denne,  a  Kentish  antiquary, 
speaks  of  it  as  "a  game  that  re- 
quires deliberation  and  silence, 
which  is  a  word  synonymous  with 
whist."  Dr.  Johnson  in  his  Dic- 
tionary, Nares  in  his  Glossary,  and 
Skeat  in  his  Etymological  Diction- 
ary, all  accepted  this  view.  Of  late 
years,  however,  the  meaning  of  the 
word  is  doubted,  because,  forsooth, 
the  game  was  also  called  whisk,  no 
account  being  taken  of  the  fact  that 
this  was  applied  to  the  forerunner 
of  whist,  and  that  when  the  game 
proper  appeared  it  had  a  right  to 
a  new  and  distinct  designation 
which  should  exactly  describe  its 
chief  characteristic.  That  some,  in 
ignorance,  or  because  of  custom, 
continued  to  use  "whisk"  when 
"whist"  had  long  since  become 
the  proper  word,  does  not  impair 
the  validity  of  our  argument.  It 
seems  a  pity  that  a  meaning  which 
must  appear  entirely  natural  and 
appropriate,  should  be  rejected  by 
some  modern  lexicographers,  who 
perhaps  have  never  played  a  game 
of  whist  in  thair  lives.  For  our 
part,  we  are  willing  to  accept  the 
statement  of  those  who  lived  at  the 
time  it  came  into  existence,  that 
"  whist  is  a  game  so  called  from 
the  silence  that  is  to  be  observed  at 
it" 

Seymour,  in  his  "Court  Game- 
ster" (1734),  recapitulates  Cotton's 
remarks  about  whist,  and  gives  us 
the  improvements  which  had  since 
been  made.  The  points  in  the  game 


had  been  raised  from  nine  to  ten,  and 
the  entire  pack  was  used  in  playing, 
the  deuces  being  taken  into  the 
hands.  These  modifications  brought 
with  them  the  "odd  trick,"  and 
the  method  of  dealing  out  the  cards 
one  by  one,  instead  of  "by  fours," 
which  had  previously  been  the 
rule.  Thus  the  game  of  long  whist 
was  born. 

In  its  infancy,  however,  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  sharpers  at  the 
taverns  and  ordinaries  where  gam- 
bling abounded.  When  the  ordi- 
naries began  to  be,  to  some  extent, 
superseded  by  the  coffee-houses,  a 
change  for  the  better  came  over  the 
game,  and  it  was  gradually  admit- 
ted into  more  intellectual  gather- 
ings. The  gentlemen  who  fre- 
quented the  Crown  Coffee- House, 
in  Bedford  Row,  took  it  up,  and 
began  its  systematic  study  and  fur- 
ther improvement.  Among  their 
number  was  the  first  Lord  Folke- 
stone (see,  "Folkestone"),  who 
took  a  deep  interest  in  it,  and  drew 
up  some  rules  for  the  guidance  of 
the  players.  Then  Edmond  Hoyle 
( q.  v.)  appeared  on  the  scene.  It  is 
thought  by  some  that  he  was  one 
of  the  players  at  the  Crown  CofFee- 
House.  At  any  rate,  he  gave  a  tre- 
mendous impetus  to  the  game, 
devoting  his  entire  time  to  its  intro- 
duction among  the  better  classes  by 
means  of  lessons  which  he  gave  in 
private,  and  especially  by  the  pub- 
lication of  his  celebrated  treatise  in 
1742.  Hoyle  had  a  genius  for  the 
game,  and  was  universally  recog- 
nized as  its  great  authority.  His 
book  was  translated  into  other  lan- 
guages, and  thus  the  knowledge  of 
whist  was  spread  among  intellectual 
coteries  on  the  continent,  and  espe- 
cially in  France,  where  it  soon 
numbered  among  its  votaries  the 
most  celebrated  men  of  the  times. 
France  also  produced,  later  on,  the 
greatest  whist-player  the  world  has 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF         495          WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


ever  seen,  M.  Deschapelles,  who 
published  his  elaborate  treatise  oil 
the  laws  of  the  game  in  1839.  ** 
may  be  mentioned  in  passing  that 
while  a  game  bearing  the  name  of 
"triomphe"  had  been  played  in 
France  and  elsewhere,  as  early  as 
the  sixteenth  century,  it  was  not 
the  same  as  the  ancient  English 
game  of  triumph,  or  trump,  but  re- 
sembled e'carte.  Whist  must,  there- 
fore, be  considered  entirely  of  Eng- 
lish origin,  with  Folkestone  and 
Hoyle  as  its  first  great  lights.  Hoyle 
had  two  excellent  successors,  Payne 
and  Mathews,  who  continued  his 
work  very  intelligently  and  ably  by 
means  of  their  published  works. 

The  future  of  whist  was  now  se- 
cure. It  had  been  taken  up  with 
enthusiasm  by  the  better  classes, 
and  made  its  way  even  into  royal 
circles.  At  Bath,  the  famous  water- 
ing place,  it  held  sway  as  the  fash- 
ionable amusement  for  many  years, 
and  numerous  improvements  in  the 
details  of  the  game  were  made  there 
by  clever  players.  One  curious  cir- 
cumstance must  be  noted  in  this 
connection.  While  whist  was  not 
essentially  a  gambling  game,  yet  at 
the  outset  it  was  used  for  gambling 
purposes  in  the  taverns.  And  when 
brought  into  more  intellectual  sur- 
roundings, with  wealth  and  fashion 
at  its  feet,  it  was  again  subjected  to 
the  same  humiliating  experience, 
an  experience  from  which  it  has 
not  yet  recovered  in  the  old  world. 
Playing  for  money  was  carried  to 
excess  in  the  eighteenth  and  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and 
whist,  fascinating  whist,  which 
needs  no  other  aids  to  lend  so- 
called  interest  to  it  when  properly 
played,  was  again  made  to  suffer. 
So  determined  were  the  gamesters 
to  make  use  of  it  that  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  mutilate  it  for  their  pur- 
poses, in  order  that  money  might 
be  made  to  circulate  more  rapidly. 


This  incident  gave  rise  to  another 
important  change  in  the  character 
of  the  game.  Short  whist  was  what 
the  new  product  was  called,  and  it 
consisted  in  cutting  the  old  game 
just  in  half,  five  points  instead  of 
ten  being  now  played.  But  the 
honors  were  counted  at  their  full 
value,  the  same  as  in  the  old  game, 
and  thus  the  element  of  chance  was 
greatly  increased,  making  it  pos- 
sible for  two  players,  with  good 
luck  in  drawing  cards,  to  go  out  in 
one  hand,  for  if  they  held  the  four 
honors  between  them  it  counted 
four  points,  and  they  only  needed 
to  make  another  point  by  cards. 
It  may  be  that  the  old  game  of  ten 
points  was  too  long.  If  so,  the 
American  idea  of  seven  points,  but 
without  counting  honors  at  all,  is  a 
more  rational  compromise,  for  it 
encourages  skill  and  does  away 
with  stakes  and  gambling. 

We  come  now  to  what  has  been 
aptly  termed  the  philosophical  era 
of  whist,  the  period  beginning  with 
the  works  of  "Cavendish,"  and 
Clay,  and  Pole.  In  this  period  the 
old  Hoyle  game  underwent  a  more 
modern  scientific  determination. 
Its  theoretical  principles  were 
firmly  established,  and  some  alter- 
ations in  its  practical  structure 
necessarily  followed.  The  first 
impetus  to  the  new  movement  ap- 
pears to  have  been  given  by  Dr. 
Pole's  suggestion,  in  Macmillari's 
Magazine  for  December,  1861,  that 
"it  would  be  a  great  boon  if  some 
good  authority  would  publish  a  set 
of  model  games  at  whist,  with  ex- 
planatory remarks,  such  as  are 
found  so  useful  in  chess,  for  ex- 
ample." Henry  Jones  ("Caven- 
dish") had  in  his  possession  the 
notes  of  the  "  Little  Whist  School," 
which  had  met  for  a  number  of 
years  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
the  game,  discussing  interesting 
hands,  and  writing  down  particu- 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OP         496         WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


lars  concerning  the  same.  After 
considerable  correspondence  with 
Dr.  Pole,  Mr.  Jones  published,  in 
1862,  his  "  Principles  of  Whist, 
Illustrated  by  Means  of  Hands 
Played  Completely  Through." 
Two  years  later  James  Clay  issued 
his  celebrated  treatise  on  "Short 
Whist,"  and  in  the  two  works  the 
chief  improvements  which  had  re- 
sulted from  scientific  investigations 
and  long  practice  were  now  given 
to  the  world.  To  complete  the 
good  work  Dr.  Pole  published  his 
"Theory  of  the  Modern  Scientific 
Game  of  Whist,"  in  December, 
1864.  It  showed  that  there  was  at 
the  bottom  of  the  rules  of  whist  a 
deeper-lying  idea  than  had  been  yet 
suspected.  He  pointed  out  and 
established  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  the  great  game.  He  em- 
phasized the  value  and  importance 
of  partnership  play,  and  showed 
that  the  most  efficient  manner  in 
which  to  carry  it  on  was  by  means 
of  the  long  suit,  to  the  establish- 
ment and  bringing  in  of  which  all 
the  energies  of  the  players  must 
be  bent.  Information  between 
partners  was  a  necessity  in  order 
that  they  might  be  able  to  play 
both  hands  practically  as  one,  and 
this  information  was  conveyed  by 
means  of  legitimate  signals  made 
by  conventional  play  of  the  cards. 
For  this  purpose  the  trump  signal 
(invented  in  1834)  was  taken  up, 
and  became  the  nucleus  of  an 
elaborate  system  of  leads  and  in- 
ferences, culminating  in  the  Amer- 
ican leads,  which  were  promulgated 
by  "Cavendish"  in  1884,  and  by 
him  named  in  honor  of  his  fellow- 
worker,  N.  B.  Trist,  of  New  Or- 
leans, to  whom  the  credit  of  their 
crystal  ization  has  been  freely 
awarded. 

Nowhere  has  whist  ever  enjoyed 
the  popularity  which  has  of  recent 
years  fallen  to  its  lot  in  America. 


Here,  from  the  inception  of  the 
modern  game,  the  works  of  "  Cav- 
endish," Pole,  Clay,  and  others 
have  had  a  wider  circulation  than 
at  home,  as  is  testified  to  by  some 
of  the  writers  themselves,  and  the 
result  has  been  that  whist  in  the 
new  world  has  outstripped  in  inter- 
est and  extent  the  whist  of  merry 
England  and  the  continent.  Un- 
hampered by  old-world  conserva- 
tism, the  American  players  have 
been  open  to  the  reception  of  new 
ideas  and  improvements.  Thus 
English  authors  of  progressive 
ideas  have  found  themselves  more 
widely  read  and  appreciated  abroad 
than  at  home.  This  great  activity 
in  American  whist  circles  led  to  the 
formation  of  the  American  Whist 
League  (q.  v.),  at  Milwaukee,  in 
1891,  and  to  the  enactment  of  a 
new  code  of  laws  from  which  the 
objectionable  features  of  the  Eng- 
lish code  were  omitted.  Seven- 
point  whist,  without  counting  hon- 
ors, each  game  complete  in  itself, 
without  any  reference  to  rubbers  or 
rubber  points,  and  the  express  pro- 
hibition of  playing  for  stakes,  are 
some  of  the  features  of  the  Ameri- 
can game,  whose  definition  and  re- 
cognition by  the  great  mass  of 
players  in  the  new  world  marked 
another  era  in  whist  history.  Whist 
for  its  own  sake,  with  chance  elimi- 
nated as  far  as  possible,  and  skill 
brought  up  to  its  highest  develop- 
ment, is  the  new  motto,  and  to  this 
end  duplicate  whist  (q.  v.)  was  also 
welcomed  and  made  popular  in  the 
United  States.  First  practically  de- 
monstrated by  "Cavendish"  and 
his  friends  in  1857,  greatly  im- 
proved by  James  Allison,  of  Glas- 
gow, Scotland,  thirty  years  later, 
and  perfected  in  the  United  States 
shortly  after  by  John  T.  Mitchell, 
Cassius  M.  Paine,  and  others,  du- 
plicate whist  forms  one  of  the  most 
important  pillars  in  the  American 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF        497        WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


game  of  skill.  There  may  be  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  whether  the 
long-suit  game  of  "Cavendish" 
and  Pole  affords  the  best  mode  of 
strategy  for  all  hands;  there  may  be 
heated  arguments  to  show  that 
American  leads,  and  all  other  in- 
formatory  devices,  are  a  hindrance 
instead  of  a  help  to  good  whist; 
but  when  it  comes  to  duplicate 
there  can  be  but  one  opinion,  and 
that  a  most  favorable  one.  At  the 
present  writing  (January,  1898)  a 
committee  has  just  been  appointed 
by  the  president  of  the  American 
Whist  League  for  the  purpose  of 
further  revising  the  laws  of  dupli- 
cate whist  It  is  proposed  to  have 
a  code  complete  in  itself,  and  not, 
as  heretofore,  a  series  of  special 
laws,  in  connection  with  which  it 
is  necessary  to  consult  the  code  of 
straight  whist.  Action  is  to  be 
taken  upon  the  committee's  report 
at  the  next  annual  congress,  in  Bos- 
ton, July,  1898. 

While  the  outlook  for  whist  at  the 
close  of  the  nineteenth  century  is 
not  as  bright  in  England  as  it  might 
be,  owing  to  the  unsettled  condition 
of  mind  into  which  advanced  whist 
ideas  have  plunged  British  whist- 
players,  in  America  enthusiasm  in 
behalf  of  the  game  is  ever  on  the 
increase.  This,  notwithstanding  the 
differences  of  opinion  which  exist 
here  as  well  as  abroad,  in  regard  to 
systems  of  play,  although  out  of  the 
war  of  words  which  has  been  and 
still  is  raging  there  promises  to  come 
forth  a  more  symmetrical,  well-bal- 
anced, and  harmonious  game.  True, 
the  short-suit  advocates  are  as  firmly 
convinced  as  ever  that  the  long-suit 
game  is  a  losing  one,  and  their  sen- 
timents are  radically  expressed  by 
R.  F.  Foster,  in  the  New  York  Sun 
of  December  26,  1897,  as  follows: 

"  The  boast  of  the  long-suit 
school  is  that  they  make  a  double- 
dummy  problem  of  the  last  few 

32 


tricks  in  every  hand,  and  the  chief 
object  of  the  previous  play  is  to  en- 
able the  partner  to  count  the  hands 
so  accurately  that  this  problem  may 
be  correctly  solved.  The  boast  of 
the  short-suit  school  is  that  the 
game  is  over  before  the  dummy 
problem  comes  along,  and  that, 
while  the  long-suiters  are  placing 
the  cards,  the  short-suiters  are  win- 
ning the  tricks.  To  the  common- 
sense  player,  the  first  few  tricks  in 
every  hand  present  a  perception 
problem  of  absorbing  interest,  and 
the  object  of  the  partners  is  to  di- 
vine as  rapidly  as  they  can  what  is 
possible  with  their  cards,  and  what 
is  improbable.  The  long-suiter 
makes  the  first  eight  tricks,  a  me- 
chanical routine,  and  then  lays 
down  his  hand  and  studies  for  sev- 
eral minutes  over  his  dummy  prob- 
lem in  the  ending,  in  the  solution  of 
which  he  hopes  to  get  back  one  or 
two  of  the  tricks  that  he  sees  he 
has  lost  by  a  bad  opening.  The 
common-sense  player  does  not  wait 
until  the  hand  is  almost  over,  and 
the  adversaries  know  all  about  it. 
His  ambition  is  to  arrive  at  the  gen- 
eral value  of  the  hands  at  the  ear- 
liest possible  moment,  so  that  he 
may  decide  whether  to  run  for  his 
life  or  to  lie  in  ambush.  He  prides 
himself  on  his  ability  to  judge,  be- 
fore three  tricks  are  played,  where 
the  strength  or  weakness  lies.  That 
is  the  difference  between  the  sys- 
tems. The  one  dawdles  along  for 
eight  or  nine  tricks,  and  then 
wearies  his  heart  and  brain  over  a 
problem  which  he  is  often  unable 
to  solve.  The  other  makes  a  per- 
ception problem  of  the  first  two  or 
three  tricks,  and  then  jumps  into 
the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  thor- 
oughly enjoys  himself  during  the 
scrimmage  of  the  remaining  nine 
or  ten." 

The  never-fading  glories  of  the 
long  suit  are  just  as  firmly  upheld 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF         498         WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


by  the  other  side.  I/.  M.  Bouve" 
says,  in  the  Boston  Transcript: 
"  Nothing  demonstrates  more  con- 
clusively the  strength  of  the 
straightforward  long-suit  game 
than  does  the  uniformly  good  re- 
sult obtained  by  this  method,  by 
players  of  little  or  no  previous  ex- 
perience together.  One  of  the 
most  enjoyable  sessions  at  whist 
experienced  by  the  writer,  was  a  re- 
cent short  game  of  twelve  boards 
of  '  mnemonic'  or  single  table  du- 
plicate, with  a  member  of  the  Prov- 
idence Whist  Club  as  a  partner. 
Knowing  his  visitor  to  be  a  firm 
believer  in  American  leads,  etc.,  it 
was  not  necessary  to  propound  nu- 
merous questions  as  to  the  style  of 
game  to  be  played — it  was  sufficient 
to  know  simply  whether  the  three- 
trump  or  the  four-trump  echo  was 
to  be  used.  Although  these  two 
had  never  played  a  hand  together, 
during  the  two  hours  of  play  not 
a  single  misunderstanding  arose, 
and  the  score  sheet  showed  a  loss 
of  only  three  singles,  while  a  total 
of  nine  tricks  had  been  gained, 
and  that  against  two  strong  players 
of  considerable  experience  as  part- 
ners. Two  of  the  singles  lost  were 
due  entirely  to  differences  in  open- 
ings, and  the  third  was  through  no 
fault  of  the  long-suit  system.  As 
an  original  lead  not  a  single  short 
suit  was  opened.  One  card,  possi- 
bly two,  in  a  long  suit  would  be 
established,  and  at  times  brought 
in.  No  attempts  were  made  to  ac- 
complish the  impossible,  especially 
in  the  management  of  trumps. 
The  advantages  of  being  able  to 
regulate  the  play  in  accordance 
with  the  absolute  information  fur- 
nished by  partner,  were  constantly 
apparent.  Under  similar  condi- 
tions it  requires  very  few  deals  to 
be  played  in  order  to  establish  that 
degree  of  confidence  which  in- 
sures highly  satisfactory  results." 


H.  J.  Rogers,  in  the  Albany 
Journal,  says :  ' '  The  test  of  a  sys- 
tem is  by  actual  play,  not  by  post- 
mortems. Most  any  of  us  would 
concede  that  played  double-dummy 
as  many  deals  in  a  thousand  would 
show  an  advantage  for  short- 
suit  leads  as  for  long-suit  leads. 
But  whist  is  not  played  that  way. 
I  recall  umpiring  an  A.  W.  L.  tro- 
phy match  about  a  year  ago,  where 
a  team  of  ultra  short-suiters  were 
against  the  Albanys.  And  I  recall 
particularly  one  section  of  eight 
hands,  where  two  of  the  keenest 
whist -players  in  America  (Keiley 
and  Hawkins)  were  at  table  one. 
And  at  the  end  of  every  deal  there 
was  a  bickering  between  them  as  to 
how  much  more  they  might  have 
made.  '  If  you  had  come  with  a 
heart  at  such  a  time,'  or,  'if  you 
had  kept  off  spades,'  or,  'if  you 
hadn't  gone  up  on  that  card,'  etc., 
etc.,  where  there  wasn't  one  thing 
under  the  light  of  heaven  to  indi- 
cate which  way  they  should  do. 
But  they  generally  consoled  them- 
selves with  the  thought  that  '  their 
system,'  perfectly  played,  would 
have  given  them  another  trick  or 
two,  if  their  brains  had  only  been 
equal  to  the  emergency  of  locating 
the  cards  during  the  play  as  accu- 
rately as  after  it.  It  seemed  to  me 
at  the  time — and  I  have  never  had 
occasion  to  change  my  opinion — 
that  the  non-informatory  game  was 
theoretically  very  pretty,  if  it 
would  only  give  some  more  infor- 
mation. But  as  at  present  consti- 
tuted it  affords  too  many  opportu- 
nities for  wild  leaps  in  the  dark, 
and  too  many  chances  to  abuse 
your  partner  for  not  knowing  what 
can't  be  known.  The  long-suit  sys- 
tem withstood  triumphantly  the 
test  of  actual  play  last  season.  The 
Albany  Club  held  the  A.  W.  L,. 
trophy  for  eight  successive  con- 
tests against  teams  of  all  descrip- 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF         499          WHIST,  HISTORY  OF 


tions,  and  with  all  varieties  of  sys- 
tems, and  when  they  lost  it,  they 
lost  it  to  another  long-suit  team, 
the  Hamiltons,  who  played  better 
whist,  and  who  held  the  trophy  un- 
til the  season  ended.  Evidence  of 
this  nature  outweighs  a  thousand 
paper  deals,  averaging  '  a  swing  of 
five  tricks  for  the  common-sense 
game.'  " 

And  "how  about  the  short -suiters 
themselves?"  asks  Mrs.  Wallace, 
in  the  New  York  Evening  Post. 
"Have  they  not  given  arbitrary 
meanings  to  certain  cards?  What 
possible  scientific  reason  can  they 
give  for  leading  the  small  cards  of  a 
suit  to  show  trump  strength?  And 
would  not  any  uninformed  player 
who  met  a  team  using  this  method 
be  at  the  same  disadvantage  as 
those  who  did  not  understand  ro- 
tary discards,  calls  through  the 
honor,  and  so  forth?" 

Fisher  Ames,  in  Whist,  sum- 
ming up  the  situation,  says:  "  Dif- 
ferent leads  from  the  same  hand 
often  change  the  result;  that  must 
be  conceded;  but  in  the  first  place, 
that  is  manifestly  a  question  of 
luck,  and  secondly,  the  differences 
from  different  leads  are  much  less 
than  one  would  suppose.  In  a 
large  majority  of  the  deals  where 
there  have  been  large  '  swings,'  the 
differences  are  due  to  the  bringing 
in  of  a  long  suit  where  the  other 
side  have  held  a  slight  preponder- 
ance or  nearly  equal  amount  of 
trump  strength,  which  by  a  judi- 
cious or  lucky  force  has  been  ren- 
dered unavailing  to  stop  the  suit. 

"  So  far  as  they  go  they  seem  to 
me  to  support  the  long-suit  theory. 
In  fact,  the  new  systems  have  not 
accomplished  anything  worth  not- 
ing. The  brief  successes  they  had 
while  new  were  chiefly  due  to  the 
failure  of  the  adversaries  to  under- 
stand them.  Good  hard  whist  is 
the  prime  factor,  after  all.  The 


theory  of  the  invitation  lead  is  very 
pretty,  but  it  often  fails  to  work 
satisfactorily.  The  lead  of  a  low 
card  for  the  purpose  of  inviting  a 
lead  through  an  honor  turned  may 
work  well,  but  unless  partner  can 
win  the  first  trick  it  may  and  often 
does  work  badly.  The  leader  is 
too  often  tempted  to  delay  an  im- 
mediate trump  lead  when  proper 
for  the  sake  of  the  invitation,  and 
loss  results. 

"Trump-showing  leads  every 
now  and  then  come  up  as  new 
ideas,  and  supposed  trick-winning 
devices.  But  they  soon  disappear 
again — as  soon  as  learned  by  the 
other  side.  In  regard  to  them  it  is 
perfectly  safe  to  assume  it  to  be  an 
axiom  of  whist,  almost  as  binding 
as  an  axiom  of  geometry,  that  any 
system  which  proclaims  weakness 
in  trumps  (as  these  systems  must) 
is  disadvantageous. 

"'Common-sense'  whist  is  an 
excellent  term,  if  it  be  understood 
to  mean  playing  the  game  in  a 
common-sense  way,  watching  and 
noting  the  cards,  drawing  good, 
sound  inferences,  and  shrewd  man- 
agement of  the  hands  held  between 
partners.  Relying  on  an  artificial 
system  as  the  main  thing,  whether 
American  leads,  short  suits,  or  any 
other,  is  not  common  sense.  It 
seems  to  me  uncommon  nonsense. 

"After  watching  these  new  sys- 
tems for  these  several  years,  I  have 
not  seen  any  system  which,  in  my 
judgment,  is  superior  to  the  Ameri- 
can leads  system,  as  the  general 
basis  for  the  play  of  the  hand.  But 
any  system,  and  all  systems,  apply 
almost  exclusively  to  the  original 
lead  of  the  hand  merely,  and  the 
result  must  in  almost  every  case  be 
largely  a  matter  of  luck  so  far  as 
the  first  lead  is  concerned.  After 
that  the  player  must  adapt  his  play 
to  the  conditions  developed  by  the 
cards  shown,  and  the  result  should, 


WHIST,  HISTORY  OF          500 


WHIST  IN  ART 


if  the  element  of  luck  could  be 
eliminated,  depend  upon  the  most 
skillful  common-sense  management 
of  the  cards.  I  say,  if  the  element 
of  luck  can  be  eliminated;  but  I 
am  convinced,  however,  that  it  can- 
not be.  One  who  has  followed  the 
recorded  plays  for  the  last  few 
years,  must,  I  think,  be  entirely 
satisfied  that  luck  has  very  much  to 
do  with  the  result,  very  much  more 
than  was  supposed  to  lie  possible 
when  duplicate  whist  was  first  in- 
vented." 

Notwithstanding  the  firmness 
displayed  by  each  side  in  maintain- 
ing its  position,  the  examination  of 
published  hands  reveals  the  fact 
that  more  liberal  ideas  prevail  in 
whist  everywhere.  The  long-suit 
game  is  not  invariably  confined  to 
the  opening  lead  from  the  longest 
suit.  Exceptional  hands  and  sit- 
uations are  treated  in  an  excep- 
tional manner.  In  other  words, 
the  provisions  for  forced  leads 
made  by  "Cavendish,"  Pole,  and 
all  the  masters  of  the  long-suit  the- 
ory, but  temporarily  lost  sight  of 
in  the  general  admiration  excited 
by  the  long-suit  game,  have  been 
resurrected  and  are  being  applied. 
Some  apply  them  more  liberally 
than  others,  but  in  the  main  the 
long-suit  game,  with  American 
leads,  modified  in  respect  to  the 
queen-leads,  etc.,  by  some  players, 
forms  the  whist  of  the  vast  major- 
ity to-day.  ( See,  also,  "  Long-Suit 
Game,"  and  "Short-Suit  Game.") 

Whist  has  made  great  progress  in  the 
last  two  decades.  The  general  tendency 
of  improvement  has  been  toward  defin- 
ing and  generalizing  the  principles  inhe- 
rent to  the  game,  with  the  result  of 
systematizing  the  play,  which,  in  turn, 
has  assisted  to  further  the  interests  of  the 
combination  of  partnership  hands.which 
Dr.  Pole  justly  considers  to  be  the  broad 
fundamental  principle  on  which  the  mod- 
ern scientific  game  is  based. — A'.  B.  Tn'st 
[/..  A.~\,  Harper's  Magazine,  March,  1891. 

In  its  original  state  whist  was  a  four- 
handed  game,  in  which,  in  admitting 


only  the  hierarchy  of  the  cards  in  their 
order  and  class,  two  players  were 
matched  against  two  others  to  decide 
which  party  should  gain  the  greater 
number  of  tricks.  *  *  *  It  was  not 
until  it  had  passed  its  infancy,  and  had 
attained  the  mature  age  of  manhood,  that 
it  was  invested  with  the  additional  charm, 
of  the  trump,  and  received  successively 
those  other  attractive  accessories — the 
honors,  the  call,  etc. — Deschapelles  [0.], 
"Laws,"  Section 5. 

The  game  of  whist  is  substantially  the 
product  of  English  soil,  and  its  gradual 
development  during  more  than  two  cen- 
turies, until  it  has  all  but  arrived  at  ma- 
turity, is  mainly  due  to  British  talent. 
From  England  it  was  carried,  about  a 
hundred  and  sixty  vears  ago,  into  the 
centres  of  Parisian  life,  and  the  diplomat- 
ists and  financiers  from  other  countries 
who  resorted  to  that  capital  became  sub- 
ject to  its  influence,  and  introduced  it 
into  the  cities  of  their  own  lands.  Its 
sway  as  the  chief  game  at  cards  quickly 
reached  all  over  Europe,  even  to  the 
steppes  of  Russia,  and  held  captive  all 
classes  of  social  life.  The  colonists  who 
emigrated  to  America  and  Australia  car- 
ried the  game  into  even  more  remote  dis- 
tricts, and  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  many  varieties  of  play  have  been 
brought  back  to  England  from  the  thriv- 
ing towns  in  the  northwest  provinces  of 
the  United  States.  It  has  now  estab- 
lished its  supremacy  in  every  land  inhab- 
ited by  European  nations  "or  their  de- 
scendants, and  it  may  even  be  endowed 
with  sufficient  vitality  for  the  conquest 
of  future  ages.—  IVilliam  Prideaux  Court- 
ney [L+O.],  "English  Whist,"  1894. 

Whist  in  Art.— It  would  be  inter- 
esting to  know  just  how  many 
times  whist  has  formed  the  theme 
of  the  artist's  brush,  and  a  collec- 
tion of  whist  pictures  would  be  a 
unique  and  fascinating  hobby  for 
some  wealthy  lover  of  the  game. 
Among  the  well-known  English 
artists  who  are  known  to  have  de- 
voted their  talents  to  an  occasional 
representation  of  which  whist-play- 
ers formed  the  theme,  was  Gillray, 
the  great  caricaturist.  His  picture, 
dated  January  u,  1796,  of  four 
players,  two  men  and  two  women, 
immersed  in  "twopenny  whist," 
was  much  admired.  In  1788  he 
represented  Sir  Joseph  Mawbey, 
and  three  of  his  associates  in  Par- 


WHIST  IN  COLLEGES         501        WHIST  IN  COLLEGES 


liament,  at  a  political  game  of 
whist.  Another  whist  picture,  by 
Rovvlandson,  entitled,  "A  Snug 
Rubber;  or,  Playing  for  the  Odd 
Trick,"  was  also  very  popular. 

Whist  in  Col  leges  and  Univer- 
sities.— It  is  but  natural  that  a 
highly  intellectual  game  like  whist 
should,  for  over  a  century,  have 
found  favor  among  the  students  in 
colleges  and  universities,  and  not 
only  among  the  students,  but 
among  the  faculty  as  well.  We  are 
told  that  as  early  as  1758  it  had  be- 
come a  fit  recreation  for  university 
men,  in  England.  In  No.  33  of 
the  Taller,  the  senior  fellow  of  a 
college,  at  Cambridge,  describes 
himself  and  his  party  as  "sitting 
late  at  whist  in  the  evening."  It 
was  a  group  of  English  college  men 
who,  in  the  middle  of  the  present 
century,  formed  what  was  subse- 
quently called  the  "  Little  Whist 
School"  (q.  v.),  which  gave  to 
whist  a  scientific  impetus  such  as  it 
had  never  known  before. 

In  America  the  game  has  like- 
wise fared  well  in  the  past,  at  the 
hands  of  the  studiously  inclined, 
and  to-day  it  is  meeting  with  an 
ever-increasing  and  enthusiastic 
welcome  in  our  institutions  of 
learning.  While  it  does  not  yet, 
as  some  of  its  most  devoted  admir- 
ers would  like  to  see  it,  form  a  part 
of  the  college  curriculum,  it  cer- 
tainly must  be  admitted  to  exert  a 
great  and  beneficial  influence  upon 
the  mental  training  of  the  students. 
It  is  a  notable  fact,  also,  that  many 
of  the  leading  whist  experts  of  this 
country  learned  the  game  during 
their  college  years. 

Great  whist  activity  has  for  a 
number  of  years  prevailed  at  Har- 
vard and  Yale,  and  local  tourna- 
ments, as  well  as  inter-collegiate 
whist  matches,  have  been  the  re- 
sult. This  is  a  natural  outcome  of 


the  organization  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  1891,  which 
brought  into  existence  many  new 
clubs  throughout  the  country,  and 
gave  rise  to  the  now  all-prevailing 
match-play  between  whist  organi- 
zations. 

The  first  match  between  Harvard 
and  Yale  was  played  May  4,  1895. 
For  two  years  previous  to  this  time, 
whist  tournaments  had  been  held 
at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Harvard  Chess  and 
Whist  Club.  As  the  chess  element 
largely  predominated  in  this  club, 
a  movement  in  favor  of  a  new  club, 
entirely  devoted  to  whist,  was  in- 
augurated by  C.  D.  Booth  and  W. 
T.  Denison,  who  had  attained  a 
leading  position  as  players  in  the 
tournaments.  In  order  to  arouse 
interest  in  the  new  club,  and  give 
it  a  prestige  which  the  old  one 
never  had,  they  planned  a  match 
with  Yale,  and  Mr.  Booth  finally 
opened  up  a  correspondence  on  the 
subject.  As  a  result,  E.  W.  Hobart, 
of  Yale  (class  of  '95),  met  Messrs. 
Booth,  Denison,  and  E.  W.  Ryer- 
son  at  Cambridge,  February  22, 
1895,  when  a  provisional  agreement 
for  a  match  between  the  two  uni- 
versities was  drawn  up.  The  Har- 
vard men  wished  to  have  each  side 
represented  by  eight  players,  but 
Mr.  Hobart  preferred  to  have  only 
six,  and  his  view  finally  prevailed. 
The  next  thing  was  to  devise  a  plan 
whereby  the  pla)Ters  might  be  en- 
gaged in  a  regular  team  match. 
Yale  preferred  to  play  a  series  of 
single-table  duplicate  matches,  but 
Harvard  insisted  on  having  the  play 
arranged  so  that  there  would  be 
no  replay  of  deals  by  pairs  who  had 
originally  played  them,  in  order  to 
avoid  memorizing  of  hands.  A 
schedule  was  devised  to  move  the 
players  so  as  to  obviate  this;  but 
when  Fisher  Ames,  who  was  chosen 
to  act  as  referee,  was  told  there  were 


WHIST  IN  COLLEGES         502        WHIST  IN  COLLEGES 


to  be  six  players  on  each  side,  he 
expressed  his  doubts  whether  teams 
of  that  number  could  play  without 
having  at  least  two  pairs  replay  the 
deals  which  they  had  played  before. 
He  supported  his  position  by  the 
opinions  of  several  prominent  Bos- 
ton players,  including  E.  C. 
Howell,  the  well-known  inventor 
of  schedules  for  duplicate  play. 
But  a  presentation  of  the  matter, 
on  the  part  of  Messrs.  Booth,  Deni- 
son,  and  Ryerson,  convinced  Mr. 
Ames  that  the  thing  could  be  done 
after  all,  and  he  thereupon  ap- 
proved their  plan,  after  making 
some  improvements,  in  the  way  of 
moving  pairs  instead  of  boards,  etc. 
At  the  time  this  first  American 
inter-collegiate  whist  match  was 
arranged,  Yale  had,  strictly  speak- 
ing, no  whist  club  as  yet,  but  a 
committee  had  been  appointed  the 
previous  fall,  under  whose  super- 
vision a  whist  tournament  was  held 
during  the  winter.  Josiah  H.  Peck, 
of  the  class  of  '95,  was  the  moving 
spirit  in  the  matter.  At  both  uni- 
versities, we  are  informed,  the  sys- 
tem of  management  is  the  same. 
Each  has  a  regularly  organized 
club,  and  each  club  gives  a  tourna- 
ment, open  to  all  members  of  the 
university,  whether  members  of 
the  club  or  not.  From  the  players 
who  make  the  best  records  in  these 
tournaments  the  captain  of  the 
team,  who  is  elected  by  the  club, 
chooses  the  six  men  who  are  to 
play  on  the  team.  In  the  tourna- 
ments the  pairs  are  divided  up  into 
sections  of  four  pairs  each;  each 
pair  plays  every  other  pair  in  its 
section,  the  best  two  pairs  of  each 
section  go  up  into  the  next  round, 
where  another  division  is  made  of 
sections  of  four  pairs  each.  In  this 
way  the  poor  players  are  gradually 
eliminated,  so  that  by  the  time  the 
semi-final  and  final  rounds  of  the 
tournament  are  reached,  the  cap- 


tain feels  reasonably  sure  that  he 
has  the  best  talent  in  the  college 
before  him  to  pick  from.  This 
tournament  play  lasts  a  month  or 
so,  all  the  matches  being  sixteen 
deals  each. 

The  first  match  between  Harvard 
and  Yale,  as  already  stated,  was 
played  May  4,  1895.  The  match, 
like  all  subsequent  ones,  consisted 
of  seventy-two  deals  played  and  re- 
played. Harvard's  team  consisted 
of  C.  D.  Booth,  acting  captain,  and 
W.  T.  Denispn;  A.  D.  Salinger  and 
W.  T.  Gunnison;  M.  B.  Jones  and 
E.  K.  Hall.  The  Yale  players  were 
J.  H.  Peck,  captain,  and  E.  W. 
Hobart;  A.  F.  Carpenter  and  J.  H. 
Peck;  C.  S.  Thurston  and  G.  P. 
Wiley.  The  mode  of  playing  a 
three-pair  match  is  so  interesting 
that  it  may  be  described  here:  No 
change  of  partners  took  place  dur- 
ing the  entire  match.  The  six 
players  of  one  team  were  seated 
north  and  south,  and  the  six  play- 
ers of  the  other  team  east  and  west, 
at  three  tables.  A  series  of  eight 
deals  was  played  at  each  table  (the 
number  could  be  made  four,  eight, 
or  twelve,  as  preferred).  The  trays 
were  left  at  the  table  where  played, 
and  the  east  and  west  players  (Har- 
vard) moved  up  one  table,  and  the 
north  and  south  players  (Yale) 
down  one  table,  and  changed  posi- 
tions, north  and  south  becoming 
east  and  west,  and  east  and  west 
changing  to  north  and  south.  This 
was  the  overplay  of  the  three  series 
of  deals,  and  completed  the  first 
round.  The  players  then  moved 
again  in  the  same  direction  as  be- 
fore, Harvard  up  and  Yale  down, 
changing  positions  once  more  with 
each  move,  east  to  north,  north  to 
east,  etc.,  and  so  on,  and  eight 
fresh  deals  were  played  for  the  be- 
ginning of  the  second  round;  after 
which  the  players  moved  and 
changed  as  before,  and  the  second 


WHIST  IN  COLLEGES         503        WHIST  IN  COLLEGES 


half  of  round  two  was  played. 
Three  rounds  made  a  total  of  sev- 
enty-two deals,  of  which  each  pair 
played  forty-eight  deals,  meeting 
each  opposing  pair  twice  both  as 
adversaries  and  opponents.  The 
score  was:  Harvard,  968  tricks; 
Yale,  904  tricks.  As  in  all  team 
matches  where  the  total  number  of 
tricks  taken  by  each  side  is  scored, 
the  difference  in  the  score  is  divided 
by  two  in  order  to  show  the  num- 
ber of  tricks  actually  gained.  In 
this  case  Harvard's  gain  and  vic- 
tory consisted  of  thirty-two  tricks. 

The  second  match  between  the 
two  colleges  took  place  on  March 
28,  1896,  and  was  won  by  Harvard 
by  a  score  of  37  to  27.  The  Harvard 
team  consisted  of  C.  D.  Booth, 
captain,  and  W.  T.  Denison;  J.  W. 
Peck  and  F.  N.  Morrill;  C.  E. 
Whitmore  and  F.  C.  Thwaits.  The 
Yale  team  consisted  of  L.  R.  Conk- 
lin,  captain,  and  N.  B.  Beecher;  W. 
A.  Hendrick  and  R.  Schuyler;  F. 
Bryant  and  R.  Cameron. 

The  third  match  was  pla}red  on 
April  10,  1897,  and  Harvard  again 
won,  this  time,  however,  by  the  nar- 
row margin  of  three  points,  the  score 
being  40  to  37.  The  Harvard  team 
consisted  of  F.  N.  Morrill,  captain, 
and  C.  D.  Booth;  F.  Heilig  and  O. 
M.  W.  Sprague;  W.  Byrd  and  H. 
Endicott,  Jr.  The  Yale  team  con- 
sisted of  W.  G.  Cooke,  captain,  and 
A.  C.  Sherwood;  N.  B.  Beecher 
and  D.  P.  Cameron;  S.  Cameron 
and  F.  Bryant. 

In  the  first  match  Yale  played  a 
rather  mixed  game,  favoring  long 
suits;  the  next  year  two  of  her 
pairs  were  conservative  long-suiters, 
while  one  pair  leaned  toward  the 
short-suit  game.  In  1897  Yale 
played  a  decidedly  mixed  game, 
but  we  are  informed  that  "at  no 
time  has  she  pla3Ted  the  radical 
short-suit  game  as  advocated  by 
Howell." 


Harvard  has  almost  universally 
played  a  conservative  long-suit 
game.  The  first  year  "  Cavendish" 
was  their  sole  guide.  The  second 
year  they  took  C.  D.  P.  Hamilton 
as  their  authority,  and  in  1897  they 
followed  very  closely  the  ideas  of 
L.  M.  Bouve"  [L.  A.],  captain  of  the 
American  Club  team,  of  Boston. 
The  fact  that  on  this  occasion  they 
won  by  a  smaller  margin  than  pre- 
viously is  no  reflection  on  Mr. 
Bouve\  Yale  had  the  strongest 
team  she  had  yet  put  forward,  and, 
besides  this,  Harvard  suffered  from 
an  attack  of  over-confidence  when 
the  match  was  two-thirds  over, 
being  then  sixteen  tricks  ahead. 
This  led  to  careless  play,  and  Yale 
made  the  best  of  it,  gaining  thir- 
teen tricks  by  good  hard  work  in 
the  third  round.  Harvard  is  more 
strongly  than  ever  in  favor  of  the 
long-suit  game. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  show 
here  how  these  college  teams  have 
compared  in  play  with  teams  of 
acknowledged  strength  belonging 
to  League  clubs.  Yale  has  not  done 
much  playing  with  older  teams, 
but  during  1896  it  engaged  a  team 
of  six  from  the  Albany  Whist  Club 
in  a  match,  and  won  by  one 
trick.  Albany  was  represented  by 
what  was  considered  her  second, 
third,  and  fourth  strongest  pairs. 
Harvard  has  played  against  crack 
teams  in  Boston  every  year  since 
the  organization  of  the  new  club. 
In  1894  she  entered  a  team  of  four 
for  the  New  England  champion- 
ship, and  it  stood  fifth  out  of  seven- 
teen teams  engaged  in  the  tourna- 
ment. The  same  year  the  Harvard 
four  played  the  Newton  team,  cap- 
tained by  Fisher  Ames,  and  the  re- 
sult was  a  tie.  They  also  tied  the 
Press  Club  team,  composed  at  that 
time  of  Howell,  Clay,  Becker,  and 
Knowles.  The  American  Club  team, 
captained  by  L.  M.  Bouve",  defeated 


WHIST  IN  COLLEGES 


504        WHIST  IN  COLLEGES 


them  by  three  tricks,  thus  getting 
even  for  their  defeat  by  Harvard  in 
the  New  England  championship 
tournament.  The  next  year  Har- 
vard had  a  weaker  team,  and  did 
not  succeed  in  defeating  any  of  the 
crack  teams,  although  playing 
close  matches  against  them  all.  In 
1896  Harvard  won  about  half  of  the 
matches  her  team  engaged  in. 
From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  whist 
of  the  very  best  quality  can  be  and 
is  played  by  college  teams. 

Although  as  yet  not  participating 
in  any  inter-collegiate  matches, 
Princeton,  too,  is  beginning  to 
awaken  to  the  importance  of  whist 
as  a  recreation  and  amusement 
The  students  began  holding  regu- 
lar whist  tournaments  in  1897,  in 
the  hope  of  arousing  sufficient  en- 
thusiasm to  bring  about  a  match 
with  Harvard  and  Yale.  In  1895, 
at  the  suggestion  of  a  Princeton 
graduate,  who  was  then  a  student 
in  the  Harvard  law  school,  the 
captain  of  the  Harvard  team  wrote 
to  Princeton  and  offered  to  play  a 
match.  But  Princeton  was  not  in 
a  position  to  accept,  and  also  had 
to  decline  a  similar  offer  from  Yale 
in  1896.  The  year  following,  how- 
ever, Princeton  began  tostandon  her 
mettle,  and  in  the  Boston  Herald 
for  December  19,  1897,  we  read: 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Princeton 
Whist  Club,  last  Thursday,  a  letter 
from  the  secretary  of  the  Yale 
Whist  Club  was  read,  in  which 
Yale  accepts  Princeton's  challenge 
for  a  contest.  A  letter  has  also 
been  sent  from  Princeton  to  the 
Harvard  team,  but  no  reply  has 
been  received.  If  the  Cambridge 
men  do  not  enter,  the  dual  match 
between  Yale  and  Princeton  will 
be  played  at  Princeton,  either  dur- 
ing the  Easter  vacation  or  as  soon 
after  as  possible.  If  Harvard  ac- 
cepts the  challenge  the  games  be- 
tween Yale  and  Princeton  will  be 


declared  off,  and  a  new  schedule 
arranged." 

"  No  doubt  we  shall  arrange  to 
play  a  tri-collegiate  match,"  writes 
C.  D.  Booth,  of  Harvard,  under 
date  of  January  26,  1898,  "but 
nothing  definite  is  as  yet  settled." 
Harvard  has  appointed  a  committee 
to  make  arrangements.  An  effort 
will  be  made  to  have  the  teams 
consist  of  eight  men  each.  "  We 
have  had  no  communication  direct 
from  Princeton,"  adds  Mr.  Booth; 
"hence,  if  the  three-cornered 
match  falls  through,  I  cannot  tell 
whether  we  shall  arrange  a  sepa- 
rate match  with  her  or  not.  At 
any  rate,  we  shall  play  with  Yale." 

Whist  is  also  popular  among  the 
faculty  at  Princeton,  as  would  ap- 
pear from  the  following,  written 
in  1897,  by  one  of  the  professors: 
"We  have  in  Princeton  a  social 
club,  called  the  Nassau  Club,  to 
which  our  faculty  and  the  prin- 
cipal town  people  are  eligible. 
Last  year  some  twenty-five  mem- 
bers of  this  club  got  together,  and 
decided  to  form  a  whist  club.  They 
did  so,  calling  it  the  Princeton 
Whist  Club,  and  joining  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League  and  the  New 
Jersey  Association.  We  got  to- 
gether a  team,  which  played  a  few 
games  with  outside  teams,  and  with 
very  fair  success  toward  the  end  of 
the  college  year.  Owing  to  lack  of 
time,  this  team  has  not  yet  been 
practicing;  and  I  am  afraid  the 
chances  for  a  good  team  this  year 
are  not  very  good.  The  whist  club 
meets  every  Friday  for  duplicate 
whist,  and  the  individual  members 
play  as  much  oftaner  as  they  wish." 

Whist  has  also  been  popular  to 
some  extent  at  Brown  University, 
and  at  one  time  W.  H.  Barney, 
at  that  time  secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League  (who  is  a  gradu- 
ate of  Brown),  urged  Harvard  to 
arrange  a  match  with  the  club  of 


WHIST  IN  FRANCE 


505 


WHIST  IN  NOVELS 


his  university,  which  he  deemed  a 
good  one. 

While  there  is  no  regular  whist 
organization  at  Cornell  University, 
as  early  as  1891  Horatio  S.  White 
tells  of  the  existence  there  of  an 
informal  whist  club  composed  of 
officers  of  instruction  and  adminis- 
tration, including  one  of  the  trus- 
tees, the  treasurer,  the  librarian, 
and  several  members  of  the  faculty. 
They  played  the  five-point  game, 
honors  not  counting,  and  no  trick 
was  allowed  to  be  examined  after  it 
had  once  been  quitted.  In  1897 
we  are  informed  that  the  game  is 
still  played  a  great  deal  in  faculty 
circles,  and  there  is  also  an  organi- 
zation known  as  the  Town  and 
Gown  Club,  which  devotes  a  good 
deal  of  attention  to  whist.  It  is  com- 
posed of  members  of  the  univer- 
sity faculty  and  residents  of  Ithaca 
in  about  equal  proportions. 

Our  inquiries  as  to  the  status  of 
the  game  in  Western  colleges  and 
universities  brought  us  the  follow- 
ing courteous  reply  from  Professor 
Conway  MacMillan,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Minnesota:  "I  do  not  un- 
derstand that  whist  in  the  West  has 
become  an  inter-collegiate  sport; 
but  both  among  the  students  and 
the  faculty  it  is  a  popular  study.  I 
presume  a  night  scarcely  passes  that 
some  of  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota faculty  are  not  engaged  in  a 
duplicate  whist  match.  Team  whist 
is  played  but  sparingly  outside  of 
the  clubs,  but  memory  duplicate  is 
quite  omnipresent.  At  Wisconsin, 
and  Chicago,  and  Nebraska,  I  am 
informed,  there  is  also  much  whist 
interest. ' ' 

Whist  In  France.— Whist  was 
known  in  France  at  an  early  period 
through  translations  of  Hoyle. 
The  game  was  played  by  Louis  XV. , 
and  under  the  empire  was  a  favorite 
game  of  Josephine  and  Maria 


Louise.  After  the  Restoration  it 
was  taken  up  more  enthusiastically. 
"The  nobles,"  says  a  French 
writer,  "had  gone  to  England  to 
learn  to  think,  and  they  brought 
back  the  thinking  game  with 
them."  Talleyrand  was  one  of  the 
leading  players  of  the  day,  and  his 
mot — "You  do  not  know  whist, 
young  man?  What  a  sad  old  age 
you  are  preparing  for  yourself!" 
— is  a  standard  quotation  in  whist 
literature.  Charles  X.  was  playing 
whist  at  St.  Cloud  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  July,  1830,  when  the  tri- 
color was  waving  on  the  Tuileries, 
and  he  had  lost  his  throne.  His 
successor,  Louis  Philippe,  when 
similarly  engaged,  was  obliged  to 
submit  to  what  has  been  aptly 
termed  an  elegant  insolence.  He 
had  dropped  a  louis,  and  stopped 
the  game  to  look  for  it,  when  a 
foreign  ambassador,  who  was  one  of 
the  party,  set  fire  to  a  billet  of  1000 
francs  to  give  light  to  the  king  un- 
der the  table. 

In  1839  appeared  a  long-prom- 
ised work  on  the  game  by  M.  Des- 
chapelles,  the  great  French  player. 
It  was  the  "  Traite"  du  Whiste," 
and  much  had  been  expected  of  it. 
It  was,  however,  only  a  fragment 
of  a  larger  work  which  was  never 
finished.  But  even  though  it  was 
but  a  fragment,  it  is  by  far  the 
ablest  and  most  original  work 
that  France  has  added  to  whist  lit- 
erature. 

Whist  in  Novels.— Whist  is  fre- 
quently mentioned  and  described 
in  the  works  of  the  English  novel- 
ists from  the  time  of  Hoyle.  Among 
the  very  earliest  are  the  two  pas- 
sages relating  to  the  game  in  Field- 
ing's "Tom  Jones,"  published  in 
1749.  Mr.  Pickwicks  memorable 
experiences  at  Dingley  Dell  and 
Bath  are  delightfully  portrayed  by 
Dickens  in  the  "  Pickwick  Papers," 


WHIST  IN  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  506 


WHIST  MATCH 


and  Thackeray's  "Virginians" 
contains  much  concerning  the 
game  and  Mr.  Warrington'1  s  vary- 
ing luck  with  Lord  Chesterfield 
and  others.  Nearly  all  the  great 
novelists  were  themselves  practiced 
players,  and  these  scenes,  as  well 
as  the  pictures  of  Captain  Barna- 
bee,  Parson  Dale,  and  other  whist 
devotees,  which  Lord  Lytton  draws 
in  "My  Novel,"  were  the  result  of 
actual  experience.  Anthony  Trol- 
lope  thus  reflected  some  of  his  own 
knowledge  and  opinions  in  "The 
Bertrams,"  in  which  occurs  the 
card  party  of  Miss  Todd.  James 
Payn  is  another  novelist  who  has 
the  advantage  of  being  a  good 
whist-player.  His  story,  "A  Very 
Quiet  Rubber,"  in  the  third  volume 
of  his  "High  Spirits,"  is  worthy 
of  a  perusal  by  every  lover  of  the 
game.  F.  C.  Bumand,  in  his 
"Happy  Thoughts,"  gives  us  a 
picture  of  a  rubber  at  which  one  of 
the  players  is  made  miserable  by 
his  bad  luck.  Mrs.  Henniker, 
author  of  "Foiled,"  and  Marmion 
W.  Savage,  author  of  "  The  Bach- 
elor of  the  Albany,"  are  among 
more  recent  English  authors  who 
dwell  upon  whist  in  the  course  of 
the  story  which  they  are  telling. 
James  Clay  was  the  original  of 
Casilemaine  in  the  rubber  of  whist 
depicted  in  George  Alfred  Law- 
rence's "SansMerci." 

Whist  in  the  Public  Schools.— 

See,  "  Whist  as  an  Educator." 

Whist  Lesson-Cards. — A  pack 
of  cards  containing  on  the  face  of 
each  of  the  more  important  cards 
printed  directions  telling  from 
what  combinations  it  is  to  be  led, 
according  to  the  system  of  Amer- 
ican leads.  A  patent  for  this  in- 
vention was  granted  to  Fisher 
Ames,  of  Newton,  Mass.,  February 
7,  1893.  (See,  "  Whist  Patents.") 


Whist  Match  Between  Women. 

— The  first  important  whist  match 
exclusively  for  women  was  played 
in  the  Colonial  Parlors,  in  Phila- 
delphia, on  December  17,  1895. 
The  competitors  were  two  local  or- 
ganizations, the  Sarah  Battle  and 
the  Trist  Whist  Clubs,  twenty-four 
players  on  each  side.  Whether  it 
was  that  the  fire  was  not  clear,  or 
the  hearth  was  not  clean,  or  the 
game  was  not  sufficiently  rigorous, 
the  renowned  Sarah  Battle  lost  the 
match  by  the  overwhelming  score 
of  seventy-two  tricks.  The  best 
average  north  and  south  for  the 
Trist  was  made  by  Mrs.  Musgrove 
and  Mrs.  Lex;  while  four  tied  for 
the  best  east  and  west  score — Mrs. 
Barger,  Mrs.  Ellison,  Mrs.  Wil- 
liams, and  Mrs.  Keen.  The  high 
score  north  and  south  for  Sarah 
Battle  was  made  by  Mrs.  Knight 
and  Mrs.  McCape;  east  and  west 
by  Mrs.  Whitcouib  and  Miss  Sar- 
tain.  (See,  also,  "  Woman's  Whist 
League,"  and  "Women  as  Whist- 
Players.") 

Whist  Match  by  Correspond- 
ence.—The  first  whist  match 
ever  played  by  correspondence  was 
inaugurated  and  conducted  by  R. 
F.  Foster.  There  were  sixteen 
players  in  the  tourney;  play  began 
on  February  5,  1894,  and  the  result 
was  published  in  Whist  of  Febru- 
ary, 1895.  The  sixteen  players 
were  arranged  at  random,  at  four 
imaginary  tables.  They  were  di- 
vided into  two  sections  of  eight 
each,  and  followed  the  changes  of 
the  schedule  for  eight  individuals 
given  on  page  68  of  Foster's  "  Du- 
plicate Whist,"  changing  places 
after  every  fourth  hand.  "The 
various  changes  having  been  writ- 
ten out  in  diagram,"  says  Foster, 
"  it  was  easy  to  see  what  positions 
at  the  table  any  given  player  suc- 
cessively occupied,  and  as  the 


WHIST  MATCH 


507 


WHIST  MATCH 


hands  were  consecutively  num- 
bered, this  gave  his  position  in  each 
of  the  twenty-eight  hands  that 
were  to  be  played.  The  thirteen 
cards  belonging  to  that  position 
were  then  sent  to  him,  with  the 
turn-up  trump,  and  he  was  asked  to 
send  in  his  original  lead  in  the 
seven  hands  in  which  he  was  A. 
Printed  slips  were  used,  one  for 
each  trick,  and  these  slips  were 
numbered  down  the  left  margin, 
from  one  to  twenty-eight,  to  corre- 
spond with  the  twenty-eight  hands. 
Then  followed  four  columns  for  the 
cards  played  by  A,  Y,  B,  and  Z. 

"The  leads  being  all  in,  the 
cards  led  by  A  were  entered  on  the 
score  sheets  prepared  for  keeping  a 
record  of  the  play.  The  name  of 
each  player  being  at  the  head  of 
each  column  on  these  score-sheets, 
furnished  a  key  as  to  whose  turn  it 
was  next  to  play,  and  this  player 
was  notified  (by  writing  the  card 
played  by  A  in  the  A  column,  op- 
posite the  number  of  the  hand) 
that  it  was  his  next  play.  These 
plays  by  the  Y  players  being  all  in, 
the  plays  of  both  A  and  Y  were 
sent  to  all  the  B's,  and  they  being 
received,  the  cards  played  by  A,  Y, 
and  B  were  sent  to  the  Z  players. 

"  The  trick  being  now  complete, 
the  slip  sent  in  originally  by  A  was 
filled  out,  to  show  him  what  cards 
had  been  played  on  his  lead.  The 
two  missing  cards  were  sent  to  Y, 
and  the  one  played  after  B,  to  him. 
Whichever  player  had  won  the 
trick  now  sent  in  his  lead  for  the 
next  trick  on  a  new  slip,  and  so 
the  play  went  on. 

"Where  there  was  no  choice,  a 
player  having  only  one  card  of  the 
suit  led,  the  person  conducting  the 
tourney  could  fill  it  in  at  once,  and 
thus  save  time.  From  this  and 
several  other  causes,  such  as  players 
forgetting  to  send  in  their  plays  on 
some  hands,  it  was  impossible  to 


keep  the  hands  all  going  at  the 
same  pace.  So  it  soon  happened 
that  the  same  player  would  have 
reached  the  eighth  trick  in  one 
hand,  and  be  back  at  the  third  in 
another.  Slips  for  each  uncom- 
pleted trick  having  to  be  sent  him, 
it  often  occurred  that  a  player  re- 
ceived seven  trick-slips  each  week. 
This  might  not  impress  him  very 
strongly,  but  the  person  conducting 
the  tourney,  receiving  from  four  to 
seven  slips  from  sixteen  players  at 
once,  found  that  a  very  large  table, 
and  a  still  larger  stock  of  patience, 
was  necessary  to  go  through  them 
all. 

"  The  best  method  was  found  to 
be  to  go  through  the  hands  in 
order,  by  the  score  sheets,  and  find 
whose  turn  it  was  to  play.  The 
slips  of  each  player  being  kept  sep- 
arate, it  was  easy  to  reach  the  slip 
numbered  for  that  trick,  and  enter 
up  his  play.  All  the  plays  being 
entered,  the  slips  were  then  sorted 
into  tricks,  the  sixteen  slips  belong- 
ing to  each  trick  being  placed  to- 
gether. The  score-sheets  were  then 
again  gone  over,  but  only  one  trick 
at  a  time  was  examined,  say  the 
fifth.  Each  player  whose  turn  it 
was  to  play  in  the  fifth  trick  of  any 
hand  was  notified  of  the  cards  al- 
ready played.  All  the  fifth  tricks 
having  been  entered  up,  the  sixth 
was  taken  up,  beginning  at  the  be- 
ginning again;  then  the  seventh, 
and  so  on,  as  far  as  the  play  had 
gone.  This  being  complete,  the 
score-sheets  were  gone  over  again 
for  the  fifth  trick  only,  and  every 
fifth  trick  that  was  complete  was 
entered  up  on  the  four  slips  of  the 
players  engaged  in  it,  and  a  check- 
mark placed  in  the  margin  to  show 
that  all  four  knew  all  the  cards 
played.  The  sixth,  seventh,  and 
other  tricks  were  gone  over  in  the 
same  way,  one  at  a  time,  and  then 
the  slips  were  mailed  again.  While 


WHIST  MATCH 


508 


WHIST  MATCH 


•waiting  for  the  next  mail,  the  cards 
played  in  each  hand  were  checked 
off  the  diagrams  at  the  top  of  the 
score-sheets,  to  detect  errors  not 
noticed  in  entering  up,  as  it  was 
not  at  all  uncommon  for  a  player 
to  play  the  same  card  twice,  or 
even  to  play  a  card  he  never  held. 

"  The  time  consumed,  even  after 
many  weeks  of  practice,  was  usually 
ten  hours  for  each  play  sent  in, 
which  -was  once  a  week.  Two  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  slips  were  used, 
and  it  took  just  eleven  hundred  and 
sixty-four  postage  stamps  to  send 
out  the  plays,  and  almost  as  many 
to  return  them. 

"  During  the  entire  tourney  only 
four  errors  occurred,  and  two  of 
these  were  revokes,  which  were  not 
detected  until  the  diagram  was 
checked  up  between  mails." 

In  the  contest  E.  C.  Howell,  of 
the  American  Whist  Club,  Boston, 
•won  first  place,  both  in  his  eight 
and  in  the  sixteen.  In  the  second 
eight  T.  E.  Otis,  of  Orange,  N.  J., 
and  A.  E.  Taylor,  of  New  York, 
•were  tied  for  first.  In  the  sixteen 
Mr.  Otis,  Harry  Trumbull,  and  W. 

5.  Fenollosa  were  tied  for  second 
place.     Both  eights  lost  one  hun- 
dred   and    sixty-eight    tricks.      In 
comparing  the  pairs  of  players  who 
overplayed  the  same  hands  in  the 
same    position,    but     in     different 
eights,  French  beat  Paine  thirteen 
tricks,  Clay  beat  Haynes  nine,  Horr 
beat  Coffin  ten,  Trumbull  beat  Tay- 
lor   eight,    Tatnall     beat     Lennox 
three,  Howell  beat  Otis  two,  Wooten 
beat  Baker  two,  and  Fenollosa  beat 
Stevens  one.     The  following  were 
the  scores  by  eights: 

FIRST  EIGHT. 

Lost. 

1.  E.  C.  Howell 5 

2.  Harry  S.  Stex'ens 7 

3.  George  Tatnall 9 

4.  Harry  Trumbull 14 

§.  C.  E.  Coffin 16 

6.  J.  P.  Wooten 17 


IvOSt. 

7.  C.  M.  Clay •  • 18 

8.  C.  M.  Paine 26 

SECOND  EIGHT. 

1.  T.  E.  Otis 6 

2.  A.  E.  Taylor 6 

3.  W.  S.  Fenollosa 10 

4.  Dr.  Lennox 10 

5.  H.  B.  French 10 

6.  E.  T.  Baker 10 

7.  N.  T,  Horr 14 

8.  A.  M.  Haynes 32 

The  score  for  the  sixteen  was  as 
follows: 

Lost. 

1.  E.  C.  Howell 12 

2.  T.  E.  Otis 14 

3.  W.  S.  Fenollosa 14 

4.  Harry  Trumbull 14 

5.  Harry  S.  Stevens 15 

6.  N.  T.  Horr 16 

7.  George  Tatnall 17 

8.  Dr.  Lenuox 20 

9.  H.  B.  French 20 

10.  A.  E.  Taylor 22 

11.  C.  M.  Clay 23 

12.  J.  P.  Wooten 24 

13.  E.  T.  Baker 26 

14.  C.  E.  Coffin 26 

15.  A.  M.  Haynes 32 

16.  C.  M.  Paine 33 

The  personnel  of  the  players  en- 
gaged in  the  match  is  thus  given 
by  Mr.  Foster:  "Mr.  Harry  S. 
Stevens  is  a  member  of  the  Univer- 
sity Club,  of  Chicago,  and  is  the 
gentleman  whom  '  Cavendish ' 
thought  the  best  whist -player  he 
met  during  his  visit  to  America. 
Mr.  E.  C.  Howell  plays  on  the  team 
of  the  American  Whist  Club,  of 
Boston,  and  is  the  recognized  au- 
thority on  probabilities  in  card 
games,  many  articles  from  his  pen 
having  appeared  in  Whist.  Mr. 
W.  S.  Fenollosa  is  a  whist-teacher 
in  Salem,  Mass.,  and  a  frequent 
contributor  to  Whist  and  the  Field. 
Mr.  Harry  Trumbull  was  captain 
of  the  team  that  won  the  cham- 
pionship in  1894.  When  dying  of 
consumption,  the  following  winter, 
he  played  his  last  card  at  whist — 
the  spade  seven  at  the  tenth  trick 
in  hand  No.  90.  Mr.  N.  T.  Horr, 


WHIST  MATCH 


509 


WHIST  MATCH 


of  Cleveland,  has  contributed  sev- 
eral articles  to  Whist,  chiefly  his- 
torical. Mr.  T.  E.  Otis,  of  Orange, 
N.  J.,  is  a  whist-teacher,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  several  prominent  New  York 
whist  clubs.  Mr.  George  Tatnall  is 
captain  of  the  Wilmington  (Del.) 
Whist  Club,  and  is  one  of  the  vet- 
eran tournament  players.  Dr.  R. 
Lennox,  of  Brooklyn,  is  one  of  the 
leading  players  in  the  great  tourna- 
ments. Mr.  C.  M.  Clay  is  cele- 
brated as  a  composer  of  perception 
problems  in  Whist.  Mr.  A.  E. 
Taylor,  of  the  Knickerbocker  Whist 
Club,  New  York,  is  one  of  their 
best  players.  Mr.  H.  B.  French  is 
from  the  Philadelphia  Whist  Club, 
and  also  plays  on  the  Art  Club 
team.  Mr.  J.  P.  Wooten  is  the 
captain  of  the  Capital  City  Bicycle 
Club  team,  of  Washington,  D.  C. , 
the  champions  for  18^2-'^-  This 
gentleman  has  won  a  prize  at  every 
whist  congress,  and  is  considered 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  players  in 
the  League.  Mr.  C.  E.  Coffin  is 
the  author  of  several  works  on 
whist,  '  The  Gist  of  Whist'  being 
the  best  known.  Mr.  E.  T.  Baker 
is  one  of  the  best  known  of  Eastern 
tournament  players.  Mr.  C.  M. 
Paine  is  the  editor  of  Whist,  a 
monthly  journal  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  the  interests  of  the  game." 

We  may  add  that  Mr.  Foster's 
"Whist  Tactics"  is  based  upon  the 
match,  and  contains  the  hands  in 
full. 

The  idea  of  whist  by  correspond- 
ence, thus  suggested,  was  taken  up 
by  the  American  Whist  League, 
and,  in  pursuance  to  action  taken 
at  the  whist  congress,  President 
Schwarz,  in  the  fall  of  1895,  ap- 
pointed the  following  committee 
on  tournament  by  correspondence, 
with  full  power  to  act  :  Milton 
C.  Work,  of  Philadelphia,  chair- 
man; A.  E.  Taylor,  of  New  York, 
and  John  T.  Mitchell,  of  Chicago. 


At  this  writing  (January,  1898,) 
nothing  definite  has  as  yet  been 
accomplished. 

In  Whist  for  November,  1897, 
W.  B.  Brush,  the  originator  of  the 
"Brush  Tramp  Trays"  (q.  v.), 
communicated  the  particulars  of 
another  whist  match  by  correspond- 
ence, which  had  just  been  com- 
menced, and  which  is  still  unfin- 
ished at  the  present  writing.  The 
match  consists  of  two  tables,  each 
playing  four  deals  at  a  time,  and 
after  playing  through,  the  hands 
are  exchanged  and  played  over, 
making  it  practically  two  teams  of 
four.  Says  Mr.  Brush:  "Table 
No.  I  is  composed  of  Miss  J.  E. 
Lee,  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico 
(north);  Miss  N.  S.  Baldwin,  San 
Francisco,  Cal.  (west);  Mrs.  E.  C. 
Howell,  Boston,  Mass,  (east),  and 
myself  (south) — east  and  west  play- 
ing the  'Howell  openings,'  and 
north  and  south  playing  the  Foster 
system,  as  published.  Table  No.  2 
is  composed  of  Mrs.  Clarence 
Brown,  Toledo,  Ohio  (north);  Mrs. 
E.  L.  Wood,  Brookline,  Mass. 
(east);  Colonel  A.  S.  Burt,  Fort 
Missoula,  Mont,  (west),  and  Colonel 
Hy.  Hutchings,  Austin,  Texas 
(south) — east  and  west  will  play 
the  American  leads,  and  north  and 
south  the  Foster  system,  as  taught 
To  Mr.  Foster,  I  believe,  is  due  the 
credit  of  originating  the  game  by 
correspondence,  and  I  believe  if  it 
were  more  universal  it  would  be  the 
better  for  those  who  wish  to  learn 
the  game." 

Whist  Match  by  Telegraph.— 
In  Whist  for  April,  1897,  John  Hall 
asks:  "  We  occasionally  hear  of 
chess  tournaments  by  telegraph  be- 
tween cities  miles  apart.  Why  not 
whist?  We  will  say,  for  instance, 
a  match  is  arranged  between  New 
York  and  San  Francisco,  and  that 
San  Francisco  at  table  one  are 


WHIST  MATCH 


510 


WHIST  PACK 


north  and  south.  Two  gentlemen 
representing  New  York  would  sit 
east  and  west,  and  at  New  York 
two  would  sit  north  and  south  for 
San  Francisco.  If  the  tray  indi- 
cates that  it's  San  Francisco's  deal, 
the  deal  is  made,  and  east  and  west's 
hands  are  taken  from  the  table  and 
wired  to  New  York,  and  then  New 
York  leads.  A  messenger  quietly, 
but  without  delay,  walks  over  to 
the  operator  and  communicates  the 
card  played,  and  a  messenger  at  San 
Francisco  takes  the  card  from  the 
operating  table  and  places  it  in 
front  of  the  gentlemen  represent- 
ing New  York.  A  half  dozen 
tables  could  be  managed  easily. 
The  only  delay  of  consequence 
would  be  transmitting  the  original 
hands.  After  that,  with  intelligent 
service,  the  play  should  go  along 
smoothly.  If  one  of  the  players 
happened  to  be  a  telegraph  opera- 
tor, *he  should  be  kept  out  of  ear- 
shot from  the  instrument  while  the 
opponents'  hands  are  being  trans- 
mitted; after  that  it  makes  no  dif- 
ference. 

"  The  Western  Union  or  Pacific 
and  Postal  would,  I  am  sure,  allow 
the  use  of  their  wires,  after  say  8 
o'clock  p.  m.,  for  such  a  novel  con- 
test. 

' '  In  the  same  way  a  match  could 
be  arranged  between  England  and 
the  United  States,  and  the  cable 
company  that  first  offers  its  services 
will  have  the  thanks  of  the  whist 
world,  and  a  splendid  advertise- 
ment besides." 

Whist,  in  commenting  upon  the 
above,  remarked  that  while  Mr. 
Hall's  suggestion  was  not  new,  the 
few  experiments  that  had  been 
made  had  not  favored  an  extension 
of  the  practice.  "  Though  we  can- 
not recall  the  exact  date  and  cir- 
cumstances," continues  Whist, 
"  we  remember  several  instances  of 
the  kind.  One  was  between  Phila- 


delphia and  Harrisburg,  another 
between  London  and  Nice — but  the 
result  was  unsatisfactory,  for  the 

fame  inevitably  '  dragged'  so  as  to 
ecome  wearisome.  Even  with  the 
method  suggested,  of  running  wires 
into  the  rooms,  we  doubt  if  a  tour- 
nament game  could  be  played  satis- 
factorily. ' ' 

Whist  Memory.— The  ability  to 
remember  the  cards  that  have  been 
played,  and  other  features  of  the 
game  learned  by  observation.  (See, 
"Attention  at'the  Whist  Table," 
"Inattention,"  "Memory,"  and 
"Observation.") 

"Whiston,    Professor."— A 

name  under  which  Edmond  Hoyle 
was  satirized  in  "  The  Humours  of 
Whist"  (q.  v.),  which  appeared 
in  1743,  the  year  after  his  book  on 
whist  was  first  published. 

Whist  Pack. — A  pack  of  ordi- 
nary playing  cards,  with  four  addi- 
tional cards  for  whist  purposes. 
These  four  extra  cards  contain  a 
table  of  American  leads  from  every 
possible  combination,  including 
special  trump-leads.  The  backs  of 
the  cards  of  instruction  are  the 
same  as  the  rest  of  the  pack,  in 
order  that  their  position  in  the 
hand  may  not  attract  attention  or 
disclose  information.  One  of  the 
extra  cards  is  handed  to  each  of 
the  players  at  a  table  before  the  rest 
of  the  pack  is  shuffled  and  dealt. 
Each  player  then  places  the  extra 
or  "  lead"  card  with  his  hand  (as 
though  it  were  part  of  the  same) 
for  ready  and  easy  reference  in 
playing  and  drawing  inferences. 
Whist  packs  were  copy rigli  ted  and 
placed  upon  the  market  in  1894  by 
the  author  of  this  volume.  R.  F. 
Foster  had  previously  issued  a  card 
of  instruction  called  "Whist  at  a 
Glance,"  but  this  was  laid  upon 


WHIST  PARTY 


WHIST  PATENTS 


the  table  for  consultation  by  any  of 
the  players.  It  was  unknown  to 
us  at  the  time,  as  was  also  the  effort 
of  W.  H.  Barney,  who  had  had  the 
leads  printed  upon  cards  for  distri- 
bution. The  idea  of  making  four 
such  cards  of  instruction  a  part  of 
a  pack  of  cards,  to  be  used  in  the 
manner  described,  was  distinctive 
with  the  whist  packs. 

Whist  Party. — A  gathering  of 
four  or  more  persons  for  the  pur- 
pose of  playing  whist;  also,  in  a 
broader  sense,  a  social  entertain- 
ment in  which  whist  forms  the 
chief,  although  not  exclusive,  feat- 
ure. 

There  is  something  very  attractive  in 
the  chronicle  of  the  whist  parties  of  old. 
There  was  no  ostentation  or  display,  no 
desire  to  outshine  a  neighbor  by  an 
ampler  spread  of  wines  and  luxuries. 
Simplicity — a  stern  simplicity  of  enter- 
tainment— marked  all  such  combina- 
tions. Their  cost  was  within  the  reach 
of  all,  and  they  were  enjoyed  bv  all  who 
received  an  invitation  to  attend  them. — 
W.  P.  Courtney  [L+O.],  "English  Whist." 

Whist  Patents.  —  A  careful 
search  of  the  records  of  the  Patent 
Office  at  Washington  reveals  the 
fact  that  up  to  this  date  of  writing 
(January,  1898)  there  have  been 
granted  in  all  thirty-two  patents 
for  devices  or  improvements  in 
whist,  three  relating  to  straight, 
and  twenty-nine  relating  to  dupli- 
cate. We  give  them  in  chrono- 
logical order,  together  with  a  brief 
description  of  each  invention: 

Patent  No.  404,782,  granted  June 
4,  1889,  to  Robert  F.  Foster,  Balti- 
more, Md.  (now  of  New  York).  A 
pack  of  cards  divided  into  sets  or 
hands  in  which  each  card  is  pro- 
vided with  indicators  designating 
the  hand  to  which  it  belongs,  and 
the  order  of  playing  it  in  pre-ar- 
ranged games. 

Patent  No.  462,448,  granted  No- 
vember 3,  1891,  to  Cassius  M.  Paine 


and  James  L.  Sebring,  Milwaukee, 
Wis. ,  and  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  A 
tray  for  the  game  of  duplicate 
whist,  provided  with  four  holders 
arranged  to  retain  the  several 
hands  of  the  original  play  by  them- 
selves and  in  order  for  the  duplicate 

play- 
Patent  No.  481,995,  granted  Sep- 
tember 6,  1892,  to  Milton  C.  Work, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  In  a  duplicate 
whist  apparatus  a  series  of  four 
subdivided  compartments,  each 
compartment  marked  respectively 
to  designate  the  leader,  second 
hand,  third  hand  and  fourth  hand, 
and  each  subdivision  marked  to 
designate  the  order  in  which  the 
respective  hands  to  be  contained 
therein  were  played. 

Patent  No.  491,302,  granted  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1893,  to  Fisher  Ames,  New- 
ton, Mass.  Playing  cards  provided 
on  their  faces  with  letters,  figures, 
or  marks,  as  set  forth,  the  marks 
on  each  card  indicating  the  combi- 
nations of  cards,  including  the  one 
so  marked,  from  which  combina- 
tions the  card  so  marked  is  the 
proper  lead. 

Patent  No.  499,406,  granted  June 
13,  1893,  to  S.  T.  Varian,  East  Or- 
ange, N.  J.  A  pack  of  cards  having 
on  their  faces  the  usual  marks  and 
small  quadrangular  figures  printed 
upon  each  card,  and  marks  outside 
the  angles  indicating  the  plays 
from  plain  suits,  and  marks  within 
the  angles  indicating  the  plays 
from  trumps. 

Patent  No.  502,089,  granted  July 
25,  1893,  to  William  O.  Bird,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.  A  pack  of  playing- 
cards  having  the  usual  marks  upon 
their  faces,  each  card  carrying  an 
indicator  whereby  the  hands  dealt 
out  of  a  pack  of  such  cards  are  re- 
corded, and  may  be  re-dealt  from 
the  same  pack. 

Patent  No.  514,302,  granted  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1894,  to  John  G.  Butler, 


WHIST  PATENTS 


512 


WHIST  PATENTS 


Augusta,  Ga.  Apparatus  for  play- 
ing duplicate  whist,  comprising  a 
cross-shaped  tray  having  a  raised 
border  with  its  top  open,  card  re- 
ceptacles within  the  branches  pro- 
jecting outward  from  the  centre 
portion,  and  provided  at  or  near 
the  inner  ends  of  said  branches 
with  inwardly  extending  projec- 
tions designated  to  confine  the 
cards  in  a  given  direction,  with 
freedom  for  removal  when  required, 
and  means  for  holding  the  cards  in 
said  receptacles. 

Patent  No.  516,224,  granted 
March  13,  1894,  to  Charles  E.  Parks, 
Somerville,  Mass.  Apparatus  for 
playing  duplicate  whist,  consisting 
of  a  table  having  four  independent 
groups  of  card-carrying  levers, 
each  lever  being  independently 
operated  by  the  player  to  display 
the  card  borne  by  it. 

Patent  No.  521,302,  granted  June 
12,  1894,  to  Arthur  H.  Woodward, 
Chicago,  111.  Duplicate  whist 
boxes.  A  closed  rectangular  case, 
corresponding  in  size  to  a  pack  of 
cards,  and  divided  into  four  com- 
partments arranged  one  above  the 
other,  and  each  provided  with  a 
single  opening  (one  in  each  side 
and  one  in  each  end  of  the  case), 
the  said  openings  being  arranged 
in  opposite  sides  and  opposite  ends 
of  the  case,  whereby  the  case  is 
adapted  to  receive  and  retain  the 
four  hands  in  the  respective  com- 
partments. Also,  a  device  whereby 
the  hand  in  each  compartment 
may  be  projected  a  slight  distance 
out  through  the  opening. 

Patent  No.  525,941,  granted  Sep- 
tember n,  1894,  to  Gustav  A.  Bisler, 
Philadelphia,  Pa.  Apparatus  for 
playing  duplicate  whist.  A  tray 
composed  of  plates  with  interven- 
ing corner  and  central  blocks 
forming  pockets  closed  on  their 
sides  and  inner  ends,  and  open  at 
the  outer  edge  of  the  tray. 


Patent  No.  529,699,  granted  No- 
vember 27,  1894,  to  George  S.  Bout- 
well,  New  Bedford,  Mass.  Duplicate 
whist  table.  A  stationary  central 
disk  firmly  mounted  at  the  top  of 
a  central  post  or  standard  and  rab- 
etted  for  the  purpose  of  steadying 
a  revolving  top,  index  counters  sur- 
mounting the  central  disk;  top 
pockets  in  revolving  top,  swinging 
receivers  under  the  revolving  top; 
when  open  projecting  slightly  be- 
yond the  edge. 

Patent  No.  530,665,  granted  De- 
cember ii,  1894,  to  William  Sow- 
don,  New  York.  Duplicate  whist 
apparatus.  A  game  box  divided 
into  two  or  more  compartments, 
adapted  to  hold  one  or  more  packs 
of  cards;  a  rest  consisting  of  a  flat 
piece  having  an  angular  extension 
at  one  end,  so  constructed  that  it 
may  be  used  to  lift  the  packs  or 
hands  from  the  box  and  support 
the  separate  packs  or  hands  in  the 
several  compartments  in  an  inclined 
position. 

Patent  No.  532,619,  granted  Jan- 
uary 15,  1895,  to  Charles  E.  White, 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.  Card  rack  for  du- 
plicate whist,  comprising  a  base 
having  a  centrally  disposed  case 
subdivided  into  a  series  of  card- 
receiving  compartments  to  receive 
a  corresponding  number  of  decks 
of  cards,  and  a  series  of  stalls  open- 
ing outward  to  receive  the  played 
hands,  the  number  of  stalls  corre- 
sponding to  each  other  and  to  the 
number  of  card-receiving  compart- 
ments. 

Patent  No.  534,843,  granted  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1895,  to  William  Sowdon, 
New  York.  Duplicate  whist  appa- 
ratus. A  box  constructed  to  hold 
cards,  and  having  a  rough  upper 
surface  at  its  bottom  to  prevent  the 
cards  from  slipping  thereon,  guide- 
rods  parallel  with  the  bottom  and 
sides,  and  extending  from  end  to 
end;  and  movable  dividers  fitted  to 


WHIST  PATENTS 


513 


WHIST  PATENTS 


slide  thereon,  and  a  step  at  the 
bottom  of  the  box  to  co-operate 
with  the  back  of  the  box  and  the 
roughened  surface  at  the  bottom  to 
hold  the  dividers  and  playing-cards 
between  them  in  an  inclined  posi- 
tion. 

Patent  No.  535,920,  granted 
March  19,  1895,  toCassiusM.  Paine, 
Milwaukee,  Wis.  Apparatus  for 
playing  duplicate  whist.  A  wire 
skeleton  frame,  provided  by  bend- 
ings  of  the  wire  with  legs  for  rests 
and  for  stops,  with  four  arms  so 
arranged  at  their  extremities  as  to 
form  by  bendings  of  the  wire  on 
two  levels  a  shelf  into  which  sepa- 
rate hands  of  the  original  play  of 
duplicate  whist  are  to  be  thrust, 
and  in  which  they  are  to  be  held  in 
place  by  the  slight  spring  of  the 
loops  of  the  two  planes,  so  that  the 
cards  will  be  segregated  by  them- 
selves for  the  duplicate  play,  one 
of  the  arms  to  be  different  in  super- 
ficial appearance  from  the  other, 
so  as  to  indicate  the  dealing  and 
leading  hands. 

Patent  No.  536,198,  granted 
March  26,  1895,  to  Herbert  H.  Ev- 
erard,  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  In  a  du- 
plicate whist  tray,  holders  for  cards 
consisting  of  springs  securely  at- 
tached at  each  end,  the  ends  up- 
wardly projecting,  and  the  middle 
concave  coming  close  to  the  boards. 

Patent  No.  542,748,  granted  July 
16,  1895,  to  Fisher  Ames,  Newton, 
Mass.  Tray  board  for  duplicate 
whist.  A  flat  tray  board  of  sheet 
material  composed  of  a  body;  four 
projections,  each  of  the  width  at  its 
inner  end  of  a  playing  card,  and 
wider  at  its  outer  end,  and  each  of 
about  half  the  length  of  a  playing 
card;  and  bands  held  in  place  by 
the  shape  of  the  projections  and 
body. 

Patent  No.  543,746,  granted  July 
30,  1895,  to  Hugh  Mitchell,  Duluth, 
Minn.  Duplicate  whist  board.  In 

33 


a  duplicate  whist  board  the  combi- 
nation, with  a  suitable  board,  of  a 
single  straight  integral  elastic  band 
attached  at  intervals  to  said 
board,  so  as  to  form  a  plurality  of 
card-retaining  rings,  and  straps  ap- 
plied on  the  respective  straps  for 
lifting  the  same,  whereby  the  whist 
hands  can  be  slipped  beneath  the 
said  straps  and  kept  separated. 

Patent  No.  544,907,  granted  Au- 
gust 20,  1895,  to  I/.  F.  Braine, 
Ridgewood,  N.  J.,  and  B.  G. 
Braine,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  A  dupli- 
cate whist  score-card,  consisting  of 
two  plates  secured  one  to  the  other, 
each  having  a  series  of  oppositely 
placed  openings  therein,  and  a 
series  of  revolving  disks  located 
between  the  plates,  each  disk  in 
the  series  having  numbers  on  its 
opposite  faces,  from  i  to  13  inclu- 
sive, and  disposed  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  the  sum  of  the  numbers 
simultaneously  exposed  through 
said  openings  is  13,  whereby  the 
number  exposed  through  one 
opening  may  indicate  the  tricks 
taken  in  the  original  score  by  one 
set  of  players,  while  the  oppositely 
and  simultaneously  exposed  num- 
ber will  indicate  the  number  taken 
in  the  duplicate  score,  by  the  same 
set  of  players. 

Patent  No.  546,572,  granted  Sep- 
tember 17,  1895,  to  F.  Lt.  Barrows, 
Ironwood,  Mich.  A  duplicate  whist 
apparatus,  consisting  of  a  medially 
divided  tray,  and  a  flexible  connec- 
tion between  the  two  portions  of 
the  tray,  each  portion  of  the  tray 
carrying  two  pockets  to  receive  the 
hands. 

Patent  No.  548,185,  granted  Octo- 
ber 22,  1895,  to  Herbert  H.  Ever- 
ard,  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  Duplicate 
whist  apparatus.  The  combination 
of  the  trays;  broad,  flattened  hooks, 
square  at  the  end;  rubber-band 
holders  folded  into  the  ends  of  said 
hooks,  so  that  the  bands  can  easily 


WHIST  PATENTS 


WHIST  PATENTS 


be  detached  or  renewed,  the  hooks 
being  adapted  to  be  concealed  in 
the  depressions  in  the  trays. 

Patent  No.  548,255,  granted  Octo- 
ber 22,  1895,  to  Albert  H.  Howard, 
Kalatnazoo,  Mich.  Duplicate  whist 
tray.  A  mat  for  use  in  playing  the 
game,  and  for  holding  the  cards, 
consisting  of  a  square  of  flexible 
material,  with  fasteners  at  the  cor- 
ners and  toward  the  centre  thereof, 
to  fold  the  corners  of  the  same  over 
the  hands  of  cards,  and  fasten  them 
there;  also,  a  band  or  strap  to  retain 
the  cards  in  position. 

Patent  No.  548,740,  granted  Octo- 
ber 29,  1895,  to  L.  F.  Braine,  of 
Ridgewood,  N.  J.,  and  B.  G. 
Braine,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Dupli- 
cate whist  box.  A  box  for  holding 
cards  for  playing  the  game  of  dupli- 
cate whist,  consisting  of  several 
partitions  having  their  ends  free, 
and  a  movable  indicator,  located 
within  said  box,  showing  the  com- 
partments into  which  to  place  the 
cards  during  the  original  play  while 
in  one  position,  and  the  compart- 
ments from  which  to  withdraw  the 
cards  during  the  duplicate  play 
while  in  the  other  position. 

Patent  No.  549,614,  granted  No- 
vember 12,  1895,  to  F.  Sanderson, 
Chicago,  111.  In  an  apparatus  for 
playing  duplicate  whist  the  combi- 
nation with  a  base-plate  of  a  top- 
plate,  separated  therefrom  and  held 
in  relative  position  by  means  of  a 
rectangular  central  block,  whereby 
a  card  receptacle  is  formed  around 
the  block,  the  base-plate  larger 
than  the  top-plate,  and  provided 
with  a  ridge  or  raised  portion  out- 
side the  dimensions  of  the  top- 
plate,  opposite  to  the  four  edge 
faces  of  the  central  block,  which 
serves,  in  combination  with  the  top- 
plate,  for  the  purpose  described. 

Patent  No.  552,732,  granted  Janu- 
ary 7,  1896,  to  Luther  C.  Slavens, 
Jr.,  Westport,  Mo.  Apparatus  for 


playing  duplicate  whist,  consisting 
of  a  series  of  trays,  each  of  which 
is  provided  with  holders  for  the 
several  hands,  and  a  character  upon 
each  tray  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
others,  and  an  auxiliary  tray  pro- 
vided with  a  number  of  holders 
equal  to  the  number  of  playing 
trays,  each  holder  on  said  auxiliary 
tray  being  provided  with  a  charac- 
ter corresponding  to  the  distin- 
guishing character  of  one  of  the 
playing  trays. 

Patent  No.  553, 741,  granted  Janu- 
ary 28,  1896,  to  Lucius  C.  Thomp- 
son, Rolfe,  Pa.  A  duplicate  whist 
board,  provided  on  its  upper  side 
with  four  rows  of  numerals  parallel 
with  its  respective  edges,  and  form- 
ing an  open  central  rectangular 
field,  a  loop  for  each  row  of  numer- 
als extending  parallel  therewith, 
and  formed  of  flexible  material 
adapted  to  be  flexed  upwardly  to 
admit  the  cards  thereunder,  and 
hold  them  down  on  the  board,  and 
a  pointer  sliding  on  every  loop  and 
extending  toward  the  numerals. 

Patent  No.  555,903,  granted 
March  3,  1896,  to  W.  T.  Johnson, 
Washington,  D.  C.  A  duplicate 
whist  tray,  consisting  of  a  bottom- 
plate  and  an  upper-plate,  with  in- 
terposed partitions  and  side  walls, 
dividing  the  space  between  said 
plates  into  a  series  of  horizontal 
compartments,  wholly  closed  upon 
their  sides  and  inner  ends,  and  par- 
tially closed  at  the  edges  of  said 
tray  by  the  said  side  walls,  the 
cards  being  adapted  for  removal 
through  openings  in  the  upper 
plate  partially  covering  the  several 
underlying  compartments. 

Patent  No.  561,786,  granted  June 
9,  1896,  to  Louis  W.  Heath,  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.  In  a  card-holder 
for  playing  duplicate  whist  the 
combination  of  two  wings  hinged 
together,  and  adapted  to  be  folded 
to  simulate  a  book,  and  provided 


WHIST  PATENTS 


515 


WHIST  RECEIVED 


on  the  back  to  designate  its  num- 
ber, so  that  when  opened  the  mark 
will  be  concealed;  a  transverse  strip, 
approximately  the  thickness  of 
thirteen  cards,  attached  to  the  face 
of  each  wing,  a  metallic  spring  se- 
cured intermediate  its  ends  to  said 
strip,  and  at  right  angles  thereto, 
and  adapted  with  its  free  ends  to 
clamp  packages  of  cards  to  said 
holder. 

Patent  No.  564,227,  granted  July 
21,  1896,  to  Frederick  Sanderson, 
Chicago,  111.  Apparatus  for  play- 
ing duplicate  whist.  A  series  of 
card-receptacles  arranged  radially 
in  the  same  plane,  and  formed  by  a 
flat  base  and  top  plate  separated  by 
a  series  of  blocks,  with  a  central 
space  between  the  several  recepta- 
cles, a  game  counter  mounted  in  a 
central  hole  in  the  top  plate  and  in 
the  central  space. 

Patent  No.  568,600,  granted  Sep- 
tember 29,  1896,  to  Florence  H. 
Butler,  Cincinnati,  O.  Duplicate 
whist  board.  The  combination  of  a 
rectangular  board  or  backing  made 
the  size  of  cards  used,  and  having 
the  desired  characters  or  symbols 
on  its  face  and  back;  a  series  of 
elastic  loops  or  bands  projecting 
laterally  from  the  four  sides  or 
edges  of  said  board,  and  adapted 
to  receive  and  retain  intact  the  sev- 
eral hands  of  cards;  also  to  enable 
said  hands  to  be  folded  or  laid  one 
on  the  other  over  said  board  or 
backing,  and  a  fastening  strap  to 
encircle  the  folded  packs  and  hold 
them. 

Patent  No.  589,089,  granted  Au- 
gust 31,  1897,  to  James  W.Johnson, 
Chattanooga,  Tenn.  A  duplicate 
whist  table  having  a  top  provided 
with  a  series  of  slots  arranged  in 
radial  relation  to  each  other,  with 
their  inner  ends  in  the  arc  of  a 
circle  and  their  outer  ends  upon  a 
smaller  arc,  with  a  curved  groove 
intersecting  said  slots,  and  a  sup- 


port for  the  cards  beneath  the  slots 
at  such  distance  beneath  the  same 
that  when  cards  are  placed  in  the 
slots  their  upper  edges  will  fall  be- 
neath the  upper  surface  of  the  top. 
Patent  No.  597,122,  granted  Jan- 
uary n,  1898,  to  John  Omwake, 
Cincinnati,  O.  In  a  duplicate  whist 
apparatus  the  combination  of  a 
box  having  a  plurality  of  compart- 
ments, each  provided  with  a  sta- 
tionary inclined  bottom,  means  for 
maintaining  cards  against  lateral 
movement  in  said  compartments, 
and  a  cover  contacting  with  the 
cards  and  co-operating  with  said 
box  to  maintain  the  cards  in  their 
proper  relative  position  and  against 
displacement  therein. 

"Whist  Popes,  The."— A  term 
applied  by  their  opponents  to 
Messrs.  "  Cavendish"  and  Trist  on 
account  of  the  universal  deference 
to,  and  confidence  in,  their  opin- 
ions shown  by  the  rank  and  file  of 
the  modern  scientific  school. 

When  the  whist-players  of  America 
met  in  Milwaukee,  in  1891,  to  worship  at 
the  shrine  of  their  favorite  game  they 
seem  to  have  acknowledged  two  pppes^— 
"  Cavendish,"  in  London,  and  Trist,  in 
New  Orleans.  Anything  either  of  these 
authorities  might  say  was  received  with 
all  the  respect  characteristic  of  those  who 
believe  in  the  doctrine  of  infallibility  as 
applied  to  whist.  *  *  *  Fortunately, 
the  two  gentlemen  in  whose  hands  the 
destinies  of  the  whist  world  were  placed, 
were  agreed  upon  most  of  the  vital  points 
connected  with  the  game  as  it  was  then 
played.  "  Cavendish"  was  the  final  arbi- 
ter in  everything,  and  any  person  who 
disagreed  with  his  views  or  questioned 
his  decisions  stood  in  about  the  same  re- 
lation to  orthodox  whist-players  as  Bob 
Ingersoll  does  to  the  established  church. 
— K.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Monthly  Illustra- 
tor. 

"Whist Queen."— See,  "Whee- 

lock,  Kate." 

Whist     Received    at    Court — 

Whist    was    formally    received    at 
court,  and  acknowledged  as  one  of 


WHIST,  SCHOOLS  OF          516        WHIST,  VARIETIES  OP 


the  royal  amusements  in  England, 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  In  1720  the  "Court 
Gamester,"  written  for  the  young 
princesses,  contained  an  addition 
called  the  "  City  Gamester, "  con- 
taining less  polite  games  used  east 
of  Temple  Bar.  Whist  was  in- 
cluded in  the  latter,  but  in  the 
eighth  edition,  published  in  1754, 
it  was  honored  by  being  transferred 
to  the  court  or  palace  division. 

Whist,  Schools  of.—  So  great  is 
the  interest  taken  in  whist,  espe- 
cially in  this  country,  that  many 
systems  of  play  and  schools  of  play- 
ers are  naturally  formed  and  up- 
held. In  a  general  way  the  old 
and  the  new  school — the  conserva- 
tive and  the  progressive— seems  to 
be  the  proper  dividing  line,  but  the 
new  school  is  in  turn  divided  up 
into  other  so-called  schools.  Fos- 
ter, in  his  series  of  articles,  "Whist 
and  its  Masters,"  published  in  the 
Monthly  Illustrator  (i896-'97), 
enumerates  the  following:  (i)The 
Old  School;  (2)  the  New  School; 
(3)  the  Signaling  School;  (4)  the 
Scientific  School;  (5)  the  Number- 
Showing  School;  (6)  the  Duplicate 
School;  (7)  the  Private  Convention 
School.  (See,  "System,"  and 
"  Whist,  Varieties  of.") 

Whist  Season,  The.— Whist  is 
undoubtedly  played  more  gener- 
ally in  the  winter  than  in  the 
summer  season,  although  the  game 
forms  a  favorite  pastime  also  at 
summer  resorts,  and  the  tourna- 
ments of  the  American  Whist 
League  always  take  place  during 
the  heated  term,  forming  part  of  a 
delightful  outing.  Outdoor  sports 
and  exercise,  however,  claim  a 
large  share  of  attention  among  the 

feneral  public  in  the  season  of  long 
ays  and   short  nights,  and  whist, 
as  an  indoor  amusement  and  recrea- 


tion, must  necessarily  be  laid  aside 
to  some  extent. 

By  a  singular  coincidence  (or  shall  we 
call  it  by  a  provision  of  nature?)  the 
months  which  rejoice  in  the  letter  "r" 
are  precisely  those  which  are  best 
adapted  for  "the  cultivation  of  whist. — 
Blackwooifs  Magazine,  November,  1838. 

Whist  Sense.— The  quality  of 
mind  in  a  player  which  enables 
him  to  grasp  and  solve  difficult 
situations  in  whist-play  regardless 
of  rule,  and  as  if  by  intuition. 
Whist  sense  is  an  evidence  of  whist 
genius. 

That  an  inference  is  true  or  erroneous, 
reasonable  or  fanciful,  cannot  always  be 
demonstrated  by  logical  or  mathematical 
process,  and  the  only  test  lies  in  the  re- 
sults accomplished,  particularly  in  prac- 
tice. And  yet  it  is  this  very  element  of 
uncertainty  as  to  the  precise  meaning  of 
a  play  which  affords  the  opportunity  to 
the  whist-player  to  show  his  quality — his 
whist  sense.— C.  Hatch  [L.  A.],  Whist, 
February,  1895. 

Whist  Strategy.— See,  "Strat- 
egy." 

Whist,  Varieties  of.— There  are 
at  least  a  score  of  games  which  are 
offshoots  or  varieties  of  whist,  but 
in  nearly  every  case  there  is  just 
enough  of  similarity  to  claim  rela- 
tionship, and  that  is  all.  Not  one 
of  the  varieties  can  compare  with 
the  original  or  parent  game.  Of 
the  so-called  varieties  there  are 
traced  and  noticed  in  this  work  the 
following:  "  Boston,"  "  Boston  de 
Fontainbleau,"  "Bridge,"  "Cay- 
enne," "Chinese  Whist,"  "Fa- 
vorite Whist, "  "  French  Boston , ' ' 
"German  Whist."  "Humbug 
Whist,"  "Invincible  Whist," 
"Mort,"  "Prussian  Whist," 
"Russian  Boston,"  "Scotch 
Whist,"  "Solo  Whist,"  and 
"Swedish  Whist."  Also,  these, 
which  are  more  entitled  to  be 
classed  with  whist:  Double-dummy, 
and  dummy;  and  these,  which  are 


WHIST  WITHOUT  A  TRUMP   517      WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H. 


whist  with  modifications  in  the 
method  of  playing,  or  the  arrange- 
ment and  movements  of  the  play- 
ers: Compass,  drive,  duplicate,  mne- 
monic duplicate,  and  progressive. 
(See,  also,  "American  Game," 
"Long  Whist,"  and  "Short 
Whist.") 

There  are  three  distinct  games  of  whist: 
Long  whist,  ten  points;  _short  whist,_five 
points;  and  American  whist,  seven  points. 
In  the  two  former  honors  are  counted;  in 
the  latter  they  are  not.  Whist  is  also 
very  frequently  played  for  continuous 
points  without  reference  to  games. 
There  are,  too,  the  so-called  duplicate, 
progressive,  and  drive  whist;  the  last,  it 
has  been  claimed,  evidently  receiving  its 
name  from  its  unfortunate  tendency  to 
drive  jjood  players  crazy.  The  Germans 
have  a  mongrelizedgame,  combining  the 
principal  features  of  whist  and  pitch. 
There  is  also  a  game  called  Scotch  whist, 
which,  "Cavendish"  says,  bears  about 
the  same  resemblance  to  whist  that  the 
Scotch  fiddle  does  to  the  violin. — Emery 
Boardman  [L+A.],  "Winning  Whist." 

Whist   Without    a   Trump.— In 

Whist  for  April,  1895,  C.  T.  Button, 
of  Kewanee,  111.,  inquires  concern- 
ing "  whist  without  a  trump," 
which  he  saw  some  Scandinavians 
play.  Not  understanding  the  lan- 
guage, he  could  not  obtain  any  ex- 
planation of  it  from  the  players. 
In  reply  to  this  communication, 
Mr.  Button  received  a  letter  from 
S.  J.  Rasmussen,  of  River  Falls, 
Wis.,  and  this  as  well  as  the  sub- 
sequent correspondence  has  been 
submitted  to  us.  From  the  de- 
scription which  Mr.  Rasmussen  is 
able  to  give,  it  would  appear  that 
the  Scandinavians  in  the  Northwest 
play  the  game  of  "  cayenne"  (q. 
v. ),  or  a  modification  of  it.  In 
this  so-called  variety  of  whist, 
among  other  modes  of  play,  a 
dealer  may  announce  a  "grand" 
and  play  for  tricks  without  any 
trump-suit;  or  he  may  play  "nullo" 
and  try  to  make  as  few  tricks  as 
possible  without  naming  a  trump- 
suit.  In  "  bridge"  the  players  also 


have  the  privilege  of  playing  with- 
out a  trump,  and  it  is  considered 
advisable  sometimes  under  certain 
conditions.  So,  also,  in  "solo 
whist"  the  misdreor  "nullo,"  and 
the  "spread,"  are  played  without 
any  trump-suit. 

Whister.  —  One  who  plays  whist; 
a  term  of  recent  origin  in  America. 

"Whitechapel    Play."—  In  the 

early  history  of  whist  this  term  was 
used  as  expressive  of  very  bad  or 
ignorant  play.  As  early  as  1755  it 
occurs  in  The  Connoisseur,  which 
was  published  by  Coltnan  & 
Thornton,  in  London,  in  an  article 
in  which  a  school  for  the  education 
of  young  ladies  in  the  art  of  whist 
is  humorously  advocated.  The 
phrase  is  obsolete  now,  having 
been  superseded  by  "bumblepup- 
py"  (q.  v.). 

"Whitechapel  play"  used  to  be  the  con- 
temptuous expression  applied  to  a  man 
who  played  his  aces  and  kings  at  ran- 
dom, without  any  attempt  to  utilize  them 
to  bring  in  a  long  suit,  or  to  benefit  his 
hand  by  their  aid  in  other  ways.  In  and 
arotwid  Mane  hester  the  same  kind  of 
wasteful  play  was  known  by  the  term  of 
"Oldham  play."  At  Edinburgh  the  old 
ladies  designated  it  as  "chairman's 
play"  —  a  phrase  which  carries  the  mind 
back  to  the  days  when  ladies  were  car- 
ried in  sedan-chairs.  —  W.  P.  Courtney 
.],  "English  IVhisl." 


Whilfeld,  William  H.—  The  fore- 

most inventor  of  double-dummy 
problems,  and  a  whist  mathemati- 
cian and  analyst  of  great  ability. 
Mr.  Whitfeld  was  born  at  Whist 
Villa,  Ashford,  Kent,  England,  Oc- 
tober 15,  1856.  He  informs  us  that 
the  name  of  the  house  had  refer- 
ence to  its  retired  character,  and 
not  to  the  game.  He  attended  a 
private  school  at  Ramsgate,  and 
afterwards,  in  1876,  entered  Trin- 
ity College,  Cambridge.  He  came 
out  as  twelfth  wrangler,  and  took 
his  degree  in  honors  in  1880.  As 


WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H.     518     WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H. 


the  best  English  mathematicians 
graduate  at  Cambridge,  to  be  high 
up  in  the  list  of  wranglers  indi- 
cates unusual  proficiency.  After 
teaching  school  for  two  years,  he 
became  mathematical  lecturer  at 
Cavendish  College,  Cambridge 
(named  after  the  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire, and  not  after  Henry  Jones). 
It  is  another  coincidence  that  the 
college  is  located  in  the  parish  of 
Trumpington.  After  Cavendish 
College  became  involved  in  finan- 
cial difficulties,  in  1891,  Mr.  Whit- 
feld  sought  other  fields  of  labor, 
and  he  is,  among  other  things,  en- 
gaged by  the  examining  syndicate 
of  bodies  affiliated  with  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge. 

Mr.  Whitfeld  has  been  very  fond 
of  whist  from  an  early  age.  Though 
at  no  time  a  great  frequenter  of  the 
whist-table,  as  compared  with  some 
devotees  of  the  game,  he  has  de- 
voted much  spare  time  to  analyzing 
positions  and  working  out  prob- 
lems. His  first  contributions  to 
whist  literature  consisted  of  some 
double-dummy  problems  published 
in  1880  in  the  Cambridge  Review, 
an  undergraduates'  journal.  His 
fame  as  a  whist  problemist  was  es- 
tablished, however,  by  a  double- 
dummy  problem  which  he  sent  to 
the  London  field,  and  which  ap- 
peared in  its  issue  of  January  31, 
1885.  This  is  conceded  to  be  the 
most  difficult  problem  of  its  kind 
ever  constructed.  It  may  be  of  in- 
terest to  know  that  it  was  composed 
in  bed.  Mr.  Whitfeld  was  kept 
awake  one  night  by  a  strong  cup  of 
coffee,  and  employed  his  sleepless 
moments  in  thinking  it  out.  In 
the  morning  it  was  finished.  Before 
its  appearance  in  the  Field,  "  Cav- 
endish" sent  a  copy  of  it  to  N.  B. 
Trist,  and  the  latter  had  it  pub- 
lished in  the  New  Orleans  Times- 
Democrat,  from  which  paper  it 
was  extensively  copied,  and  went 


the  rounds  in  this  country.  Many 
whist-players  wrote  that  there  must 
be  some  mistake  about  it,  as  they 
found  it  impossible  of  solution. 
As  eminent  an  expert  as  C.  D.  P. 
Hamilton  stated  that  it  took  him 
two  weeks,  and  he  did  not  see  how 
Proctor  could  possibly  have  solved 
it  in  fifteen  minutes — that  was  the 
story  which  had  come  over  from 
England.  Proctor's  name  was  cu- 
riously connected  with  it  in  this 
country.  It  was  generally  spoken 
of  as  the  "  Proctor  problem,"  and 
Professor  Proctor  was  supposed  to 
have  composed  it.  It  required  a 
letter  from  "  Cavendish,"  in  Whist, 
to  correct  the  error. 

R.  F.  Foster  writes  as  follows 
concerning  the  problem  in  the  New 
York  Sun  of  March  I,  1896:  "  H. 
H.  Waldo,  a  bookseller  in  Rock- 
ford,  111.,  published  it  in  the  Rock- 
ford  Gazette,  in  1885,  and  offered 
any  whist  book  on  the  market  as  a 
prize  for  its  solution.  The  Racine 
Whist  Club  spent  three  weeks  over 
it  in  vain.  No  one  in  the  Milwau- 
kee Whist  Club  could  solve  it,  and 
the  prize  was  finally  won  by  Dr.  B. 
F.  Crummer,  of  Omaha,  Neb.,  who 
sent  in  his  solution  many  weeks 
after  the  problem  first  appeared. 
Nothing  indicates  better  than  this 
problem  the  progress  whist  has 
made  in  the  past  ten  years.  In 
1885  a  prize  for  its  solution  went 
begging  for  months;  to-day  we 
have  thirty-five  correct  answers  out 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
attempts." 

We  give  the  problem  herewith, 
in  its  original  and  correct  form, 
together  with  the  solution,  as  re- 
ceived from  Mr.  Whitfeld  himself. 
In  this  case,  as  in  all  other  prob- 
lems, the  solution  should  not  be 
consulted  until  all  efforts  to  work 
out  the  answer  have  failed,  or  until 
it  is  desired  to  verify  a  solution 
arrived  at: 


WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H.      5*9     WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H. 

*  None. 

*  A,  2. 

0  J,  5- 

North. 


<9  None. 
*  J,3- 
OQ.7- 


Hearts  trumps. 

South  to  lead. 
North  and  south 
to  win  all  six 
tricks,  east  and 
west  doing  their 
best  to  prevent. 


|*J     V  None. 
R      *8. 

0  6,  8,  10. 


South. 

*  10,  9. 
V  None. 
6  10. 
0  A,  K,  9. 


The  correct  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem is  as  follows: 

Trick  i. — South  leads  ace  of  dia- 
monds, on  which  north  plays  jack. 
This  is  the  key  to  the  problem.  Only 
by  this  play  can  north  reserve  the 
opportunity  of  playing  a  diamond 
through  west  and  giving  south  a 
finesse,  should  the  development 
warrant  such  a  course. 

Trick  2. — South  leads  ten  of 
spades,  which  north  wins  with  seven 
of  hearts. 

Trick  3. — North  leads  eight  of 
hearts,  on  which  south  discards  ten 
of  clubs.  West  is  obliged  to  un- 
guard  one  of  the  plain  suits.  His 
best  discard  is  the  spade,  since  his 
partner  also  guards  that  suit. 

Trick  4. — North  plays  ace  of 
clubs,  and  east  is  compelled  to  un- 
guard  the  spade  or  diamond  suit. 
South,  playing  after  east,  keeps 
the  suit  from  which  east  has  dis- 
carded. 

Trick  5. — North  leads  a  diamond, 
which  south  wins  with  the  king. 

Trick  6.— South  leads  the  thir- 
teenth spade  or  diamond. 


It  should  be  noticed  that  if  at 
trick  three  west  discards  the  queen 
of  diamonds,  he  leaves  south  with 
the  tenace  over  east,  and  if  he  dis- 
cards a  club,  north  will  make  his 
small  club. 

We  may  add  that  the  problem, 
since  its  original  publication,  has 
frequently  been  republished  in  a 
somewhat  altered  or  disguised 
form.  One  of  these  variations  was 
given  in  the  London  Field  of  De- 
cember 14,  1889,  where  the  suits 
and  some  of  the  unimportant  cards 
were  changed  from  the  original. 
The  New  York  Sun  of  March  i, 
1896,  contained  another  variation. 

The  first  publication  of  the  prob- 
lem in  the  Field  was  followed  by 
other  interesting  and  difficult  hands 
composed  by  Mr.  Whitfeld,  as  well 
as  by  articles  on  whist,  in  which 
his  mathematical  genius  was  dis- 
played in  close  reasoning  and  subtle 
analysis.  In  1892  he  became  regu- 
larly connected  with  the  staff  of 
the  Field,  and  in  1893  he  had  entire 
charge  of  its  card  department  dur- 
ing "  Cavendish's"  absence  in 


WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H.      520     WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H. 


America.  Mr.  Whitfeld  is  also  a 
frequent  contributor  to  Whist, 
America's  representative  journal 
of  the  game.  In  1896,  with  "  Cav- 
endish," he  attended  the  sixth  con- 
gress of  the  American  Whist  League, 
at  Manhattan  Beach,  when  Presi- 
dent Schwarz  introduced  him  in  the 
following  words:  "  I  would  like 
to  say,  in  regard  to  Mr.  Whitfeld, 
that  he  has  long  been  associated 
with  '  Cavendish'  in  the  conduct 


of  the  London  Field,  and  has  made 
many  valuable  contributions  to  the 
whist  literature  of  this  country;  and 
that,  as  a  whist  mathematician,  he 
is  without  a  superior." 

In  closing  this  brief  notice,  we 
take  pleasure  in  giving  another  one 
of  his  very  best  double-dummy 
problems;  in  fact,  he  himself 
considers  it  of  nearly  equal  merit 
with  his  more  celebrated  achieve- 
ment: 


*  9,  7,  6,  3- 
<y  None. 

*5,  3- 
O7,  2- 

Noith. 


4  None. 


*  K,  9,  8. 
0  J,  io,  6. 


Spades  are  trumps. 

South  to  lead. 
North  and  south 

to  make 
the  eight  tricks. 


4  None. 
&     OQ,  7,6,3- 
R     *J.4- 

OQ.3- 


South. 

•  None. 
V  A,  10,  9,  4. 
*A,7. 
0  K,  8. 


The  correct  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem is  as  follows: 

Trick  I. — South  leads  a  small 
heart,  which  north  trumps. 

Trick  2. — North  leads  a  trump, 
forcing  a  discard  from  east.  If  he 
discards  a  heart,  south  will  finally 
make  a  trick  in  that  suit  with  the 
last  heart.  He  must,  therefore, 
discard  a  club  or  a  diamond.  The 
position  of  the  cards  in  these  two 
suits  being  in  all  essential  respects 
similar,  we  need  only  take  one 
case.  We  will  suppose  that  he  dis- 
cards a  club.  South  then  also  dis- 
cards a  club. 


Trick  3. — North  leads  a  club, 
which  south  wins. 

Trick  4.— South  leads  the  best 
heart,  to  which  north  discards  a 
diamond. 

Trick  5. — South  leads  a  small 
heart,  wh'ch  north  trumps. 

Trick  6. — North  leads  the  last 
trump.  Unless  east  keeps  his  heart 
south  will  make  the  last  heart. 
East  must  therefore  discard  a  dia- 
mond. South  then  discards  his 
heart.  West  is  now  in  a  difficulty. 
If  he  discards  a  club,  north  will 
take  a  trick  with  the  last  card  of 
that  suit,  and  if  he  discards  a 


WHITFELD  PROBLEM        521     WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE 


diamond  his  remaining  one  will 
fall  to  south's  master  card,  and 
south's  last  diamond  will  win  a 
trick.  In  either  case,  north  and 
south  win  all  the  tricks. 

Not  one  player  in  fifty  can  solve  it  [the 
Whitfeld  problem]  without  assistance. 
It  seems  remarkable  that  so  difficult  a 
combination  could  be  set  up  with  only  six 
tricks.—  Whist,  October,  1892. 

The  problem  which  we  gave  on  the  six- 
teenth is  generally  known  as  the  "  Whit- 
feld "  problem,  and  was  composed  by  W. 
H.  Whitfeld,  "Cavendish's"  understudy 
as  whist  editor  of  the  London  Field. 
"Cavendish"  says  it  is  the  most  difficult 
problem  with  six  cards  ever  composed. 
Some  persons  call  it  the  Proctor  problem, 
but  Proctor  simply  introduced  it  to  this 
country.— R.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  New  York 
Sun,  March  I,  1896. 

Whitfeld  Problem.— See,  "Whit- 
feld, W.  H." 

Winning  Card.  —  The  highest 
card  in  play  of  any  suit;  the  king 
card;  the  master  card  (q.  v.) 

Play  out  a  winning  card  before  a  twelfth 
or  thirteenth  card,  as  the  adversaries 
might  discard  the  only  one  of  the  suit, 
and  ruff  your  best  card. — H.  F.  Morgan. 
[0.1 

"Win  the  Rest."— Some  play- 
ers, either  through  carelessness  or 
inexperience,  at  times  show  undue 
haste  in  taking  in  the  final  tricks 
which  they  consider  as  good  as 
won.  There  are  good  reasons  why 
every  hand  should  be  played  out  to 
the  last  round. 

Should  a  player  say,  "  I  can  win  the 
rest,"  "  I  have  won  the  game,"  or  make 
signs  to  that  effect,  his  hand  shall  be 
thrown  down. — Deschapclles  [O.],  "Laws," 
A  rticle  122. 

If  any  player  says,  "I  can  win  the 
rest,"  "  The  rest  are  ours,"  "  We  have  the 
game,"  or  words  to  that  effect,  his  part- 
ner's cards  must  be  laid  upon  the  table, 
and  are  liable  to  be  called. — Laws  of 
Whist  (American  Code),  Section 36. 

By  the  English  code,  if  a  player  says, 
"  I  have  game  in  my  hand,  lean  win  the 
rest,"  there  is  no  penalty.  By  the  Ameri- 
can code,  law  36,  the  partner's  cards 
must  be  laid  upon  the_table,  and  are  lia- 


ble to  be  called.—  A.  W.  Drayson  [L+ 
A+],  "Whist  Laws  and  Whist  Deci- 
sions." 

Woman's  Whist  League.— This 

most  interesting  and  welcome  na- 
tional organization  dates  from  the 
woman's  whist  congress  (the  first 
of  its  kind)  which  was  held  at  the 
Hotel  Walton,  Philadelphia,  begin- 
ning April  27,  1897.  The  Woman's 
Whist  League  was  the  outcome  of  a 
movement  which  had  been  gather- 
ing force  for  several  years.  The 
rapid  increase  of  women  whist- 
players,  thanks  to  the  efficient 
teaching  of  Miss  Kate  Wheelock, 
and  many  other  able  women  fol- 
lowing in  her  footsteps,  and  the 
great  proficiency  in  the  game  shown 
by  thousands  of  the  fair  sex,  made 
it  inevitable  that  they  should  event- 
ually have  a  central  organization, 
aside  from  their  local  clubs  or  co- 
teries. 

While  the  constitution  of  the 
American  Whist  League  did  not 
prohibit  women  from  joining,  the 
idea  of  a  separate  league  seems  to 
have  been  entertained  by  the  great 
majority.  At  first  Miss  Wheelock 
planned  an  auxiliary  to  the  Ameri- 
can Whist  League,  but  after  due 
consideration  the  matter  was  post- 
poned for  a  time.  It  was  next  taken 
up  in  the  Trist  Whist  Club,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  a  delegation  of 
its  members  went  to  the  sixth  con- 
gress of  the  American  Whist 
League,  at  Manhattan  Beach,  1896, 
with  a  communication  asking  the 
advice  of  the  League  upon  the  sub- 
ject, but  after  an  informal  confer- 
ence action  was  deferred.  The  com- 
munication was  as  follows: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  board  of 
the  Trist  Whist  Club,  of  Philadelphia, 
held  June  10,  the  possibility  of  being  in 
some  way  affiliated  with  the"  A.  W.  L.  was 
discussed.  The  board  appreciated  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  full  member- 
ship, but  realizing  the  benefit  that  would 
accrue  to  the  women  whist  -  players 


WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE    522    WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE 


throughout  the  country  could  they  have 
the  stimulus  of  the  counsel  and  interest 
of  the  League,  they  decided  to  ask  if  in 
the  opinion  of  the  A.  W.  L-  board  the  for- 
mation of  an  associate  league  is  feasible. 
A  committee,  consisting  of  Mrs.  T.  H. 
Andrews,  vice-president  and  founder  of 
the  Trist  Club,  Mrs.  Charles  Williams, 
and  Mrs.  Edwin  L.  Hall,  members  of  the 
executive  board,  was  appointed  to  act  for 
the  Trist  Club;  and  they  now  ask  if  the 
members  of  the  A.  W.  L.  approve  of  the 
plan,  and,  if  so,  whether  they  will  kindly 
advise  the  proper  steps  to  take  toward 
the  formation  of  such  an  associate  league. 
MARY  P.  HALL, 
Secretary  pro  tent. 

Mrs.  Andrews,  who  had  caused 
the  Trist  Club  to  take  action,  was 
very  much  in  earnest  and  not  in 
favor  of  any  further  delay.  Her 
interest  in  the  cause  of  woman's 
whist  had  already  been  demon- 
strated the  previous  year  by  a  whist 
tournament  which  she  had  insti- 
tuted among  the  ladies  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  that  tournament  was  the 
beginning  of  the  movement  for  a 
separate  league,  to  which  she  now 
bent  all  her  energies.  The  mat- 
ter took  formal  shape  at  another 
woman's  whist  tournament,  held  in 
Philadelphia,  November,  1896,  at 
which  four  other  cities  were  also 
represented — Washington,  by  Mrs. 
Joseph  R.  Hawley;  Brooklyn,  by 
Mrs.  E.  T.  Baker;  Pottsville,  Pa., 
by  Mrs.  Baird  Snyder;  and  Cam- 
den,  N.  J.,  by  Mrs.  William  J.  Wil- 
liams. At  this  meeting  the  follow- 
ing resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  contestants  in  the 
woman's  tournament,  held  at  1119  Spruce 
street,  Philadelphia,  November  n,  12,  and 
13,  1896,  heartily  approve  of  the  forma- 
tion of  a  woman's  whist  league,  and  for 
the  accomplishment  of  that  object  call 
upon  the  women  whist-players  of  Amer- 
ica to  organize  whist  clubs  and  send  rep- 
resentatives from  such  clubs  to  a  meet- 
ing to  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  league 
organization.  That  Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews 
be  requested  to  act  as  chairman  of  a 
committee  of  five,  she  to  appoint  the 
other  four;  the  duties  of  said  committee 
to  be  to  select  the  time  and  place  for 
such  a  meeting,  and  issue  a  call  for  the 
same. 


On  December  18  Mrs.  Andrews 
announced  the  other  four  members 
of  the  committee,  as  follows:  Mrs. 
J.  R.  Hawley,  Washington,  D.  C.; 
Mrs.  Waldo  Adams,  Boston,  Mass.; 
Mrs.  Clarence  Brown,  Toledo,  O. ; 
and  Miss  Susan  D.  Biddle,  Detroit, 
Mich.  That  the  efforts  of  the  la- 
dies met  with  warm  and  kindly  re- 
cognition everywhere,  appeared 
from  the  comments  made  in  the 
press  as  well  as  from  the  following, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  at  its  mid-winter 
meeting  held  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
February  22,  1897: 

Your  committee,  to  whom  was  referred 
the  communication  of  the  Trist  Whist 
Club,  of  Philadelphia,  beg  leave  to  re- 
port: In  the  opinion  of  your  committee, 
the  organization  of  a  woman's  whist 
league  of  America  is  both  practicable 
and  commendable,  and,  if  properly  con- 
ducted, will  be  in  the  highest  degree 
beneficial  to  the  interests  of  the  game. 
We  realize  that  the  training-schools  of 
our  whist-players  are  and  should  con- 
tinue to  be  in  our  homes,  where  our  wives 
and  daughters  reign  supreme,  and  where 
their  ennobling  and  refining  influence 
can  best  be  exerted.  Whist  is  essentially 
a  home  amusement,  and  can  and  should 
be  made  the  inducement  to  home  enjoy- 
ments of  an  attractive  and  elevating  na- 
ture. To  this  end,  the  co-operation  of  our 
women  is  essential.  We  therefore  wel- 
come with  sincere  satisfaction  a  move- 
ment that,  if  successful,  must  result  in 
securing  such  co-operation,  and  in  pro- 
moting the  study  of  the  game  within  the 
sacred  precincts  of  our  homes.  In  the 
opinion  of  your  committee,  such  a  wo- 
man's league  should  be  entirely  distinct 
from,  and  independent  of,  the  American 
Whist  League,  but  in  sympathy  with  it. 
It  should  have  its  own  constitution,  laws, 
and  officers,  and  should  perform  in  its 
own  sphere  the  functions  that  are  pecu- 
liar to  itself,  and  consonant  with  the  ob- 
jects for  which  it  is  created.  To  such  an 
organization,  so  conducted,  the  American 
Whist  League  hereby  extends  most  fra- 
ternal greeting. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

E.  S.  ELLIOTT, 
JOHN  M.  WALTON, 
THEO.  SCHWARZ, 

Committee. 

On  March  29,  the  committee  on 
organization,  of  which  Mrs.  An- 


WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE    523    WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE 


drews  was  chairman,  issued  the 
formal  call  for  the  congress  and 
formation  of  the  league,  in  re- 
sponse to  which  226  accredited  del- 
egates attended  from  all  parts  of 
the  United  States,  among  other 
cities  represented  being  the  follow- 
ing: Philadelphia,  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  Jersey  City,  Princeton, 
Newark,  Boston,  Providence,  Wash- 
ington, Baltimore,  Richmond,  Chi- 
cago, San  Francisco,  Minneapolis, 
Toledo,  Detroit,  Denver,  Indian- 
apolis, Pittsburg,  Wilmington,  and 
Camden.  Mrs.  Andrews,  as  chair- 
man of  the  organization  committee, 
called  the  meeting  to  order  at 
eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
April  27,  and  was  made  temporary 
chairman  upon  motion  of  Mrs.  J. 
R.  Hawley.  Mrs.  Henry  Krebs,  of 
San  Francisco,  was  made  tempo- 
rary secretary  upon  motion  of  Mrs. 
Clarence  Brown.  Mayor  Warwick, 
of  Philadelphia,  delivered  a  pleas- 
ant address  of  welcome  to  the 
ladies,  and  was  followed  by  Mrs. 
H.  C.  Townsend,  the  senior  whist- 
woman  of  the  Quaker  City,  who 
made  a  brief  but  excellent  response. 
Walter  H.  Barney,  president  of  the 
American  Whist  League,  was  pres- 
ent, and  also  made  a  speech,  which 
was  warmly  received.  Thereupon 
the  Woman's  Whist  League  was 
duly  formed,  on  motion  of  Mrs.  L. 
M.  Hall,  seconded  by  Mrs.  J.  B. 
Colahan.  A  motion  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  committees  on  con- 
stitution and  by-laws,  tournament, 
reception,  and  nominations  was 
made  by  Mrs.  Walter  Peck,  of 
Providence,  and  carried.  The  pres- 
ident accordingly  announced^  the 
following  appointments: 

On  Constitution  and  By-laws — Mrs.  Jo- 
seph R.  Hawley,  Mrs.  Abbie  E.  Krebs, 
and  Mrs.  Charle's  Williams. 

On  Tournament — Mrs.  H.  Toulmin, 
Mrs.  Silas  W.  Pettit,  and  Mrs.  Frank 
Samuel . 

On  Reception — Mrs.  H.   C.  Townsend, 


Mrs.  Morris  Longstreth,  Mrs.  Duncan 
Buzby,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Colahan,  Mrs.  B.  P. 
Moulton,  Mrs.  Roberts  Lowrie,  Mrs.  Har- 
rison K.  Caner,  Mrs.  Milton  C.  Work, 
Mrs.  Joseph  S.  Neff,  Mrs.  Lewis  J.  Lev- 
ick,  Mrs.  B.  M.  Gaskill,  and  Mrs.  Rodman 
Wister  (the  last-named  being  also  treas- 
urer of  the  League). 

On  Nominations. — Mrs.  Leech,  of  Wash- 
ington; Mrs.  Walter  Peck,  Mrs.  Bradt, 
Mrs.  C.  Bond  Lloyd,  and  Mrs.  Frank  Sam- 
uel. 

At  the  second  day's  session,  fifty 
clubs  being  represented,  the  report 
of  the  committee  on  constitution 
and  by-laws  was  presented  and 
adopted.  As  a  device  for  the 
League  the  ace  of  diamonds  was 
selected,  bearing  the  initials  W.  W. 
L.  The  club  dues  were  fixed  at  ten 
dollars,  and  individual  fees  at  five 
dollars.  The  attendance  at  the 
third  day's  session  was  the  largest 
of  any,  and  interest  was  centered  in 
the  following  nominations,  which 
were  reported  by  the  nominating 
committee  and  all  duly  ratified: 

President — Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews,  Phila- 
delphia. 

First  Vice-President — Mrs.  Joseph  R. 
Hawley,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Second  Vice-President — Mrs.  Clarence 
W.  Brown,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Treasurer — Mrs.  Silas  W.  Pettit,  Phila- 
delphia. 

Secretary— Miss  Florence  C.  Greene,  33 
Mawuey  street,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Boara  of  Governors — Mrs.  Waldo  Ad- 
ams, Boston;  Mrs.  Elihu  Chauncey,  New 
York;  Miss  Trist,  New  Orleans;  Miss 
Susan  D.  Biddle,  Detroit;  Mrs.  Lucian 
Swift,  Minneapolis;  Mrs.  Abbie  K.  Krebs, 
San  Francisco:  Mrs.  O.  W.  Potter,  Chi 
cago;  Mrs.  J.  M.  Walker,  Denver,  Col. 
Miss  Frances  D.  Dallam,  Baltimore;  Mrs 
O.  D.  Thompson,  Allegheny,  Pa.;  Mrs 
Henry  E.  Wallace,  of  Staten  Island  (who 
resigned  in  favor  of  Mrs.  E.  T.  Baker,  of 
Brooklyn);  and  the  Viscomtesse  de  Si- 
bour,  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

In  a  general  way  the  new  League 
followed  closely  the  lines  upon 
which  the  American  Whist  League 
was  organized,  and  the  laws  of 
whist  and  duplicate  whist  adopted 
by  that  organization  were  also  held 
to  govern.  The  tournament,  which 


WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE    524    WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE 


was  a  great  feature  of  the  congress, 
lasted  all  week,  various  contests 
being  arranged.  That  the  interest 
taken  was  full  of  enthusiasm  may 
be  judged  from  the  fact  that  in 
the  championship  pair  contest  no 
less  than  112  pairs  were  entered. 
There  were  over  two  hundred  con- 
testants in  the  mixed  double  pairs, 
forty-three  teams  of  four  in  the 
teams-of-four  competition,  and  350 
in  the  general  contest  on  the  clos- 
ing night.  Seven  pairs  qualified 
for  the  finals  in  the  "pair  cham- 
pionship." They  were: 

1.  Mrs.  Wallace  and  Mrs.   Raw- 
son,  Staten  Island. 

2.  Mrs.     Christman     and     Mrs. 
Troth,  Philadelphia. 

3.  Mrs.  Swift  and  Mrs.  Clinton, 
Minneapolis. 

4.  Mrs.  Adams  and  Mrs.  Pettit, 
Boston  and  Philadelphia. 

5.  Mrs.  Samuel  and  Mrs.Wister, 
Philadelphia. 

6.  Mrs.  Brooke  and  Miss  Fisher, 
Germantown  and  Philadelphia. 

7.  Mrs.  Bradt  and  Mrs.  Richard- 
son, Boston. 


Seven  pairs  being  inconvenient, 
Mrs.  McCrea  and  Mrs.  Earle,  of 
Washington,  were  selected  to  make 
up  the  necessary  complement.  Mrs. 
Bradt  and  Mrs.  Richardson,  repre- 
senting the  "Cavendish"  Club, 
Boston,  proved  the  winners,  while 
the  complementary  pair  tied  the 
winners  as  to  matches,  and  made 
a  trick  score  of  10%  to  the  winners' 
4#.  The  prize  was  a  silver  loving 
cup,  presented  by  Mrs.  J.  P.  Weth- 
erill,  of  Philadelphia,  and  known 
as  the  Philadelphia  Trophy  (q.  v.). 
The  individual  souvenirs  consisted 
of  handsome  enameled  pins,  and 
were  presented  by  the  ' '  Cavendish' ' 
Club,  of  Philadelphia.  Mrs.  Wal- 
lace and  Mrs.  Rawson,  who  lost  the 
match  by  but  one  trick,  won  the 
second  prize,  which  consisted  of 
a  pair  of  ivory  glove-stretchers, 
given  by  the  Mantua  Village  Club, 
of  Philadelphia. 

In  the  "  mixed  double"  pair  con- 
test, for  the  mixed  double  pair 
championship,  six  pairs  qualified 
for  the  finals,  which  resulted  as 
follows: 


Mrs.  Vodges  and  Mr.  Durban,  Philadelphia i 

Mrs.  Ellison  and  Mr.  Shinn,  Philadelphia 2 

Mrs.  Thomson  and  Mr.  F.  Wister,  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg  .   .   .  i 

Mrs.  Baker  and  Mr.  Baker,  Brooklyn I 

Mrs.  Toulmin  and  Mr.  Work,  Philadelphia 3 

Miss  Goldsborough  and  Mr.  McCoy,  Baltimore 3 


There  was  a  tie  in  the  match 
score,  but  Miss  Goldsborough  and 
her  partner  were  three  tricks  to  the 
good,  and  were  therefore  declared 
the  winners.  So  the  clocks  donated 
by  the  Hamilton  Club,  of  Philadel- 
phia, went  to  Baltimore,  and  Mrs. 
Toulmin  and  her  partner  received 
the  silver  repousse  dishes  presented 
by  the  Colonial  Club. 

The  principal  trophy  played  for 
at  the  congress,  the  Washington 
Trophy,  was  presented  by  the 
women  of  Washington,  through 
Mrs.  Hawley.  It  consists  of  a 
beautifully  enameled  silver  shield 


upon  which  are  inscribed  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "1897.  The  Wash- 
ington Trophy,  W.  W.  L.  Cham- 
pionship won  by  fours."  Three 
wins  are  necessary  for  its  permanent 
possession.  It  was  played  for  at 
the  congress,  under  the  Mitchell- 
Howell  system  forprogressive  fours, 
and  was  won,  by  a  half-match,  by 
the  team  from  the  Trist  Club,  of 
Philadelphia,  consisting  of  Mrs. 
Frank  Samuel,  Mrs.  Rodman  Wis- 
ter, Mrs.  Eugene  L.  Ellison,  and 
Mrs.  Harry  Toulmin.  The  individ- 
ual prizes  for  the  winners  were  four 
silver  cups.  The  full  score  follows: 


WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE    525    WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE 


Games 
CLUB.  Won. 

Washington 7 

Belmont 4 

Merion 4 

Colonial 6 

ABC 3 

Boston 7 

No  Name 6 

Cavendish 6 

Trist 7 

Pottsville 7 

Manheira 5 

Emma  Andrews 5 

Sarah  Battle 4 

Providence 4 

Loescher 6 

Baltimore 8 

Kate  Wheelock 3 


Tie.  Lost.  Score. 


Match       Trick 


5% 

11A 

9% 
6 


Score. 
16 

6 

6 
ii 

4 

'i 


Plus.    M. 

9         — 

—  9 


—  4 

—  2 

—  6 


The  Washington  four,  captained 
by  Mrs.  Hawley,  won  the  individ- 
ual prizes,  given  by  the  Trist  Club, 
for  the  team  winning  the  greatest 
number  of  tricks  in  the  contest. 

In  the  "detached  fours,"  the 
four  silver  vinaigrettes,  given  by 
the  Sarah  Battle  Club,  were  won  by 
the  Western  team — Mrs.  Clinton 
and  Mrs.  Swift,  of  Minneapolis; 
and  Mrs.  Brown  and  Mrs.  Lloyd, 
of  Toledo — with  a  score  of  plus  9. 
The  Heath  duplicate  whist  cabinet, 
presented  by  Gen.  Heath,  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  was  won  by  Mrs. 
Dickson,  recently  of  London;  Mrs. 
Bottomley,  of  Camden,  N.  J.,  and 
the  Misses  Croft,  of  Philadelphia, 
all  of  the  Emma  D.  Andrews  Club, 
of  Camden,  N.  J.,  with  a  score  of 
plus  8. 

The  highest  individual  score  of 
the  week  was  made  by  Mrs.  Brooke 
and  her  sister.  Miss  Fisher,  of  Ger- 
tnantown,  and  this  entitled  them  to 
the  gold-linked  sleeve-buttons  pre- 
sented by  the  Manheim  Club.  Their 
score  was  plus  18. 

The  proposed  contest  between 
women  and  men,  which  was  to 
have  been  played  on  the  evening 
of  April  29,  had  to  be  abandoned, 
as  the  number  of  players  was  alto- 
gether too  large,  and  impromptu 
progressive  play  was  substituted,  in 
which  all  participated.  This  closed 


the  successful  first  congress  of  the 
Woman's  Whist  League. 

In  speaking  of  the  officers  of  the 
new  League,  Eugene  S.  Elliott  says, 
in  Whist  of  August,  1897:  "  Mrs. 
Andrews  is  the  wife  of  a  physician 
of  eminence  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. She  is  a  lady  of  remark- 
able executive  ability  and  energy, 
and  it  is  to  her  untiring  efforts  that 
the  present  flattering  condition  of 
the  Woman's  League  is  undoubt- 
edly due.  Mrs.  Hawley,  the  first 
vice-president,  is  the  wife  of  Gen- 
eral Joseph  R.  Hawley,  one  of  the 
senators  from  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  Mrs.  Brown  is  the 
wife  of  one  of  the  leading  lawyers 
of  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  Mrs.  Pettit  is 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished lawyers  of  Philadelphia. 
Miss  Greene  is  a  member  of  one  of 
the  best  families  of  Providence,  R. 
I.,  and  is  said  to  be  of  marked 
ability  as  a  whist-player." 

The  far-reaching  results  of  the  move- 
ment for  the  cause  of  good  whist  among 
the  women  of  our  laud,  of  which  this 
woman's  whist  congress  is  both  a  symp- 
tom and  a  result,  can  hardly  be  realized. 
*  *  *  It  means  a  wider,  more  gener- 
ous, and  more  rapid  development  of  the 
game.  The  influence  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  a  certain  measure  at 
least,  is  confined  to  comparatively  small 
coteries  of  players  in  the  clubs.  The 
widespread,  persevering,  and  intelligent 


WOMEN  AS  AUTHORS 


526 


WOMEN  AS  AUTHORS 


study  of  the  game  by  the  women  of  our 
land  within  recent  years.and  the  enlisting 
and  organizing  of  their  enthusiastic  ef- 
forts is  destined  to  cause  the  game  to  be  es- 
tablished,in  a  truer  sense  than  ever  before, 
as  the  national  indoor  game  of  America, 
the  game  of  the  home  as  well  as  the  game 
of  the  club. — President  Walter  H.  Barney 
[L.  A.],  Annual  Address  before  the  A.  IV. 
L.,  1897. 

Women  as  Whist  Authors.— Up 

to  the  time  that  the  women  or 
America  took  up  the  game  of  whist, 
there  was  on  record  one  solitary  in- 
stance of  whist  authorship  on  the 
part  of  the  fair  sex.  "  Bob  Short's 
Rules,"  which  appeared  in  Eng- 
land in  1792,  were  compiled  from 
Hoyle  by  Anne  Laetitia  Aikin  (af- 
terwards Mrs.  Barbaud),  and  at- 
tained immensed  popularity,  some 
7000  copies  being  sold  in  a  year. 

In  this  country,  during  the  past 
few  years,  several  interesting  and 
valuable  contributions  to  whist 
literature  have  been  made  by  wo- 
men. Not  that  they  have  an- 
nounced any  new  or  startling  theo- 
ries, or  produced  any  original 
method  of  play,  but  the  little 
volumes  which  they  have  published 
have  been  clear  and  lucid  exposi- 
tions of  the  game  from  the  stand- 
point of  woman,  and  especially 
adapted  to  her  wants.  The  earliest 
effort  in  this  direction  was  by  Miss 
Kate  Wheeloek,  the  pioneer  among 
women  whist-teachers,  who  issued, 
in  1887,  a  22-page  brochure,  which 
had  on  the  outside  of  the  cover 
this  wording:  "The  Modern  Scien- 
tific Game  of  Whist  and  How  to 
Play  It;"  and  on  the  title-page  the 
following:  "The  Fundamental 
Principles  and  Rules  of  Modern 
American  Whist,  Explained  and 
Compiled  by  a  Milwaukee  Lady." 
The  passenger  department  of  a 
prominent  Western  railway  pub- 
lished the  booklet  and  issued  sev- 
eral editions,  consisting  of  many 
thousands  of  copies  in  the  aggre- 
gate. 


In  1894  appeared  a  32-page 
"  Condensed  Text-Book  of  Whist," 
by  Roberta  G.  Newbold,  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  this  was  followed  by  a 
second  edition  in  1895.  It  con- 
tained "the  American  leads,  with 
the  principal  plays  of  the  second 
and  third  hands,  together  with  a 
few  rules,"  according  to  the  title- 
page.  The  little  volume  was  dedi- 
cated to  Miss  Gertrude  E.  Clapp, 
whose  pupil  Mrs.  Newbold  had 
been.  Next  came  a  small  book  of 
fifty-four  pages,  which  Mary  D'l. 
Levick  dedicated  to  her  teachers, 
Miss  Kate  Wheelock  and  Mrs. 
Roberta  G.  Newbold.  It  was  enti- 
tled, "A  Whist  Catechism,"  and 
was  issued  from  the  press  of  the  J. 
B.  Lippincott  Company,  early  in 
1896.  A  second  edition  was  pub- 
lished in  1897. 

In  1 896  Miss  Wheelock  published 
her  well-known  "Whist  Rules,"  a 
75-page  book,  in  which  she  sets 
forth  the  rules  and  precepts  of 
whist  as  used  by  her  in  her  instruc- 
tions. Miss  Wheelock  was  compli- 
mented by  Whist  upon  the  good 
judgment  shown  in  her  order  of 
arrangement,  which  journal  also 
said:  "All  rules  and  suggestions 
are  worded  with  a  remarkable  de- 
gree of  accuracy.  It  is  seldom 
that  one  sees  a  new  book  on  whist 
which  is  so  entirely  free  from  erro- 
neous and  careless  statements. "  A 
second  edition  was  called  for  in  the 
fall  of  1897. 

In  February,  1897,  "The  A  B 
C  of  Whist,"  by  Emma  D.  Andrews 
(Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews),  the  first 
president  of  the  Woman's  Whist 
League,  was  published  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  soon  passed  through 
several  editions.  This  neat  little 
whist  primer  was  followed  shortly 
afterwards  by  a  sequel,  entitled 
"The  X  Y  Z  of  Whist,"  being 
designed  for  advanced  players. 

In  April,  1897,  a  new  book  for 


WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS         527         WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS 


beginners  appeared  from  the  pen 
of  Elizabeth  H.  Gay,  of  Boston, 
entitled  "  Whist  Study  Suits."  The 
work  included  about  fifty  diagrams, 
each  showing  a  suit  of  from  two  to 
six  cards,  each  diagram  being  ac- 
companied by  directions  for  the 
lead,  second,  and  third  hand  play  in 
both  trumps  and  plain  suits.  In  some 
instances  where  there  is  a  difference 
of  opinion  among  expert  players  as 
to  the  best  lead,  both  are  given. 
At  the  end  of  the  book  long  and 
short-suit  leads  are  discussed,  to- 
gether with  various  other  points  in 
whist  strategy.  In  explaining  the 
reasons  for  her  manner  of  arrang- 
ing the  explanatory  matter  in  the 
book,  Mrs.  Gay  says:  "The  study 
suits  were  planned  for  beginners, 
and  were  meant  to  be  studied.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  by  having  the 
key  to  the  suit  under  study  on  the 
back,  it  would  require  more  inde- 
pendent judgment  on  the  part  of 
the  student,  who  could  refer  to  the 
key  for  corroboration ;  whereas,  if 
the  plan  of  play  could  be  read  in 
connection  with  the  suit,  the  lesson 
would  not  be  so  perfectly  learned." 

Women     as     Whist- Players. — 

From  the  earliest  days  in  which 
whist  was  elevated  from  the  posi- 
tion of  a  tavern  game  and  received 
into  polite  society,  the  game  has 
had  its  fair  devotees.  While,  as  a 
rule,  in  England  and  other  old- 
world  countries,  women,  as  a  class, 
were  not  well  grounded  in,  or  thor- 
oughly familiar  with,  the  game — 
and  while,  as  a  rule,  the  sterner 
sex  took  to  their  clubs  to  escape 
what  they  called  "  sick  whist" — ex- 
amples of  brilliant  proficiency 
were  not  lacking  among  those 
whose  play  was  thus  looked  down 
upon.  Charles  Lamb's  ideal  whist- 
player  was  a  woman,  and  some- 
where he  must  have  met  her 
prototype,  or  he  could  not  so  faith- 


fully have  delineated  the  character 
and  play  of  Sarah  Battle.  For 
many  of  the  ancient  dames  in  Eng- 
land, born  in  the  earlier  years  of 
this  century,  whist  has  had  a  life- 
long charm,  and  instances  are  on 
record  where  they  have  played 
whist — and  good  whist,  too — for  up- 
wards of  sixty  years.  W.  C.  Cope, 
the  Royal  Academician,  in  his  rem- 
iniscences, tells  of  two  members  of 
a  family  named  Green,  residing  in 
South  Shields,  who  were  ' '  very 
keen  whist-players,"  and  formed 
part  of  a  remarkable  quartette 
whose  combined  ages,  in  1890,  was 
342  years.  Miss  Green,  the  oldest 
of  the  four,  was  ninety-three  years 
old,  and  the  next  had  attained  to 
eighty.  In  commenting  upon  their 
achievements  an  English  writer 
says;  "Such  success  in  overcom- 
ing the  attacks  of  time  and  pre- 
serving the  enthusiasm  of  youth,  is 
worthy  of  imitation  among  the 
younger  sisters  in  their  sex." 

The  old-fashioned  woman  whist- 
player  had  her  foibles,  of  course, 
and  often  she  suffered,  too,  from 
being  dragged  into  the  game  when 
she  had  no  natural  taste  or  talent 
for  it.  The  domestic  rubber,  there- 
fore, was  sometimes  a  stormy  one, 
as  we  may  judge  from  the  following 
curious  incident:  Alexander  Henry 
Haliward,  a  famous  physician  of 
Belfast,  Ireland,  left  his  wife  a  leg- 
acy of  ^"100,  "by  way  of  atone- 
ment for  the  many  unmerciful 
scolds  I  have  thrown  away  upon 
her  at  the  whist-table."  In  every 
other  respect,  however,  she  was  a 
model  wife,  for  among  his  other 
bequests  to  her  is  the  further  sum 
of  ^500,  "for  her  never  having 
given  on  any  other  occasion  from 
her  early  youth  till  this  hour  any 
just  cause  to  rebuke  or  complain 
of  her."  Her  one  fault  was  that 
she  could  not  play  whist,  and  could 
not  be  scolded  into  learning. 


WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS         528         WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS 


Sometimes  the  ancient  dames 
were  fond  of  sharp  practices,  just 
the  same  as  the  men;  and  they  had 
tempers,  too.  Charles  Mackay,  for 
instance,  tells  of  an  exciting  game 
in  which  he  took  part  in  the  rooms 
of  Sir  John  Easthope,  in  Paris, 
His  partner  was  Lady  Wyatville,  a 
keen,  active  woman  of  eighty,  who 
still  retained  traces  of  her  former 
beauty.  She  revoked,  and  being 
accused  of  the  offense,  denied  it 
vehemently.  When  the  proofs 
were  produced  she  treated  her  ac- 
cuser with  "haughty  disdain,  and 
not  very  polite  contradiction."  Sir 
John  thereupon  lost  his  temper, 
and  rasped  out  abruptly,  "  Mad- 
ame, you  are  a  cheat!"  Her  eyes 
flashed  fire;  she  arose  from  her 
chair  and  advanced  upon  her  ac- 
cuser, who  by  this  time  had  recov- 
ered his  presence  of  mind  and  was 
bent  upon  extricating  himself  from 
his  unpleasant  position.  "Yes, 
madame,  I  repeat  it — you  cheat 
abominably;  and  in  the  course  of 
a  long  life,"  he  added,  placing  his 
hand  upon  his  heart,  "  I  have  inva- 
riably noticed  that  the  handsomer 
a  woman  is,  the  more  she  cheats  at 
cards."  This  compliment  had  the 
desired  effect.  She  resumed  her 
seat,  all  smiles.  In  the  words  of 
Mackay,  "  the  tigress  became  the 
dove." 

If  we  pass  from  these  glimpses  of 
old-time  whist,  and  turn  to  the 
present,  and  especially  to  the 
United  States,  we  will  find  hun- 
dreds, aye,  thousands,  of  charming, 
bright-eyed,  intelligent  women  who 
could  give  Sarah  Battle  points  in 
her  favorite  amusement.  As  Dr. 
Pole  says  in  his  "Evolution  of 
Whist:"  "It  is  noteworthy  that 
while  accomplished  lady  whist- 
players  are  so  rare  in  England,  in 
America  they  abound;  they  take 
part  in  the  League  matches,  and 
are  said  to  hold  their  own  among 


the  best  club  members.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  since  the  game 
has  been  reduced  to  more  system- 
atic principles  it  has  become  more 
liked  by  the  fair  sex." 

It  was  the  modern  scientific 
game  as  defined  and  advocated  by 
Dr.  Pole,  and  especially  the  long- 
suit  game  and  American  leads  as 
perfected  and  introduced  by  Trist 
and  "  Cavendish,"  that  caused  the 
great  whist  revival  in  America,  and 
brought  with  it  a  general  interest 
in  the  game  on  the  part  of  women. 
Under  the  old  system  of  play,  whist 
was  supposed  to  be  played  well 
only  by  those  who  had  a  special 
genius  for  it,  but  the  modern  mech- 
anism of  the  game  opened  up  pos- 
sibilities for  all,  and  once  inter- 
ested, those  from  whom  the  least 
was  expected  very  often  showed  the 
most  surprising  aptitude  for  genu- 
ine whist-play.  Too  much  credit 
for  the  high  standing  which  Amer- 
ican women  already  occupy  in  the 
whist  world  cannot  be  given  to  the 
instructors  who  led  the  way,  and 
first  caused  them  to  see  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  game.  (See,  ' '  Teach- 
ers of  Whist.")  If  the  same 
methods  were  employed,  and  the 
same  determination  and  enthusiasm 
shown,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  women  of  England,  or  any 
other  country  in  which  whist  is 
played,  would  make  relatively  the 
same  progress.  Their  natural  apti- 
tude for  whist  is  great.  They  have 
quick  perception  and  keen  intu- 
ition, which  go  a  great  way  in 
whist  strategy.  When  woman  once 
mastered  also  the  necessary  ad- 
juncts of  silence  and  attention  at 
the  whist-table,  her  success  was  as- 
sured. There  is  to-day  no  com- 
parison between  the  thoughtful, 
earnest  players  who  cultivate  the 
game,  and  the  giddy  chatterers  who 
in  years  gone  by  were  usually  rep- 
resented as  playing  bumblepuppy 


\S FLAYERS 


528 


WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS 


.  -•«.,  u>o. 

>i*ti,  t'-li 
iii  which  be 
of  Sir   Ji>hn 
His  partner  was  Lad 
keen,  active  woman 
still  retained  trace* 
beautv.     She    rc-v-^tu 
3C.«."t  of  tht    of'. 


the  srcirnt  dames 
hirp  practices,  just 

tisun  :  and  they  had 
CUaric*  Mackay,  for 
>•  an  exciting  game 
-k  part  in  the  rooms 

astbope,   in    P»ris. 


.  ":M.  '    Sir 
j;    u>sl   h:.->   temper, 

:-    *l*tVl;*-n.- 
are  a  chThc   GhatUp 

fi*i.!»fi*4  fire;  she  arose  from  her 
chair -and  advanced  upon  her  ac- 
cuser, who  by  this  time  had  recov- 

J  his  p fc\  Stanley  Martmd  was 

bent  upon  extricating  Ir.mself  from 
ant   i  jeseph  S.  Neffc. 

mail,  :eat   it  — 


the  best  club  members.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  since  the  game 
has  been  reduced  to  more  system- 
atic principles  it  has  become  more 
liked  by  the  fair  sex." 

It  was  the  modern  scientific 
game  as  defined  and  advocated  by 
Dr.  Pole,  and  especially  the  long- 
suit  game  and  American  leads  as 
pf  r fccted  and  introduced  by  Trist 
»od  "Cavendish,"  that  caused  the 
&*-"•  whist  revival  in  America,  and 
;U  with  it  a  general  interest 
•v«  i'  •  j£tni  t  cm  the  part  of  women. 
V'n-'i-T  ih"  ix.'i  £  t  «*tti  of  play,  whist 
was  ««;ix*if*t:  Uj  K-«*  puryed  well 
« ho  b»4j  >i  special 
!iKx.«r  -n  mech- 


sibilities  for  all,  ami  once  inter- 
ested, thase  frrmi  whow  tlu-  least 
was  expected  very  often  fcliowtd  the 
mo.it  surprising  aptitude  for  genu- 
ine whist-play.  Too  much  credit 
for  the  high  standing  which  Amer- 
ican women  already  occupy  in  the 


;  and  in  the  cofIr.s<A)fWh«to»i  world  cannot  be  given  to  the 


a  long  life,"  he  added,  placing  his 
hand  upon  his  heart,  "  I  have  inva- 
riably noticed  that  the  handsomer 
a  woman  is,  the  more  she  cheats  at 
cards."  This  compliment  had  the 
desired  HT«*  t  She  resumed  her 
seat,  all  sduies.  fn  the  words  of 
Mac.kay,  "the  t;.,.;r«^  Vc%tnc  the 
dove. " 

If  we  pass  from  thf>«-  f;.1.  ;,;•«*•<•  <>f 
old-time  whist,  and  t'irr>  ivi  la*. 
preseiit,  &»>d  especially  to  the 
United  States,  we  will  find  hun- 
dreds, aye,  thousands,  of  charming, 
bright-yycd,  intelligent  women  who 
conld  give  Sarah  /.-tad.'f  poi?its  in 
her  favorite  amusement.  As  Dr. 
Pole  savs  in  his  *'  Evolution  of 
Vv'hist:"  "It  is  noteworthy  that 
•while  accomplished  lady  whist- 
players  are  so  rare  in  England  in 
America  they  abound;  they  take 
pa-t  in  the  League  matches,  and 
arc  said  to  bold  their  own  among 


instructors  who  led  the  wav,  and 
Wi;-T.cO^«Srii5toli;  to  see  the  "possi 
bilities  of  the  game.  (See,  ' '  Teach- 
ers of  ILfebhf  Mfelictf  the  same 
methods  were  employed,  and  the 
same  determination  and  enthusiasm 
shown,  tii<-«e  can  be  no  doubt  that 


the  women    of 
other   country    in 
played,  would  ru>' 
same  progress.     T 
tode  for  whist  is  g 
qntck    perception 
ition,    which    po 
whusi.  strategy.'    U 
mast* -wd    ab>o      .1 

t)ie  vl-.:»t.teble.  hr 
sured.      T'lrre    is 


gan'c 
in  yv 
restr.i 


A_v»vrs   who 
thtr  giddy  ci 
•^ie  by  w.'-re 

A  playmg  I 


•     any 
;.-h    whist   is 

DAturai  apti- 
Tiiev  have 


•.."man  once 
H  -ssary  ad- 
Hltention  at 
•'"ess  was  as- 
av  no  com- 
thoughtful, 
•ultivate  th*- 


WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS         529         WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS 


in  its  most  naive  form  when  help- 
ing to  make  up  a  table.  The  writers 
who  in  years  gone  by  poked  fun  at 
the  "sick  whist"  of  the  ladies, 
would  be  amazed  could  they  drop 
in  and  see  the  play  at  a  woman's 
whist  club,  or  at  the  annual  con- 
gress of  the  Woman's  Whist 
League. 

That  women  play  first-class  whist 
is  testified  to  by  men  everywhere. 
F.  H.  Stephens,  of  the  Capital 
Bicycle  Club,  Washington,  D.  C., 
says  in  Whist  for  July,  1894:  "In 
the  recent  tournament  played  in 
Philadelphia  between  the  Capital 
Bicycle  Club  and  All-Philadelphia, 
in  which  the  former  was  defeated, 
there  was  only  one  team  from  the 
Capital  Club  which  had  a  plus 
score  to  its  credit.  This  team  was 
composed  of  Messrs.  Carr,  Fogg, 
McComb,  and  Quackenbush.  In  a 
tournament  for  pairs  lately  held  at 
the  rooms  of  the  Chess  and  Checker 
Club  of  this  city,  and  open  to  all 
comers,  Fogg  and  Quackenbush 
stood  first,  with  Carr  and  McComb 
well  up  on  the  list.  In  an  open 
tournament  for  pairs  held  this 
spring  at  the  Capital  Bicycle  Club, 
these  gentlemen  again  attained  a 
high  standing.  I  cite  these  facts 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
these  gentlemen,  three  of  whom  are 
immediately  concerned  in  this  his- 
tory, were  players  of  experience 
and  ability.  In  the  latter  part  of 
April  I  asked  Carr,  Fogg,  and 
Quackenbush  if  they  would  join 
me  in  a  contest  with  a  four  from 
the  Woman's  Whist  Club.  They 
would.  On  the  evening  of  April 
27  I  presented  them  to  Miss  Daly, 
the  president;  Miss  King,  the  sec- 
retary; Miss  Lockhart,  and  Miss 
Ravenburg.  We  formed  two  tables 
and  played  eighteen  hands  dupli- 
cate, changing  partners  at  the  end 
of  every  six  hands.  Result,  plus 
two  for  the  young  ladies!  We  met 

34 


again  May  3;  result,  a  tie.  On 
May  1 1  we  met  for  the  third  time, 
and  played  twenty-four  hands;  re- 
sult, plus  one  for  the  men.  The 
ladies  are  still  one  trick  ahead  of 
us  on  the  sixty  hands,  and  we  are 
wondering  how  we  are  to  get  even. ' ' 

This  is  but  one  example  out  of 
many  that  might  be  cited.  In 
Whist  for  April,  1895,  the  editor 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  not 
only  in  active  play  at  the  table,  but 
in  solving  whist  problems,  women 
were  showing  the  highest  aptitude. 
Among  the  sixty-two  answers  re- 
ceived to  a  prize  problem  in  suit- 
placing,  the  best  was  that  of  Mrs. 
W.  C.  Coe,  of  Chicago,  who  re- 
ceived the  prize. 

' '  Every  successive  meeting  of 
whist-players,"  says  R.  F.  Foster 
in  the  New  York  Sun,  "demon- 
strates more  clearly  the  approach- 
ing equality  of  the  sexes  in  the 
matter  of  skill  at  the  whist  table. 
At  the  sixth  congress  [of  the  Amer- 
ican Whist  League]  the  women 
were  only  moderately  successful. 
At  the  seventh  they  were  much 
more  in  evidence,  and  in  the  vari- 
ous association  meetings  and  com- 
pass games  on  guests'  nights  at  the 
men's  clubs,  they  have  been  steadily 
gaining  ground.  The  averages 
made  by  women  in  women's  clubs 
is  much  higher  than  that  made  by 
men  in  men's  clubs,  and  their  play 
is  much  freer  and  more  enjoyable. 

"  Recent  returns,"  he  continues, 
11  show  some  remarkable  scores 
made  by  women  against  men.  In 
the  Ohio  state  congress  we  find  a 
team  of  four  women,  from  the  Kis- 
met Club  of  Cincinnati  —  Mrs. 
Poyntz,  Mrs.  Davidson,  Mrs.  Gaar, 
and  Mrs.  Poyntz  —  winning  the 
progressive  match  for  fours  by  de- 
feating such  crack  teams  as  four 
men  who  have  all  been  on  cham- 
pionship teams,  President  Mandell, 
Buffington,  Mitchell,  and  Parsons, 


WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS         53°         WOMEN  AS  PLAYERS 


the  cracks  of  the  Chicago  Whist 
Club.  The  four  women  players 
from  Toledo  were  next  to  the  top 
in  almost  every  event,  and  some  of 
them  got  six  more  tricks  than  the 
best  men's  pair  entered." 

And  just  as  these  last  pages  are 
going  through  the  press,  we  learn 
that  on  January  29,  1898,  the  three 
years'  contest  for  the  trophies  do- 
nated by  Mrs.  T.  H.  Andrews, 
president  of  the  Woman's  Whist 
League,  came  to  an  end  at  Phila- 
delphia. Mrs.  Andrews'  team, 
consisting  of  herself,  Mrs.  J.  E. 
Goodman,  Mrs.  E.  L.  Ellison,  and 
Mrs.  H.  Toulmin,  completed  the 
necessary  twelve  wins  which,  under 
the  rules,  entitle  them  to  perma- 
nent possession.  Mrs.  Toulmin 
having  removed  to  Milwaukee, 
Miss  Getchell  filled  her  place  dur- 
ing the  last  few  games.  The  team 
making  the  next  highest  record 
was  that  captained  by  Mrs.  W.  H. 
Newbold.  Nine  was  the  number 
of  wins  to  its  credit.  Thus  ended  a 
contest  which  must  ever  find  a  place 
in  the  history  of  woman's  whist. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  gen- 
uine interest  which  the  women  of 
America  are  taking  in  the  game. 
In  every  part  of  the  country  they 
are  studying  whist  under  compe- 
tent teachers.  They  are  forming  a 
network  of  women's  clubs  which 
already  extends  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific  (among  the  latest 
and  most  notable  organizations  of 
this  kind  being  the  Chicago  Whist 
Club,  organized  by  Mrs.  O.  W. 
Potter).  Their  contests  for  in- 
dividuals, pairs,  and  teams-of-four 
are  just  as  interesting  as  those 
of  the  men.  They  are  welcomed, 
and  admitted  to  membership,  in 
many  clubs  heretofore  composed 
exclusively  of  men.  Altogether, 
women  have  a  right  to  be  justly 
proud  of  the  progress  which  they 
have  made. 


It  is  not  long  ago  the  idea  prevailed 
that  a  woman  could  not  play  whist. 
Those  who  wanted  to  make  the  state* 
ment  charitably  put  it  that  she  could  not 
play  equal  to  a  man.  Modern  develop- 
ments are  going  on  to  relegate  all  opin- 
ions of  this  nature  to  a  deserved  oblivion, 
for  we  have  the  proof  now  that  women 
are  capable  of  playing  the  game  with  all 
the  skill  of  men. — Cassius  M.  Paine  \L. 
A.],  Whist,  April,  1895. 

The  current  impression  is  that  women 
are  too  much  inclined  to  adhere  to  rule 
of  play;  that  they  are  unable  to  grapple 
with  thejinesse  of  the  game;  that  when 
an  unusual  deal  falls  to  woman's  lot  the 
management  is  inferior  to  that  that  would 
be  exercised  by  the  average  club  man. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  settle  a  compli- 
cation of  this  kind,  and  that  is  to  have  a 
contest,  which  would  prove  a  very  inter- 
esting affair. — Mrs.  M.  S.  Jenks  [L.  A.], 
Home  Magazine,  July,  1895. 

It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  make  a  woman 
believe  that  it  is  worth  while  to  play  a 
good  game  of  scientific  whist.  She  is 
quite  satisfied  to  play  a  fair  game,  and 
thinks  anything  more  a  bore,  and  not 
worth  the  time  it  would  take.  But  once 
aroused  to  the  pleasure  of  the  scientific 
game,  she  is  an  apt,  eager,  earnest  stu- 
dent, seizing  the  points  with  avidity,  and 
rushing  ahead  in  a  way  that  is  a  delight 
to  the  teacher. — Harriet  Allen  Anderson 
[L.  A.].  Home  Magazine.  July,  189$. 

Whist  throws  a  glamour  of  sport  over 
mental  exercises  that  would  be  deemed 
onerous  if  performed  in  school.  It  bright- 
ens the  wits,  sharpens  the  memory,  and 
trains  the  perceptive  faculties  into  their 
highest  excellence.  In  fine,  whist  is  al- 
ways elevating,  and  never  demoralizing 
in  its  influence.  It  is  well,  therefore,  that 
woman  is  giving  careful  attention  to  its 
study,  for  she  is  the  autocrat  of  our  homes, 
and  what  she  opposes  can  gain  no  foot- 
hold there. — Cassius  M.  Paine  [L.  A.], 
Whist,  December,  tSoi. 

As  soon  as  women  have  its  points  re- 
vealed systematically  they  are  interested; 
interest  means  thought,  and  thought 
knowledge.  The  appreciation  of  the 
game,  and  consequent  love  for  it,  is  grow- 
ing in  an  astonishing  degree.  Manv  who 
begin  their  study  for  the  sake  of  hus- 
band, friend,  or  even  fashion,  continue 
from  real  interest.  So  many  women  have 
been  subject  to  such  discouraging  influ- 
ences as  to  be  under  the  impression  that 
they  cannot  learn  whist,  and  are  perfectly 
delighted  to  discover  that  they  can.  Most 
women  are  acquiring  their  knowledge 
from  a  scientific  standpoint — are  studying 
the  game;  therefore  I  believe  in  their  fu- 
ture.— Adelaide  It.  Hyde  [/..  A.],  Home 
Maga  fine,  Ju  ly,  1895 . 

The  question  whether  ladies  should  play 
whist  is  one  which  has  often  exercised 


WORK,  MILTON  C. 


531 


the  feminine  mind.  In  October  of  four 
years  ago  this  absorbing  matter  was  dis- 
cussed in  the  columns  of  a  paper  pub- 
lished mainly  for  the  reading  of  women. 
Some  weeks  were  spent  in  giving  the 
reasons  which  brought  the  writers  to 
a  definite  and  affirmative  conclusion. 
*  *  *  Yes,  they  should  play  whist — in 
that  all  the  writers  were  agreed— but  not 
because  it  was  a  pleasure  to  themselves. 
They  should  play  whist,  and  play  it  to 
exalt  that  mean  thing— man!  Thus  could 
ladies  amuse  a  father,  a  husband,  or  a 
brother,  "confined  to  the  house  by  gout 
or  rheumatism,"  and  brute  enough  not 
to  care  for  days  spent  in  the  more  refined 
pleasures  of  books  or  music.  Thus  could 
ladies  help  to  keep  the  game  within 
reasonable  bounds,  and  restrain  man — 
that  wicked  man!— from  gambling  for 
heavy  stakes.  Their  presence  would  add 
to  the  pleasure  of  the  lords  of  creation, 
and  would  drive  far,  far  away  the  occa- 
sional oath  or  evanescent  expletive. 
These  were  their  reasons.—  IV.  P.  Court- 
ney [L  +  O.],  "English  Whist  and  Whist- 
Play  ers,"  1894. 

Work,  Milton  C. — An  expert 
•whist-player  and  whist  analyst,  and 
a  whist  author  of  much  originality 
and  power.  Mr.  Work  is  a  native 
of  Philadelphia,  and  was  born  Sep- 
tember 15,  1864.  He  was  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1884,  and  in  1887  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  at  the  Phila- 
delphia bar.  He  has  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  ever 
since,  being  a  member  of  the  well- 
known  firm  of  McCarthy,  Work  & 
De  Haven. 

Mr.  Work's  interest  in  whist 
dates  from  an  early  period  of  his  life. 
While  still  in  his  university  years, 
in  the  spring  of  1882,  he  was  a 
member  of  a  team  which  beat  four 
other  good  players  at  the  first  du- 
plicate whist  match  between  teams 
ever  played  in  the  Quaker  City. 
Two  of  the  members  who  played 
with  him  then  became,  with  him, 
members  of  the  famous  team  of  the 
Hamilton  Club,  upon  its  organiza- 
tion in  1885,  and  under  his  leader- 
ship it  recently  achieved  the  unpre- 
cedented feat  of  winning  twenty 
matches  for  the  challenge  trophy 


of  the  American  Whist  League, 
thereby  permanently  winning  the 
trophy.  Mr.  Work  also  captained 
the  Philadelphia  eight  which  won 
a  series  of  successive  victories  from 
New  York,  Baltimore,  and  Wash- 
ington, in  i894-'95.  He  has  been 
deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
the  American  Whist  League  ever 
since  its  organization,  and  has 
served  on  a  number  of  its  com- 
mittees. In  1894  Mr.  Work  wrote 
and  published  a  pamphlet  entitled 
"New  Whist  Ideas,"  and  this  was 
followed  in  1895  by  "  Whist  of  To- 
day," a  wonderfully  successful 
book,  in  which  many  original  ideas 
are  set  forth.  It  was  in  its  fifth 
edition  in  1897.  Mr.  Work  is  an 
advocate  of  the  long-suit  game,  but 
has  liberal  ideas  as  to  when  excep- 
tions should  be  made  in  the  play. 
In  his  own  play  he  employs  Ameri- 
can leads,  with  Hamilton  modifica- 
tions (q.  v.).  He  has  also  achieved 
great  success  as  a  whist  editor.  He 
was  in  charge  of  a  weekly  whist 
department  of  the  Philadelphia 
Inquirer  in  iSSg-'go,  and  was  the 
first  to  suggest  a  congress  of  Ameri- 
can whist-players.  He  wrote  on 
whist  for  the  Philadelphia  Public 
Ledger  in  1893,  1894,  and  1895.  He 
was  the  whist  editor  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Evening  Telegraph  in  1895, 
1896,  and  1897,  and  its  daily  whist 
department  (the  first  ever  pub- 
lished) was  his  idea.  In  iS^-'gS 
he  took  charge  of  the  whist  inter- 
ests of  the  Philadelphia  Press  and 
the  New  York  Mail  and  Express. 

Mr.  Work's  opinions  probably  have 
more  weight  with  the  whist-players  of 
America  to-day  than  those  of  any  other 
writer.-/?.  F.  Foster  [S.  O.],  Monthly 
Illustrator,  1897. 

X. — In  whist  notation,  any  card 
smaller  than  a  ten-spot  is  usually 
represented  by  the  letter  x.  Thus, 
A,  Kxxx  means  ace,  king,  and 


532 


YARBOROUGH 


three  cards  of  no  particular  value, 
generally  low. 

Y.— The  partner  of  Z,  with  whom 
he  plays  against  A  and  B.  This  des- 
ignation is  generally  used  in  noting 
down  hands  of  whist.  In  the  first 
or  original  round  or  trick,  the 
second  hand  is  Y.  In  duplicate 
whist  the  corresponding  designa- 
tion is  "east." 

Yarborough. — A  hand  at  whist 
containing  no  card  higher  than  a 
nine.  Named  after  Lord  Yarbor- 
ough, who  offered  a  standing  bet 
of  j£iooo  to  £i  against  such  a  hand 
being  dealt. 

Many  yarboroughs  are  dealt 
annually  that  meet  the  above  con- 
ditions, but  an  effort  made  in  1892 
to  locate  the  lowest  possible  hand 
— the  yarborough  par  excellence — 
failed.  In  November  of  that  year 
Whist  offered  a  prize  of  twenty-five 
dollars  for  a  well-authenticated  in- 
stance of  such  a  hand  being  dealt 
during  the  next  twelve  months, 
but  no  one  claimed  the  money,  al- 
though a  number  of  interesting 
yarboroughs  were  reported. 

The  following  yarborough  was 
published  in  the  Westminster  Pa- 
pers, London,  April  i,  1879,  and 
the  editor  prefaces  it  with  the  fol- 
lowing remarks:  "Any  queer  com- 
bination of  cards  will  occur;  but 
the  hand  certainly  contains  more 
of  the  smallest  cards  than  any  hand 
that  we  have  ever  seen  recorded." 
It  was  dealt  at  the  Surbiton  Club, 
and  it  was  calculated  that  the  odds 
of  holding  no  card  above  any  six 
in  any  particular  deal  were  10,922,- 
144  to  i.  Clubs  were  trumps,  and 
the  cards  held  were: 


*  2,3,4.5- 

V  2,3,4,6. 

*  2,6. 
0  2,3,4. 


On  October  7,  1892,  "H.  T.,"  at 
the  Hamilton  Club,  Philadelphia, 
had  dealt  to  him,  in  the  regular 
course  of  play,  a  yarborough  with- 
out a  trump.  It  was  as  follows: 

*  None. 
V  2,3,4,6. 

*  2,4,5,7,9. 
O  3.4,6,8. 

Whist,  in  its  issue  of  April,  1896, 
gives  the  following  yarborough 
held  by  E.  Leroy  Smith,  of  the 
Albany  Whist  Club  (trumps  not 
stated) : 

8  ''.i:5' 

*  2,  4,  5,  6. 
0    3,  4,  5.  7- 

It  adds:  "  That  he  should  have 
captured  two  congressional  prizes 
in  successive  years  is  so  extraordi- 
nary as  to  almost  justify  the  sus- 
picion that  he  is  a  lucky  holder; 
but  nothing  could  be  further  from 
the  truth.  In  order  to  prove  it,  the 
Albany  Club  has  been  keeping  tab 
on  him  ever  since  the  Minneapolis 
congress,  and  proves  beyond  a 
doubt  that  he  is  most  fortunate  in 
taking  tricks  when  he  holds  a  yar- 
borough, and  that  as  a  j'arbo rough- 
holder  he  is  a  phenomenon." 

Another  yarborough  is  reported 
by  Arthur  Remington,  from  Ta- 
coma,  Washington,  under  date  of 
June  4,  1897.  Mr.  Remington  says: 
"  On  May  13,  at  the  Olympia  Whist 
Club,  Mr.  J.  C.  Horr,  of  the  Olym- 
pia Club,  dealt  to  a  former  justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  the  following 
hand. 

*  '.  3,  4- 

0  2,  3,  4. 

4»  3,  4.  5  (trumps). 

0  2,3.4,5- 

"  I  believe  this  is  the  champion 
yarborough  on  record.  At  least  it 
shows  how  the  champions  of  the 
Pacific  Northwest  treat  their  visit- 
ors from  Tacoma  when  we  run 
down  to  the  capital  city." 


YARBOROUGH 


533 


Here  is  still  another  specimen, 
reported  by  G.  W.  Parker,  of  Read- 
ing, Mass.,  who  writes  under  date 
of  July  8,  1897:  "Kindly  let  me 
know  if  the  following  hand,  which 
I  held  last  night  in  a  game  of  dupli- 
cate, has  ever  been  equaled  or 
beaten  in  the  number  of  small 
cards  held.  The  hand  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

JH  2'3' 
V  2,3,4,5. 

0    2,  3,  4,  5  (trumps). 

"Dr.  Sawyer,  Frank  Peirce,  and 
Frank  Rafferty,  who  made  the  rest 
of  the  table  with  me,  will  all  make 
sworn  affidavit  if,  for  any  reason, 
you  should  desire  the  same,  in  case 
this  hand  should  make  the  record." 

In  a  yarborougrh  there  must  be  a  suit  of 
four  cards,  and  the  holder  should  lead  the 
lowest  card  of  that  suit.  It  has  happened 
that  a  yarboroughj  containing  four 
trumps,  was  of  service  to  the  partner 
•who  led  trumps,  the  echo  allowing  him 
to  place  the  rest  and  win  the  game. — G. 
W.  Pities  [L.  A.  P.],  "American  WJiist 
Illustrated." 

A  former  Earl  of  Yarborough  •was  al- 
ways ready  to  wager  £1000  to  £i  against 
the  occurrence  of  a  hand  at  whist  in 
which  there  should  be  no  card  better  than 
a  nine.  The  bet  was  decidedly  unfair, 


and  if  made  a  great  number  of  times 
must  have  resulted  in  large  gains  to  the 
person  who  made  it.  It  is  easy  to  calcu- 
late the  odds.  *  *  *  Lord  Ya'rborough, 
if  he  had  been  fair  (assuming  always  that 
he  knew  how  to  calculate  probabilities) 
should  have  offered  rather  more  than 
^"1827  to  £i  against  the  recurrence  of  the 
hand  in  question.  It  must  be  understood, 
of  course,  that  he  wagered  with  one  of 
the  players  against  that  player  having  a 
yarborough,  not  against  the  occurrence 
of  a  yarborough  among  the  four  hands 
dealt.  The  chance  of  this  latter  event  is, 
of  course,  greater. — R.  A.  Proctor  [L.  O.]. 

Young  Players.— Beginners  at 
whist;  those  who  are  learning  the 
game. 

Young  players  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes — the  young  player  who  is  humble, 
and  the  voung  player  who  is  self-suffi- 
cient.—/!. IV.  Drayson  [L+A  +  ] ,  "The Art 
of  Practical  Whist." 

Younger  Hand. — The  player  to 
the  right  of  the  dealer;  the  third 
hand  on  the  first  round. 

Z. — One  of  the  four  letters  of  the 
alphabet  generally  used  in  desig- 
nating players  at  the  whist-table. 
Z  is  the  partner  of  Y,  and  with  him 
plays  against  A  and  B.  On  the 
first  round  or  trick  the  fourth  hand 
is  Z.  In  duplicate  whist  the  cor- 
responding designation  is  "west." 


GENERAL  INDEX 

(Titles  of  articles  in  SMALL  CAPITALS;  cross-references  in  italics;  other  references  in 
Roman.    Letters  a  and  b  refer  to  columns  i  and  2,  respectively.) 


ABANDONED  HAND,  la  (also,  2350). 

Abandoning  a  suit,  4793. 

A-B,  Y-Z,  la  (also,  3276). 

ACE,  ib. 

Ace  and  four,  lead  from,  ab. 

Ace  aud  one  small,  Starnes'  lead  from, 

385a. 

Ace,  followed  by  king,  302b. 
Ace,   forcing  out,  in  adversary's   hand, 

ii5b. 

Ace,  jack,  ten,  nine,  lead  from,  aySb. 
Ace,  king,  lead  from,  sb. 
Ace,  king;  ace,  queen;  ace,  jack  alone, 

38.sa. 
Ace,  king,  queen,  jack,  and  others,  lead 

from,  226a,  4463. 
Ace-lead,  143. 

Ace-lead,  first  change  in,  285b. 
Ace-lead  from  long  suit,  1696. 
Ace-lead,  Howell's,  38ab. 
Ace-lead,  Keiley's,  383b. 
Ace  not  a  face  card,  i6ga. 
Ace,  proper  play  of,  second  hand,  I7oa. 
Ace,  queen,  ten,  nine,  lead  from,  2780. 
Adams,  Mrs.  Waldo,  443,  522b,  523b. 
"  Admiral,"  583,  3353. 
ADMISSION  TO  CLUBS,  4a  (also,  4860). 
Advantage,  232b. 
Advantage  of  having   exposed  hand  in 

dummy,  1293. 

Advantages  of  deal  and  lead,  1123. 
ADVERSARIES,  53. 
Adversaries,  playing  into  the  hands  of 

the,  1740. 

ADVERSARY'S  GAME,  PLAYING  THE,  53. 
Adversary's  lead,  4623. 
ADVERSE  LEAD,  sb. 
ADVERSE  TRICK,  sb. 
Adverse  trumps,  first  exhausted,  4633. 
ADVICE  FOR  BEGINNERS,  sb. 
Advice,  satirical,  I25b. 
Advisory  committee  on  play,  4isb. 
AGE,  53. 

Aged  whist-players,  527b. 
AGGRESSIVE  GAME,  6a. 
Aikin,  Anne  Laetitis,  55b,  570,  3?sa,  5263. 
Ainsworth,  Mrs.  Charlotte!/.,  446. 
ALBANY  LEAD,  6b  (also,  4586). 
Albany    Whist    Club,  sib,  333,  383,  88b, 

4i6b,  4g8b,  503!). 
ALLEN,  Miss  BESSIE  E.,  73.  (also,  3^,390, 

44b,  4220,  4246). 


Allen  discard,  nyb. 

Allen,  Rufus,  73,  1733,  I73b,  345b. 

ALLISON,  JAMES,  yb  (also,  1306, 1330, 4<)6b), 

AMERICAN  AND  ENGLISH  LAWS,  8a. 

American  Code,  303,  3ob,  2323.  (See,  "Laws 
of  Whist,  American  Code") 

Americsn  Code,  proposed  revision  of,  2443. 

AMERICAN  GAME,  THE,  8b  (also,  956,  izya, 
278a). 

American  game,  first  English  text-book 
to  conform  to  the,  2053. 

AMERICAN  LEADER,  ica. 

AMERICAN  LEADS,  ica  (also,  i??a,  i8ib, 
f8?a,  2490,  28ob,  2960,  3820,  4960,  4996). 

Americsn  leads  sdopted,  303. 

American  lesds  and  whist  in  England, 
6ob. 

AMERICAN  LEADS,  CHANGES  IN,  i2b. 

Americsn  leads  employed  by  their  oppo- 
nents, 4453. 

AMERICAN  LEADS,  HISTORY  OF,  i7b. 

AMERICAN  LEADS,  OBJECTIONS  TO,  2sh 
(also,  looa). 

American  leads,  opponent  of,  2723,  2983. 

American  leads  used  in  trumps  by  short- 
suiters,  382b. 

American  leads,  variation  in,  2683. 

"AMERICAN  WHIST,"  28b. 

American  Whist  Club,  Boston,  3ib,  88b, 
95b,  1423,  I75b,  2063,  3oib,  4ogb,  5o;jb. 

AMERICAN  WHIST  LEAGUE,  2ob  (also, 
36ib,  4150,  445b,  4846,  4966,  5210,  ^220). 

American  Whist  League,  action  on  pri- 
vate conventions,  3280. 

American  Whist  League,  first  congress 
of,  344b. 

American  Whist  League,  opposed  to 
stakes  or  bets,  303. 

American  Whist  League  Trophy,  See, 
"Challenge  Trophy." 

American  women  complimented,  5283. 

AMES,  FISHBR,  403  (also,  i6a,  310,580,  9$b, 
705*,  nsb,  1276,  I4ib,  ijsb,  2040,  2326, 
3730;  4340- ,  4836,  4886,  4896,  4990,  soib, 
$03b,  so6a,  sub,  5/?a). 

AMUSEMENT.  PLAYING  FOR,  413. 

A  nalyst.    See, ' '  Whist  A nalyst." 

Anderson,  M.  E.,  393. 

Anderson,  Mrs.  Harriet  Allen,  424b. 

ANDREWS,  MRS.  T.  H.,  4ib  (also,  330,  440, 
228a,  4230,  4246,  $22a,  5236,  5250,  S26b, 


(535) 


536 


INDEX 


Andrews  trophies,  2773,  4233,  5303. 
Anecdotes,  whist,    8oa,   973,     192!},    1943, 

2O2D,  2IOD,  26lb,  2673,  2&9b,  3093,  3993, 

4i3b,  4373,  4603,  467b,  472b,  4823,  5276. 
ANSON,    GEORGE,  4ib    (also,   1726,  2370, 


Answering  trump  signal.    See,  "Echo." 
ANTEPENULTIMATE  LEAD,  423  (also,  i8a, 

236,  2860,  4440). 
Antpuelli,  Cardinal,  84b. 
Aptitude,    woman's    natural,   for  whist, 

528b. 

"  AQUARIUS,"  423  (also,  10,  570,  57b,  3350). 
Arbitrary  conventions,  1843. 
Arbitrary  conventions,  avoiding,  9gb. 
Arbitrary  meaning,  gob. 
ARBITRARY  SIGNALS,  423. 
ARLINGTON   CLUB,  42b  (also,  400,  2370, 

3886). 

Arnaud,  E.  M.,  57b. 
Around,  chances  of  suit  going,  3313. 
Art  or  science,  357b. 
"  ARTFUL  DODGER,  THE,"  42b. 
ARTICLES  ON  WHIST  IN   PERIODICALS, 

42b. 

Artifice,  I77b. 
Artificial  memory,  2673. 
Artillery  of  the  hand,  4593. 
Ask  for  trumps.     See,  "  Trump  Signal." 
ASSOCIATE  MEMBERS  OF   THE  LEAGUE, 

443. 

Atlantic  Whist  Association,  46b,  633. 
Attack  and  defense,  38sb. 
ATTENTION  AT  THE  WHIST  TABLE,  44b. 
Attention,  wrongfully  calling,  i6sb,  i66a. 
ATWATER,   MRS.  FRANK  H.,   44b    (also, 

423  b,  4240). 
Aubrey,  Major,  2623. 
Australia,  whist  in,  488b. 
Authority  in  England,  1763. 
AUTHORITY,  WHIST,  453. 
AUTOMATON  WHIST-PLAYER,  4sb. 
AUXILIARY  ASSOCIATIONS,  463. 
Averaging  method  of  scoring  8t  dupli- 

cate, the,  362b. 
Aymar,  H.  F.,  I73b. 


B,  473. 

BAD  PLAY,  473  (also,  2470,3060, 3180,  4666, 

47ra,52Ta). 
BAD    PLAYER,  47b  (also,  646,  1140,  //pa, 

I33b,  21 1 b,  2T2b,  22$b,  4376). 
Bailey,  George  W.,  57b,  2623,  3353. 
BAKER,  ELWOOD  T.,  483  (also,  380,  390, 

99*,  /7J*.  4240,  424b,  4890,  5o8t). 
Baker,  Mrs.  E.  T.,  48b,  5223,  523b. 
Baldwin,  J.  H.,  313,  3ib,  I73b. 
BALDWIN,  JOHN  LORAINE,  493  (also,  266, 

<8a,  2370,3270,3886). 
Baldwin,  Miss  N.  S.,  .vxjb. 
Ballanttne,  Serjeant,  843,  26ib. 
Ballsrd,  E.  A.,  34b,  1^53,  I73b,  igob. 
Baltimore  Whist  Club,  34b,  353,  88b,  ma, 

268b. 

Barbaud,  Mrs.,  s.sb,  5263. 
Barnes,  Tracy,  383,  4gib. 


BARNEY,  WALTER  H.,  4gb  (also,  340,330, 

396,  i$4b,  1570,  1670,  232b,  472b,  504b, 

51  la,  5230). 
Barrick,  C.  M.,  720. 
Barrows,  F.  L.,  5130. 
BATH  COUP,  THE,  513. 
"  Battle  roysl  of  brains,  3,"  3833. 
"BATTLE,  SARAH,"  5ib. 
Beaconsfield,  Lord,  833,  960,  436b. 
Becker,  Charton  L.,  mb,  4093. 
Beckhara,  C.  H.,  383. 
Beecher,  N.  B.,  38b,  5033. 
BEGINNER,  523  (also,  56,  446   ngb,  2030, 

477a,5iob). 

BEGINNERS,  MISTAKES  OF,  523. 
Beginners,  trials  of,  94!). 
Belaieff,  1733. 
Bennet,  Chsrles,  54b. 
Benson,  F.  W.,  2013. 
BENTINCK,  LORD  HENRY,  52b  (also,  ijzb, 

'9*b,  327°>  374b.  4550,  455l>). 
Best  Card.    See,  "Master  Card." 
Betting,  igib. 

Betting,  action  of  A.  W.  L.  on,  303. 
Bets,  hesvy,  127!),  5323. 
Bibliography  of  Whist.     See,  "Books  on 

Whist." 

Bid  for  a  ruff,  1003. 

Biddle,  Miss  Susan  D.,  44b,  522b,  5235. 
Bigelow,  I.  H.,  i73b. 
Bingham,  W.  T.,  3ob,  7ob,  1993,  3560. 
Bird,  William  O.,  sub. 
Bisler,  G.  A.,  5123. 
Bismarck,  336. 
BLIND  WHIST-PLAYERS,  530. 
BLOCKING,  54b. 
Bliicher,  Field  Marshsl,  1923. 
"  BLUE  PETER,"  54b  (also,  526,  455b). 
Blyth,  A.  F.,  2513. 
BOARDMAN,  EMERY,  553  (also,  $8b,  3720, 

4S/6). 

Boards,  44ob. 
"Bos  SHORT'S"  RULES,  ssb   (also,  sjb, 

3350). 

Bold  trump-leading,  an  sdvocate  of,  1753. 
BOOK,  563. 
BOOK  GAME,  s6b. 
BOOK  PLAYER,  s6b. 
"  BOOKS  OF  THE  FOUR  KINGS,"  573. 
BOOKS  ON  WHIST,  573. 
Boomerangs,  false  cards  sometimes,  I7ob. 
Booth,  C.  V..  soib,  5033. 
Borden,  J.  McK.,  72b. 
Borden,  T.  P.,  72b. 
"  BOSTON,"  593. 

"BOSTON  DE  FONTAINBLEAU,"  sgb. 
Boston  Duplicate  Whist  Club,  4i6b,  4173. 
Boston  Press  Club,  4093,  sosb. 
Bottomley,  Mrs.,  5253. 
Boutcher,  Charles  S.,  s8b,  344b,  446b,  4880. 
Boutwell,  George  S.,  5i2b. 
Bouv6,  Lander  M.,  3ib,  343,  363, 1730,  4898, 

4983,  so.-^b. 

Boyce,  Matthias.    See,  "Mogul." 
Bradt,  Mrs.  Julia  B.,  440,  3'3a,  523^1  5240. 
Braine,  L.  F.  and  B.  G.,  sisb,  5143. 
"  BRIDGE,"  603  (also,  1620,  {920, 3276). 


INDEX 


537 


BRIGGS,  J.  H.,  620.  (also,jia,  jib,  340,  1736, 
1990,  249b,  3060,  4jta,  4836,  4a8b,  4896, 


Briggs,  O.  H.,  313,  sib,  I73b,  1993. 

Brilliant  play,  1053. 

BRING  IN,  6zb  (also,  2536). 

Bringier,  L.  A.,  443b. 

Bristol,  W.  T.  G.,  383,  1743,  iggb. 

Brittain,  Thomas,  s8b. 

Bronson,  W.  G.,  3tb,  363,  i73b. 

Brooke,  Mrs.  Gertrude,  424b,  5253. 

Brooklyn  congress,  333. 

BROOKLYN  TROPHY,  62b  (also,  4480). 

Brooks,  Phillips,  Bishop,  84b. 

Brown,  Clarence,  383. 

Browu,  Mrs.  Clarence,  sgb,  44b,  sogb,  522b, 

523b,  5253,  525b. 

Brown  University,  whist  at,  so4b. 
Bruck,  L.  J.,  38b. 
BRUSH  "TRAMP  TRAYS,"  633. 
Brush,  W.  B.,  633,  sogb. 
Brummell,  Beau,  1923. 
Bryant,  F.,  5033. 
Bryant,  O.  S.,  38b. 
Bucklaud,  C.  T.,  58b. 
BUELL,    MRS.    SARAH    C.    H.,  643  (also, 

424b). 

Buffalo  Whist  Club,  393. 
Buffinton,  E.  A.,  343,  34b,  363. 

"BUMBLEDOG,"  64b. 

BUMBLEPUPPIST,  64b  (also,  2950,  46ra). 
BUMBLEPUPPY,  653  (also,  470.,  2190,  2250, 

2736,  2800,  2980,  3i8a,  3370,  4666,  5/76.) 
BUMPER,  66b. 
Bunbury,  H.  C.,  s8b,  3353. 
BUNN,  GEORGE  L.,  66b  (also,  160,310,340, 

I73b,  199^,3720.,  4830,  49'b). 
Bureau  for  experimental  play,  proposed, 

35b,  37*>. 

Burnsnd,  F.  C.,  5063. 
BURNEY,  ADMIRAL  JAMES,  67b  (also,  580, 

295b,3tfa). 

Burt,  Colonel  A.  S.,  44b,  sogb. 
Butler,  Florence  H.,  5153. 
Butler,  John  G.,snb. 
Buzbv,  Mrs.  Duncan,  523b. 
'•  B.  \V.  D.,"  and  "  Csvendish,"  474b. 
By  csrds,  733. 
BYE,  DRAWING  THE,  68a. 
Byrd,  W.,  5033. 
Byron,  Lord,  34b,  3213. 
BYSTANDER,  68a  (slso,  i6$b,  1660). 

"CELEBS,"  68a  (also,  580.,  2960,3350,  3400, 


CALCULATION,  68b  (also,  2640). 

"CALCULATION  PUZZLE,  SIR,"  68b. 

CALL,  THE,  693. 

Call  for  trumps.     See,  "  Trump  Signal." 

Call  through  an  honor,  icoa. 

Called,  cards  liable  to  be,  at  duplicate, 

I4ob. 

CALLING  A  CARD,  693. 
CALLING  ATTENTION,  693. 
Cslling  for  new  cards,  2433. 
CALLING  HONORS,  6gb  (also,  2050). 
"  CAM,"  6gb  (also,  170,580,  2980,  33511), 


Cameron,  D.  P.,  5033. 

Cameron,  R.,  5033.   ' 

Cameron,  S.  ,  5033. 

Csmpbell,  Miss  M.  H.,  393. 

CAMPBELL-  WALKER,  ARTHUR,  6gb  (also, 

57  b,  7jb). 

Can  you  one?  "  693,  454b. 
CANADIAN    WHIST    LEAGUE,    703    (also, 

2230). 

Caner,  Mrs.  Harrison  K.,  523b. 
CAPITAL  BICYCLE  CLUB  TEAM,  72b  (also, 
job,  3  fa,  88b,   1990,  371  b,    452b,    4580, 


CARD,  733. 

CARD  OF  UNIFORMITY,  733. 

CARD  SENSE,  733. 

CARDS,  733. 

CARDS,  ARRANGEMENT  OF,  73b. 

Cards  in  suit  higher  th3n  one  led,  issb. 

CARDS  LIABLE  TO  BE  CALLED,  753  (also, 
i68a,  2350.,  24ob). 

Cards,  locating,  3osb. 

Cards  of  equal  value,  i63b. 

CARDS  OF  RE-ENTRY,  7sb. 

Cards  played  in  error,  24ib. 

Cards,  played,  that  may  be  seen,  3i6b. 

Cards,  tsk'ing  up,  during  the  de3l,  4igb. 

Cards,  trick-taking  value  of,  442b. 

Carleton  and  Wanderers'  Clubs,  historic 
match  between  the,  I35b,  2703. 

CARLETON,  J.  W.,  763. 

Carlyon,  Edward  A.    See,  "Calebs." 

Carpenter,  A.  F.  ,  502b. 

Carter,  Charles  S.,  1513. 

Carthage  Whist  Club,  313. 

"Catch-the-Ten."    See,  "Scotch  Whist." 

"CAVENDISH,"  763  (also,  la,  70,  zoa,  176, 
i8b,  I9a,  zoa,  300,  j/a,  42a,  4ja,  440,  570, 
58a.  58b,  6oa,  lo^b,  zoSa,  Z24a,  I2$b,  1276, 
'33b,  i5?b,  i68b,  1690,  f7ja,  if6a,  1830, 
1850,  1870,  I92b,  2040,  2o$a,  2i2a,  2230, 
232b,  25ib,  252b,  2570,  272a,  2786,  2996, 
32?b,  337a,  339b,  34oa,  36oa<  S69b,  3730., 
4iob,  4290,  433a,  439^  4430,  44jb,  4440, 
444b,44sa,447a,  4640,  46^,  4730,  4836, 
488a,  495b,5'5b). 

"CAVENDISH,"  ANECDOTE  BY,  803. 

"Cavendish"  Club,  2763,  4873. 

"Csvendish"  snd  Trist,  one  difference 
in  lesding,  1773,  1873,  445b. 

Cavour,  Count,  833. 

"  CAYENNE,"  Sob. 

CELEBRATED  PEOPLE  WHO  PLAYED 
WHIST,  8ib. 

Challenge,  2403. 

CHALLENGE  TROPHY,  86a  (also,  4480). 

CHAMPIONS,  893. 

Championship  matches,  i84b. 

Championship  Trophy.  See,  "Hamilton 
Trophy." 

CHANCES  AT  WHIST,  893  (also,  26oa  'job, 
4670). 

Chsnce  and  skill  combined,  4873. 

Chance,  eliminating,  394b. 

CHANGE  THE  SUIT  SIGNAL,  8gb  (also,  330, 
ooa). 

CHANGING  SUITS,  gob. 


538 


INDEX 


CHARACTER  AND  WHIST,  gib. 

Charles  X.  loses  his  throne  while  at  whist, 

82b. 

Chase,  A.  B.,  4903. 
Chauncey,  Mrs.  EHhu,  523b. 
CHEATING  AT  WHIST,  gib  (also,  3140,  39ib, 

4106,  4430,3280). 
Chesterfield,  Lord,  833. 
Chicago  congress,  3ob. 
Chicago  Duplicate  Whist  Club,  383,  483, 

2703. 
Chicago  Whist  Club,  333,  333,  I37b,  2683, 

35?b,  5303. 

Child  of  six  at  whist,  I23b. 
CHINESE  WHIST,  933. 
Chips,  counting  by  means  of,  I3ob,  3603. 
Churchmen,  noted,  fond  of  whist,  843. 
Cincinnati  ladies  at  whist,  52gb. 
Cincinnati  team,  393. 
Clapp,  Miss  Anna  C.,  348b,  4213. 
CLAPP,    Miss   GERTRUDE   E.,  943  (also, 

42  la.  4250.,  $26b). 
Clark,  F.  L.,  38b. 
CLAY,  CHARLES    M.,  953  (also,  7550,  1740, 

3<x>b,  3050,  3060,  3150,  332(1,  409(1,  4836, 


Clay,  Henry,  8sb. 

CLAY.   JAMES,  963  (also,  la,  580..  730,830, 

l6oa,  I72b,  2370,  2$ib,  2096,  3270,  34oa, 

3696,  3886,  4060,  455b,  46ob,  48  '?*). 
Clay,  James,  anecdotes  concerning,  973. 
Clay,  James,  and  modern  whist,  983. 
Clay  movement,  the,  963. 
Clayton,  Paul,  34b,  268b. 
CLEAR  A  SUIT,  To,  gSb. 
CLERICAL  ERRORS,  gSb. 
Clinton,  Mrs.,  5253. 
Club  record,  a  remarkable,  a6jb. 
CLUBS,  993. 

Clubs.     See,  "  Whist  Clubs." 
Coat  Cards.    See,  "Court  Cards." 
Cocklebergle-Dutzele,  Ludwig  von,  583, 

2963. 

Code.    See,  "Laws  of  Whist." 
Coe,  W.  C.,  3053,  529b. 
Cohen.  H.  A.,  433. 
COFFIN     CHARLES    EMMET,  993    (also. 

57*,  1460,  1476,  2206,3080). 
Colahan,  Mrs.  j.  B.,523a,  523b. 
Coles,  Charles  Bardwell,  583,  26ib,  3353. 
Collins,  Clinton,  1413. 
Columbia  Athletic  Club,  38b. 
COMBINATION  GAME,  THE,  ggb  (also,  490). 
COMBINATION  PRINCIPLE,  THE,  toia. 
COME  TO  HAND,  loib. 
COMMAND,  loib. 
Commsnd,  keeping,  loob. 
Commanding  card  in  partner's  suit,  get- 

ting rid  of,  4643. 
COMMANDING  CARDS,  loib. 
COMMENTS,  loib. 

Committee  on  systems  of  play,  343,  363. 
Common    sense    game,   2738,   afeb,  3463, 

37«b. 

COMMON  SENSE  OF  WHIST,  1023. 
COMMON  SENSE  SCHOOL,  1023. 
Common  sense  whist,  499b. 


Commonwealth  Club,  Worcester,  Mass., 

I37». 

Communication  between  partners,  328b. 
Compsrative  system,  the,  354b. 
COMPASS  WHIST,  1023. 
"  COMPLEAT  GAMESTER,  THE,"  io2b. 
Complete  tsble,  3,  4183. 
Concesled  cards,  influence  of,  2o7b. 
Congress,   Whist.    See,  "American   Whist 

League." 

Conklin,  L,.  R.,  5033. 
CONSULTATION,  1033. 
Contest,  2643. 

Coutinentsl  Club,  New  York,  88b. 
Control  of  temper,  4273. 
CONVENTIONAL,  1033. 
CONVENTIONALITIES,  1033. 
CONVENTIONAL    PLAY,    io3b    (also,  3<)ob, 

4i8b). 

CONVENTIONAL  SIGNALS,  losb. 
Conventions.    See,  "Private  Conventions.'" 
CONVERSATION,  1043  (also,  1650,  2476). 
Cooke,  W.  G.,  5033. 
Cooper,  Sir  Astley,  843. 
Cooper,  E.  B.,  sgb. 
Cope,  W.  C.,  527b. 
Cornell,  whist  at,  5053. 
CORONER'S  TABLE,  io4b. 
Correct  play,  I93b,  3983. 
Correspondence  match.  See,  "  Whist  Mutch 

by  Correspondence." 
COTTON,  CHARLES,  iO4b  (also,  3520). 
COUNT,  io4b. 
COUNTERS,  io4b. 
Counting  from  the  top  of  suit,  i8b,  1873, 

445a. 

COUP,  1053  (also,  3320). 
COUP  DE  SACRIFICE,  iosb. 
COURT  CARDS,  iosb. 
COURTNEY,    WILLIAM    PRIDEAUX,    iosb 

(also,s?b,  io8b). 

Court  of  Appeals.  See,  "Judges  of  Appeal." 
COVER,  io6a  (also,  2020,3040). 
Cover  an  honor  led,  3646. 
Crabbe,  3213. 
Crane,  F.  W.,  443. 
"  CRAWLEY,  CAPTAIN,"   io7b  (alsc,   $?b, 

58a,s8b,33sa). 
CRITICAL  ENDINGS,  icyb. 
Croft,  the  Misses,  5253. 
CROSS-RUFF,  io7b  (also,  3636). 
CROWN  COFFEE-HOUSE,  1083  (also,  i8oa, 


Crummer,  Dr.  B.  F.,  51  8b. 

CURIOSITIES  OF  WHIST,  1083. 

Curious  social  phenomena,  4213. 

"  Curse  of  Scotland,  the,"  4133. 

Curtis,  C.  L.,  38a,  1743. 

Curtis,  George  W.,  443. 

CUSACK-SMITH,  SIR  WILLIAM,  iO9b  (also, 

57b). 

Cut,  3.i7b. 

CUTTING,  icob  (also,  2330,  2380). 
Cutting  cards  of  equal  value,  2383. 
Cutting  for  partners,  4003. 
CUTTING  IN,  iioa. 
CUTTING  OUT,  iioa  (also,  2380). 


INDEX 


539 


CUTTING  TO  THE   DEAIER,   nob    (also, 
933*). 

DALE,  PARSON,  ma. 

DALLAM,    Miss    FRANCES  S.,  ma  (also, 

4250,  4260,^236). 
Dana,  Charles  W.,  aoib. 
Dartmouth  Club,  s8b. 
DAVIES,  CLEMENT,  ma  (also,  580). 
Davis,  C.  S.,  393. 
Davis,  J.  C.,  1733. 
DEAD  SUIT,  nib. 
DEAL,  nib  (also,  2390,3176). 
Deal,  never  lost,  at  duplicate  whist,  ijSb, 

268b. 

DEALER,  nab. 
Dealing,  2343,  4g4b. 
DEANE,  WALTER  MEREDITH,  ii2b  (also, 

6oa). 

Deceiving  partner,  I26b. 
Deceiving  the  adversary,  I7ob. 
Decisions,  whist,  compiling,  26sb. 
Deck,  29 1 b. 

DECLARED  TRUMP,  ii2b  (also,  2710,  2760). 
Declaring  trump,  44t)b. 
Declining  to  draw  a  losing  trump,  258b. 
Defensive  game,  353b. 
Denison,  W.  T.,  5010. 
Denver  Whist  Club,  I46b. 
DeRos,  Henry,  Lord,  iy2b. 
DeschapellesClub,  95b,  2323. 
DKSCHAPELLES  COUP,  nsb  (0150,3380). 
Deschapelles,  disciple  of,  3433. 
DESCHAPELLES,  G.  LE  BRETON,  1143  (also, 

4fb,  586,  836,  1290,  I72b,  4950,  5056). 
Destitute  young  Englishmen  wandering 

about  the  continent,  story   of,    97b, 

4&ob. 

DETACHED  CARD,  nsb. 
DEUCE,  usb  (also,  1800,  4630). 
"  Devil's  bed-posts,"  4133. 
DIAMONDS,  n6a. 
Dick,  W.  B.,  3353,  458b. 
Dickens,  Charles,  2843,  3130,  sosb. 
Dickson,  Mrs.,  5253. 

Difference  between  American  and  Eng- 
lish laws,  8a. 
Difference  between  long  and  short-suit 

play,  3733. 

Dillard,  Henry  K.,  53b,  84b. 
DISCARD,  n6a  (a/so,  4046). 
Discard  call.    See,  "Single  Discard  Call." 
Discard,  force  a,  304b. 
Discard  from  weak  suits,  2703. 
Discard,  importance  of,  illustrated,  5203. 
Discs rd,  reverse,  34 ib. 
Discard,  rotary.    See,  "Rotary  Discard." 
Discarding,    elementary    directions  for, 

48ob. 

Discipline,  mental,  4853. 
DISGUISING  THE  NUMBER,  n8b. 
DISPUTES  ABOUT  PENALTIES,  n8b. 
Doe,  Charles  H.,  488b. 
Dolliver,  Mrs.  Sewall,  4253. 
DOMESTIC  RUBBER,  THE,  1193. 
Donally,  Mrs.  John  B.,  3iab. 
DONT'S,  1193. 


DOUBLE,  1190. 

DOUBLE-DUMMY,  ncfb  (also,  2106). 

Double-dummy  for  two.  three,  or  four,93a. 

Double-dummy  problems,  24gb,  5i7b. 

DOUBLE-DUMMY  PUZZLE,  i2ob. 

DOUBLE  ECHO,  i2ib. 

DOUBLETON,  i2ib. 

DOUBTFUL  CARD,  i2ib. 

DOUBTFUL  TRICK,  1223  (also,  4300). 

DOUBT,  IN,  1223. 

Down,  playing,  374b. 

I/RAW  OF  CARDS,  1228. 

Drawing  csrds  premsturely  to  lead  with, 

i65b. 
DRAYSON,  ALFRED  WILKES,  I22b  (also, 

ib,  i8a,  310,  420,  426,  570,  586,  730,  1200, 

1330, 1870,  2046,  2450,  3170,  3416,  4310, 

4440,  4730,  4836. 
Drew,  Rev.  F.  R.,  348b. 
DRIVE  WHIST,  1253. 
Drogheda,  Marquis  of,  i62b. 
Drumraond,  G.  H.,  1923. 
Duchess  of  Kent  at  whist,  the,  828. 
DUFFER,  1253. 
DUGGAN,    GEORGE    E.,   1273   (also,  4220, 

4250). 
DUKE  OF  CUMBERLAND'S  FAMOUS  HAND, 

I27b  (also,  2540.). 
DUMMY,  iz8b  (0/50,4090). 
Dum  my  bridge.     See,  '  'Bridge. ' ' 
Dummy  table  in  duplicate  whist,  1573. 
Duplicate  play .    See,  "Overplay.'" 
DUPLICATE  WHIST,  I2gb  (also,  s66a,  28ob, 

33?a,359a,  4666,4670). 
Duplicate  whist  an  unerring  test,  4053. 
Duplicate     whist,     Coffin's     three-table 

schedule  for,  i47b. 
Duplicate  whist  counters,  1053. 
Duplicate    whist,  distinct    advsnce    in, 

I3.5b. 

Duplicate  whist,  early  attempts  at,  1333., 
DUPLICATE  WHIST,  HISTORY  OF,  i32b. 
Duplicate  whist,  improvement  in,  7b. 
DUPLICATE  WHIST,  INTER-CLUB,  1373.  '£ 
DUPLICATE  WHIST,  LAWS  OF,  I3?b. 
Duplicate  whist,  laws  of,  amended,  363. 
Duplic3te  whist,  laws  of,  committee  on 

new  revision  of  the,  4973. 
DUPLICATE  WHIST,  LUCK  AT,  i4ob. 
Duplicate  whist,  opposition  at,  287b. 
DUPLICATE  WHIST,  PROGRESSIVE,  1433. 
DUPLICATE    WHIST,      SCHEDULES     FOR 

PLAYING,  i45b  (also,  506,  2896,3546). 
Duplicate    whist,    single-table   schedule 

for,  1473. 

Duplicate  whist,  true  beginning  of,  I34b. 
Dutton,  C.  T.,  5173. 
Duvall,  W.  E.  P.,  i73b,  2013. 

Eakin,  L.  G.,  job,  72b,  1993,  356b. 
Earle,  Mrs.  William  E.,  44b,  4253,  524b. 
Earliest  reference  to  whist,  846. 
Earmarks  of  the  short-suit  game,  3823. 
EAST,  1573. 

Easthope,  Sir  John,  5283. 
Ebersberg,  T.  S.,  57b. 
ECHO,  1573  (also,  4330,  4440). 


540 


INDEX 


Echo,  do   not,  on  adversary's  lead  of 

trumps,  is^b. 
Echo,  plain-suit,  3150. 
"Echoes,"  376,  4923. 
Echoing  from  three,  4333. 
Echoing  with  high  cards,  4450. 
Eight  or    higher  card,  discard  of,  as  a 

trump-signal,  3933. 
Eight,  seven,  or   six,  lead   of,  Howell's, 

3820. 

EIGHT-SP9T,  I58t>. 

Eighth  trick,  playing  to  the,  for  study, 

4093. 

ELDEST  HAND,  1580. 
ELEVEN  RULE,  1580. 
Eleven  rule,  and  fourteen  rule,  i86b. 
Eleventh  card,  1593. 
ELLIOTT,  EUGENE  S.,  i.5gb  (also,  2$b,  job, 

2*7*,  2676,  2926,  3440,,  i4$b,  4jya,  4706, 

4730.,  4820.,  i&/6,5,»20,  $25b). 
Ellison,  Eugene  L.,  4yob. 
Ellison,  Mrs.  Eugene  L,.,  4713,  524b,  5303. 
Ellithorp,  F.  T.,  223b. 
Elwell,  J.  B.,  I73b. 
EMBLEMS,  WHIST,  i6ia. 
Emerson,  William  C.,  393. 
Emma  D.  Andrews  Whist  Club,  Camden, 

N.  J.,  525a. 

Endicott,  H.,  Jr.,  5033. 
End-play  of  a  hand,  46sb. 
ENGLAND,  WHIST  IN,  i6ia  (also,  4870). 
English  Code,  defective,  2443. 
English  Code.    See,  "Laws  of  Whist." 
English     Whist     Clubs.        See,     "Whist 

Clubs." 

ENTRY  AND  RE-ENTRY,  i63b  (also,  2386). 
Envelope  system,  duplicate  whist,  isoa. 
EQUAL  CARDS,  i63b. 
Equal  value,  cards  of,  2190. 
Equality,  placing  the  players  on  an,  1303. 
Equivocal  card.    See,  "Doubtful  Card." 
ERROR,  CARDS  PLAYED  IN,  1643. 
ERRORS,  1643  (also,  7/56). 
ESTABLISH,  i64b. 
Established,  assuming  suit  is,  though  led 

but  once,  i7gb. 
Established  by  usage,  1033. 
ESTABLISHED  SUIT,  i64b. 
ETIQUETTE  OF  WHIST,  1653  (also,  job). 
Everard,  H.  H.,  44b,  5133,  5i3b. 
Everett,  Edward,  whist  anecdote  by,  823. 
Every-day  hands,  importance  of  analyz- 
ing, i67b. 
EVOLUTION  OF  WHIST,  i66b  (also,  3736, 

4766). 

Exercise,  whist,  4093. 
EXPERIMENTS,  WHIST,  1673  (also.jsb). 
Expert,  453. 

EXPOSED  CARD,  i6Sa  (also,  750). 
EXPOSED  HAND,  i68b. 
Extracting  trumps,  iSia. 

FACE  CARDS,  1693. 

FADS,  1693. 

FALLACY,  1703. 

FALL  OF  THK  CARDS,  1703  (also,  ii6b,  iofb, 


FALSE  CARD,  1703. 

FALSE  CARDING,  1723.' 

False  cards,  opportunities  to  play,  i88b. 

false  lead.    See,  " Irregular  Lead." 

false  scoring  at  duplicate.    See,  "Scoring." 

FAMOUS     WHIST-PLAYERS,     i?2b    (also, 

FANCY  WHIST,  1743. 

Farnum.  Mrs.  Sadie  B.,  44b,  4233,  4253. 

"FATHER    OF    THE   GAME,"  1743   (also, 

2066). 

FAULTS,  1743. 
"  FAVORITE  WHIST,"  i74b. 
Fenby,  Richard,  44b. 
Fenollosa,  Mrs.  Martha  W.,  353,  44b. 
FENOLLOSA,  WILLIAM  S.,  i?4b  (also,  i6a, 

1740,  1870,  2oib,  42ib,  4230,  4610,  4830, 

5?8b). 

Fetridge,  William  P.,  583,  3353,  44gb. 
"  FIELD,  THE,"  i7sb  (also,  .5/9^). 
FIELDING  AND  WHIST,  1766  (also,  5056). 
FIFTH-BEST  LEAD,  1773  (also,  236). 
"FIFTH  HONOR,  THE,"  i77b. 
Final  rounds  in  a  hand,  io7b. 
FINESSE,  i77b  (also,  2650,  4656). 
Finesse  in  second  round  of  suit,  i79b. 
Finesses,  when  advisable,  1783. 
FINESSING  AGAINST  YOURSELF,  1793. 
FINESSING  BY  THE  ELEVEN  RULE,  1793. 
First  American  to  write  on  whist,  4&8b. 
First  A.  W.  L.  match,  354b. 
First  call  for  trumps,  4s'b. 
First  daily  whist  journal,  37b,  4g2a. 
First  duplicate  match  on  record  in  the 

West,  1363. 
First  English  text-book  to  conform  to  the 

American  game,  2053. 
FIRST  HAND,  I7gb. 

First  inter-club  duplicate  match  in  Amer- 
ica, 1353. 

First  printed  description  of  whist,  1040. 
First  printed  mention  of  whist,  493b. 
First  school  of  whist,  i8oa. 
First  scientific  writer  on  whist,  2093. 
First  treated  as  a    regular    pastime    in 

print,  whist,  4883. 
First  use   of  stereopticon    pictures     in 

teaching  whist,  475b. 
First      whist-book      by     an    American 

woman,  473b. 
First    whist   department    published    in 

America,  488b. 

First  woman  elected  to  associate  member- 
ship in  the  A.  W.  L.,  472b. 
First  woman    to   publish    anything   on 

whist,  5263. 

First  woman  to  teach  whist,  42ob,  4723. 
First  woman  to  write  on  the  technical 

side  of  whist,  46gb. 
First  woman's  whist  congress,  52ib. 
First  woman's  whist  ni3tch,  so6b. 
Fisher,  Miss,  5253. 
Five,  four,  three,  or  two,  lead  of,  Howell's, 

382b. 

"  FIVE  OF  CLUBS,"  7ob  (also,  s?b,  3350). 
Five  or  more,  suit  of,  indicated,  3350. 
FIVE-POINT  WHIST,  i7gb. 


INDEX 


541 


FIVE-SPOT,  i7qb. 

Five  trumps,  lead  from,  2723,  45ob. 

Fletcher,  E.  C.,  393. 

Fletcher,  G.,  433. 

FOLKESTONE,  LORD,  i8oa  (also,  ro8a, 


, 

FOLLOW,  i  Sob. 
FOLLOW  SUIT,  i8ia. 
FORCE,  i8ia  (also,  3820). 
Force,  taking  a,  4193. 
FORCED  DISCARD,  1823. 
FORCED  DEAD,  1823  (also,  3396,  4670). 
Forced  leads,  detecting,  404b. 
Forced   leads  more  liberally  employed, 

5poa. 

Forcing-,  3073. 
Forcing  partner,  I74b. 
Forgetting  fall  of  cards,  1223. 

FORMiNG  THE  TAKLE,   l82b  (ttlsO,  2j8a). 

P'orming  the  table  at  duplicate,  I38b. 

Forrest,  M.  H.,  303,  1993,  2043. 

Foster,  Edward  Tavener,  1733. 

FOSTER,  R.  P.,  1833  (also.ib,  216,  z6a.  jSb, 
390,  43b,  57b,  s8b,  726.  ?jb,  780,  r^b, 
Ij6b,  Ts8b.  767.7,  /7?a,  i74a,  r?oa,  185(1, 
io6a  2140,  21  7b  254(1.  268b,  z8ob,  joia, 
3<>8b  3/46.  344b,  34$b,  3580,  3600,  3630. 
365°-  J7?£,  374a,  ?#?«,  384^,  4730.  42ob, 
42$a,  427b,  4ZQb,  4426,  454(1.  464/1,  483^, 
4900.,  49ia,  497a,  $o6b,  5  fob,  51  ra,  5160, 
$r8b,  529*. 

Foster,  R.  P.,  leading  the  attack  on  the 
long-suit  game,  37ob. 

Foster's  notation,  2i7b. 

Foster's  short-suit  leads,  377b. 

Founder  of  the  A.  W.  L.,  isgb. 

Four-card  suit,  lead  from,  2723. 

FOURCHETTE,  i84b  (also,  304(1). 

Four  of  the  suit  led,  showing,  203a. 

Four  or  more  in  suit  led  by  partner,  show- 
ing, 2sgb. 

Four  or  more  trumps,  showing,  I57b. 

FOUR  SIGNAL,  1853  (also,  i6gb,  3150.  3390). 

Four  signal,  objections  to,  1853. 

FOUR-SPOT,  i86b. 

FOURTEEN  RULE,  THE,  i86b. 

FOURTH-BEST  LEAD,  1873  (also.  797*.  286a. 
3&6a,  4i6b) 

Fourth-best  lead,  after  ace,  I77b. 

Fourth-best  lead  suggested  also  by  "Cav- 
endish." 4453. 

Fourth-best  principle,  133,  l8a,  243,  444b. 

Fourth-best  remaining,  1773. 

FOURTH  HAND,  i88b  (also,  4800). 

Fourth  hand  refusing  to  take  king.  513. 

Four-trump  echo,  I7sb. 

Four  trumps,  indicating,  without  playing, 
6b. 

Four  trumps,  lead  from,  45ob,  4613. 

Four  trumps,  showing  more  than,  I2ib. 

"  Four  you  may—  five  you  must,"  4603. 

Foxy  proceeding,  a,  4423. 

France,  whist  in,  1293. 

Francklin,  Rev.  Thomas,  484b. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  853. 

FREAK  HANDS,  i8gb  (a/so,  1670). 

"  FRENCH  BOSTON,"  1903. 


FRENCH  GAME,  THE,  igoa. 
French,  H.  B.,  3Oib,  5080. 
FRENCH  WHIST,  igob. 
FRESH  CARDS,  1906. 
Full  swing,  giving  partner,  oSb. 
Fuller.  E.  B.,  44b. 
Fuller,  Robert,  4253. 
Fumbling  the  cards,  4783. 
Fundamental  principles,  4303. 

GAMBIT  OPENING,  igob. 

GAMBLING,  igis  (also,  z/ga,  4000). 

GAME,  igsb  (also,  2330). 

GAME,  EACH  PLAYING  HIS  OWN,  1943. 

Game,  saving  the,  356b. 

"  Gammer  Gurton's  Needle,"  4933. 

Gardner,  Miss  Maude,  4213,  4726. 

Gsskill,  Mrs.  B.  M.,  523b. 

Gay,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  H.,  5273. 

General  rules  (English),  2433. 

George,  J.  A.,  1743. 

George  III.  and  whist,  8ib. 

'•GERMAN  WHIST,"  1943. 

Getchell,  Miss,  5303. 

Gibbon.  Edward,  84b. 

Gillray,  soob. 

Gleason,  John  B.,  1743. 

Godkin,  E.  L.,  43b,  4210. 

GOING  ON  WITH  A  SUIT,  ig4b. 

Goodman,  Mrs.  J.  E.,  5303 

Goodrich,  F.  B.,  443. 

Gordon,  Charles,  1743. 

Gorton,  Willism,  s8b. 

GRAHAM'S    COFFEE-HOUSE,    I94b    (also, 

4550.)- 

Grammalogues  of  whist.  i6?b. 
GRAND  COUP,  1953. 
Grant,  General,  wins  an  English  rubber. 

86a,  338b. 

GRANVILLE,  EARL  OF,  1953  (also,  i?2b). 
GREAT  GAME.    PLAYING  A,   igsb    (also, 

6a). 

GREAT  SUIT,  igsb. 
Greene,  Miss  Florence  C..  5230,  5250. 
Greene,  H.  E.,  3°5a.  4333- 
GUARDED,  igsb. 
GUERILLA  TACTICS,  1963. 
Gunnison,  W.  T.,  5O2b. 
Gurley,  R.  A.,  1853. 
"G   W.P."    See.  " Pettes,  G.  W." 

Habits  induced  by  whist,  4853. 

Hadlock,  Professor  A.,  I43b. 

Haliward,  Dr.  A.  H.,  527b. 

Hall,  E.  K.,  520!). 

Hall,  Mrs.  Edwin  L-,  522b. 

Hall,  George  W.,  2g2b,  4823. 

Hall,  John,  sogb. 

Hall,  Mrs.  L.  M.,  5233. 

HAMILTON,  C.  D.  P.,  1963  (also,   i^b.  350, 

380,  580,   f7jb,  1770,   iQ4a,   2140,  ?j?b, 

3050.  i4jb,  3?za,  459a,  46/0,  4830,  4X76, 

488b,  w?A, ). 

Hamilton  club  house,  Philadelphia,  47ob. 
HAMILTON  LEADS,  ig7b  (also,  rja,  1696, 

f?oa,  1970,  249a,  335t>,  4° 


542 


INDEX 


Hamilton  team,   133,  333,  34!),  873,  88h, 

1353.  i86a.  i97b.  I99b,  42pa,  448a,  453b, 

53' b. 
HAMILTON  TROPHY,  igga  (also.  1430,  ajb, 

448a). 

HAND.  2003. 

Hand,  complete  play  of,  required,  4350. 
Hand,  looking  over  a,  2583,  4433. 
Hands,  arrangement  of '.    See,    'Cards,  Ar- 
rangement of." 

HANDS,  DIFFICULT  TO  LEAD  FROM,  2oob. 
Hands,     illustrative.       See,     "illustrative 

Hands." 

HANDS,  INSTEAD  OF  POINTS,  2023. 
Hands,  memorizing,  2663. 
Hands,  phenomenal,  31  ib. 
Hands    played    by   correspondence.     See, 

"IV hist  Match  by  Correspondence" 
Hands,  playing  both,  as  one,  2963. 
HANDS,  UNCLEAN,  2023. 
Harbacb,  W.  C.,  3Qb. 
Hare,  W.  J.,  443b. 
Harrison,  Miss  R.  Frances.  44b. 
Hart,  E.  Stanley,  383.  1743,  I99b.  4130. 
Hart,  Frank,  383.' 
Hartz,  Irving  T.,  36b. 
Harvard- Yale  whist  match.     See.  "Whist 

in  Colleges  and  Universities." 
Haslam,  Percivsl,  syb. 
Hatch,  C.,  3013,  3063. 
Hswes.  W.  H.,  313. 
Hawkins,  W.  E.,  34b,  1743,  374b 
Hawley,   Mrs.   J.  R.,  44b.  5223,  522^,5233, 

523b  5243,  5253,  52sb. 
Hawley,  Warren  A.,  4913. 
Hswthorne,  Nathaniel  850. 
Haynes,  A.  M.,  soSb. 
HAVWARD,  ABRAHAM,    2ozb    (also,    f]f>, 

3 '40). 

HEAD,  2o2b. 
HEARTS,  2o2b. 
Heath,  L.  W.,  sub. 
Heighs,  G.  W  ,  393. 
Heilig,  P.,  5033. 
Helping  partner,  nsb. 
Hendrick,  W.  A.,  5033. 
Henniker,  Mrs.,  5c<Sa. 
1  Henriques    Clarence   A..    343.    J4b.    38b. 

I7V>. 

Henriques,  Mrs.  Clarence  A.,  4130. 
"  Herald,  Boston  Daily,"  488b   4893. 
Hess,  Mrs.  Minnie,  4253. 
Hetzel,  George  C.,  4iib. 
Hewby,  John  Fetch.  ?97b.  33,58. 
Hickox,  W.  E.,  3053. 
HIGH-CARD  ECHO,  2033. 
HIGH-CARD  GAME.  2033  (also,  2300). 
HIGH-CARD  LEADS.  203b  (also  240). 
HIGH  CARDS,  2O3b. 

High  cards  accurately  indicating,  2493. 
High  cards,  forcing  out,  iStfl. 
Higher  card  on  a  high  card  led.  1063. 
Higher  ideals  of  whist,  484b. 
High  indifferent  cards,  leads  from,  243, 

44b. 

"  High-low,"  3883. 
High,  third  hand,  43ob. 


Hill,  C.  W.,  1743. 

History  of  whist.    See,  "  Whist.    History 

of." 

Hobart,  E.  W.,  soib.  5O2b. 
Hoekstrs,  Jacob  A.,  573. 
Hogg,  James,  3273,  3353. 
HOLDINGS,  2030. 
HOLDING  UP,  2043  (also,  46$b). 
Holman,  I.  W.,  44b. 
Home  game,  whist  a,  2730,  4843. 
HOME  PLAYER,  2043. 
Home  team,  468b. 
Honor,  covering  sn,  io6b. 
HONORARY  MEMBERS  OP  THE  LEAGUE. 

2043. 

HONORS,  204b  (also,  ogb) 
Honors  eliminated,  2731). 
HONORS,  SCORING,  2053. 
Hooker,  E.  H.,  3053. 
Hopley,  John,  2">ob. 
Horr,  J.  C.,  5320. 
Horr,  N.  T.,  so8b. 
Howard,  A.  H.,  5143. 
HOWELL,   EDWIN  C.,   2osb   (also,  ib,   ib, 

jib,  340,  $7b,  I44b,  I^4a,^O3a,  iija, 2836. 

Sorb,  ,?05a,  3630,  37?a,  3790,  3830,  3840, 

4076.  4140,  4580,  4830,  4876,  4890,  soia. 

5080}. 

Howell,  Mrs.  E.  C.,  5090. 
HOWELL  GAME,  THE,  2o6b  (also,  288b). 
Howell's  short-suit  lesds,  s8ib. 
Howell  Whist  Club,  2063. 
How  to  avoid  misdealing,  2693. 
HOYLE,   EDMOND,   2o6b   (also,   5<Sa,    7j*, 

ijib,  i8ob,  2100,  2iob,  ma,  2366,  2670, 

32ob,  3396,  3886,  4i7b,  42ob,  4<)tb). 
HOYLE  GAME,"  THE,  2103. 
HOYLB  PLAYER,  2103. 
Hudson,  William,  1743,  3063. 
Human  nature,  weakness  of,  923,  2663. 
'•  HUMBUG  WHIST,"  2iob. 
Hume,  David,  84b. 
'  HDMODRS  OF  WHIST,"  2iob. 
Hutchings,  Colonel  Hy.,  5<x)b. 
Hutchinson.  James  A.,  3053. 
Hyde,  Miss  Adelaide  B.,  423b,  4253. 
Hyde  Park  Whist  Club,  32b,  I99b,  2703. 

Ignorance,  653. 

IGNORANT  PLAYERS,  2iib. 

ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS,  2128  (also,  30,  66b, 
I2ta,  1280,  I4ob,  1720,  2500,  iS4a.  28/b, 
aSib.joob,  3020,  J04b,  3050,  3o6b,  3176, 
345a,  37<)b,  3860,  31)40,  4iia,  42?b,  4470, 
4680,4740). 

ILLUSTRATIVE  HANDS,  RECORDING,  2140. 

IMPERFECT  PACK,  2i8a. 

Improvement  in  announcing  results  of 
mstch-plsy,  3613. 

IN,  2i8b. 

INATTENTION,  2i8b. 

INCOME  FROM  WHIST,  2193. 

INDEPENDENT  PLAYERS,  2198. 

India,  whist  in,  488b. 

Indiana  Whist  Association,  463.  46b. 

Indianapolis  Whist  Club.  ogb. 

Indicating  plsyers  or  hands,  13. 


INDEX 


543 


Indicating  strength  in  suit  by  discard, 

35°b 

INDICATORS,  2iga. 

INDIFFERENT  CARDS,  2196 

Individual  judgment,  39ib. 

Individual  merit  score-card,  Coffin's,  I47b. 

INDIVIDUAL  RECORD  2igb. 

Individual  responsibility,  247b. 

Individuality  of  players,  2633. 

Inequalities  of  sides,  at  duplicate,  2933. 

INFER ENCBS,  zigb  (also,  2310.). 

Inferences,  drawing,  aoyb,  222b. 

Inferences  from  bad  play,  2953. 

INFORMATION,  22ia. 

Information  exchanged,  lob. 

Information,  when  it  should  not  be  taken 
advantage  of,  i6sb. 

INFORMATORV  GAME,  2223  (also,jo7a). 

INNOVATIONS,  2223  (also, 3650,  4160). 

IN  PLAY,  222b. 

INSTINCT  IN  WHIST,  222b. 

Intention  of  players  wishing  to  enter  a 
table,  1636. 

Inter-club  duplicate  match,  first  in  Amer- 
ica 1353. 

Inter-club  duplicate  whist.  1373. 

Inter-collegiate  whist  matches,  5013. 

INTERIOR  CARDS,  222b  (also,  4076). 

INTERMEDIATE  LEADS,  2226   (also,  3750). 

Intermediate  sequence.  3003. 

INTERNATIONAL  MATCH,  A  PROPOSED, 
2233. 

IN  THE  LEAD.  223b. 

Intimation  concerning  the  hand  or  game. 
1653,  i66a,  247b.  (See,  also,  "  Conver- 
sation.") 

Intuition,  3003. 

"  INVINCIBLE  WHIST,"  223*. 

"INVITATION  GAME,  THE,"  223b  (also, 
3800). 

INVITE,  THE,  223b. 

INVITING  A  RUFF,  2243. 

IRREGULAR  LEAD,  2243. 

Irregular  original  lead,  when  an  honor 
is  turned  to  the  right,  i6gb. 

IRREGULAR  PLAY,  2246. 

Irregular  tactics,  2O2a. 

IRREGULAR  WHIST,  2254. 

IRREGULARITIES  IN  THE  HANDS.  2253 
(a/50,  1390.,  2346). 

Irving,  Washington,  whist  his  solace  up 
to  his  death,  8sb. 

"IT  DIDN'T  MATTER"  PLAYER,  THE, 

225b. 

"It  made  no  difference, "  1273. 

JACK,  225b. 

Jack-lead,  143   i6a,  4463. 

Jack-lead,  Howell's,  382b. 

Jack-lead,  Keiley's,  3843. 

Jack,  lead  of,  denying  ace,  I3b. 

Jack,  ten,  or  nine,  lead  of,  222b. 

Jack  when  not  to  cover,  second  hand, 

1793. 
Jackson,  Lowes  d'Aguilar,  423,  573,  57b, 

335a- 
Jsckson,  L-  McL.,  s8b. 


James,  H.  K.,  393. 

Jameson,  Mrs.,  853. 

JENKS,  MRS.  M.  S.,  226b  (also,  446,  4216, 

4250,  4850,  4886,  4896). 
"JEROBOAM  HAND,"  2273. 
Johnson,  C.  F.,  393. 
Johnson,  Mrs.  F.  H.,  393. 
Johnson,  James  W.,  5153. 
JOHNSON  ON  WHIST,  2273  (also,  4940). 
Johnson,  W.  T.,  5i4b. 
Jones,  Henry     See.  "Cavendish." 
Jones,  H.  D.,  2373. 
Jones,  M.  B.,  502b. 
JUDGES  OF  APPEALS,  2273. 
JUDGMENT.  22?b  (also,  4526). 
JUMPING  A  SUIT,  227b. 
Jumping  from  suit  to  suit,  2035. 
JUNIOR  WHIST  CLDB,  2283. 

Kalamazoo  method,  2923. 

Kalergi,  M.,  1733. 

Kansas  City  Whist  Club,  2933. 

Kate  Wheelock  Whist  Club,  Philadelphia, 

4693. 
Kate   Wheelock   Whist    Club,   Portland, 

Oregon.  4733. 
Kate  Wheelock  Whist  Club.Staten  Island, 

N.  Y.,  4703. 

Keehn,  G.  W.,  343.  363.  383.  I73b. 
KEILEY,  CHARLES  R.,  228b  (also,  34^,  570, 

1740, 3720,  4235,  42$a.  4(900). 
Keiley's  short-suit  leads,  3833. 
KEIM.  MRS.  GEORGE  DE  BENNEVILLE, 

2293  (also,  4246,  4250). 
Kennedy,  J    M.,  1733,  443b. 
Kernochan.  Mrs.  Frank.  4253. 
Kieb,  E   C..  s8b. 
Kimball.  William  S.  47ob. 
Kinds  of  players,  twenty-six,  3173. 
KING,  22gb  (also,  510). 
King    and    one    small,    with,    covering 

queen,  io6b. 
King  and  one  small,   not  led   from   by 

Starnes,  3853. 

King  card.    See,  "Master  Card." 
King,  jack,  ten,  ig7b. 
King-lead,  143. 

King-lead  and  unblocking,  4643. 
King-lead.  Howell's.  382b. 
King-lead,  Keiley's,  3843. 
King,  queen,  jack,  and  two  or  more,  lead 

from,  2263. 
King,  queen  alone,   Starnes1  lead  from, 

3853. 

King  second  hand  on  low  card  led.  2303. 
King,  ten,  jack,  lead  from,  4463. 
Kismet  Club,  Cincinnati,  O.,  52gb. 
KNAVE,  230*  (also  2250). 
Knickerbocker.  A.  M.,  48ib. 
Krebs,  Mrs    Abbie   E.,  423b,  4253,   488b, 

5233,  523b. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen  at  duplicate,  1453, 

1493,5293.  52gb. 

Ladies,  school  of  whist  for  young,  2083. 
Lady   whist-players.     See,    "  Women     as 

Whist-playeis." 


544 


INDEX 


LAMB,  CHARLES,  AT  WHIST,  23ob  (also, 
436,  840,  2020,  5270). 

LANGUAGE,  A,  23ob  (0^0,336,3920). 

Lanigan,  George  T.,  433,  3213. 

Last  (rick,  seeing  the.    See,  "Quitted." 

LAST  TRUMP,  2313. 

Latimer,  Bishop,  4933. 

Lswrence,  C.  S.,  393. 

Lawrence,  G.  A.,  5063. 

Laws,  object  of,  231  b. 

Laws  of  duplicate  whist,  I37b. 

LAWS  OF  WHIST,  2133. 

LAWS  OF  WHIST,  AMERICAN  CODE,  2323. 

LAWS  OF  WHIST,  ENGLISH  CODE,  236b 
(also.  490). 

LAWS  OF  WHIST,  PROPOSED  REVISION, 
2443. 

Lead  in  trumps  snd  in  plain  suits,  differ- 
ence between,  246b. 

Lead,  irregular,  2243. 

Lead  of  trumps  invited,  223b. 

Lead,  original,  288b. 

Lead,  taking  the,  in  the  partnership, 
2943. 

LEAD,  THE,  2463. 

Lead,  throwing  the,  4363. 

Lesd,  uses  of,  2463. 

LEADER,  2473. 

Lesding  back  the  suit  led,  33gb. 

LEADING  OUT  OF  TURN,  2473  (also,  1680, 

Leading  out  of  turn,  preventing  partner 
from,  2473. 

LEADING  THROUGH,  24J5b. 

Leading  trumps  from  five,  1753. 

LEADING  UP  To,  248b. 

Leads,  American.  See,  "American  Leads." 

Lesds  snd  their  meaning,  2203. 

Leads,  best  and  next  best,  478b. 

Leads,  correct  from  certain  hands,  2oob, 
2143. 

Lesds,  difficult,  2oob. 

Leads,  low  card,  2593. 

Lesds,  old,  2853. 

LEADS,  SYSTEMS  OF,  248b. 

Lesds,  trump,  45ob. 

Lesds,  trump  showing,  4533. 

Lesgue  territory  divided  into  two  sec- 
tions. 86b. 

Lesrning  to  plsy,  2i3b. 

Led  more  frequently  than  any  other  csrd, 
ace,  ib. 

Led  up  to,  cards  more  valuable  when,  ac- 
cording to  short-suiters,  38sb. 

Lee,  Miss  J.  E.,  sogb. 

Leech,  Mrs.,  523b. 

Lemmon,  Charles  H.,  4gib. 

Lennox,  Dr.  Richard,  soib,  soSb. 

Lesser  evil,  choosing  the,  in  leading, 
1823. 

Lever,  Chsrles,  84b. 

LEVICK,  MRS.  MARY  D'INVILLIERS,  24gb 


Lexicographers  in  error,  some  modern, 

494a. 

Liberal  ideas  in  whist,  5003. 
"LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  B.,"  25ob  (also, 

386,  2230,  3350). 
Lindsay,  C.  F.,  2oib. 
Literary  men  and  whist,  84b. 
LITTLE  SLAM,  THE,  2513. 
"  LITTLE  WHIST    SCHOOL,   THE,"   2513 

(also,  7?a,  2990,  5010). 
Lines  of  play,  3i6b. 
LIVING  HAND,  2523. 
"LIVING  WHIST,"  2523. 
Lloyd,  Mrs.  C.  Bond,  523b,  5253. 
Lodge,  B.,  Jr.,  3ib,  1993. 
Long  snd  short-suit  controversy,  4973. 
Long  and  short-suit  game  combined,  990, 

27ib. 

LONG  CARDS,  252b. 
LONG  SUIT,  252b  (also,  toia). 
LONG-SUIT  GAME,  THE,  253b  (also,  1820, 

2220,   2876,    2886,     3240,    4020,     4350, 


LEWIS,  FREDERIC  H.,  24<)b  (also,  430,  1200, 

2760,  2986,3320). 
Lewis  problem,  the,  2503. 
Lewis,  Waller  A.,  I7b,  s8b,  69b,  3353. 


. 

Long-suit  gsme,  the,  defended,  4983. 
Long-suit  game,  the,  objections  to,  4973. 
Long-suit  gsme,  when  advised  by  short- 

suiters,  sSsb,  jSsb. 
Long  suit,  hesded  by  3n  eight,  trested  as 

worthless,  387b. 

Long  suit,  one  ill  every  hand,  3313. 
Long-suit  openings,  alleged  trick  losers, 

i84b. 

"LONG  SUITER,"  2533  (aho,2jib). 
"  Long-suiters"  challenged,  37ib. 
LONG  TRUMP,  2s6b. 
LONG  WHIST,  256b  (also,  2100). 
LONGEST   SUIT,  LEAD    FROM   THE,  2573 

(also,  4180). 

Longest  or  best  suit,  lesd  from,  4i6b. 
Longstreth,  Mrs.  Morris,  523b. 
LOOKING  OVER  A  HAND,  2583. 
LOOSE  CARD,  2s8b. 
LOSING  CARD,  2s8b. 
LOSING  TRUMP,  DECLINING  TO  DRAW  A, 

258b. 

LOVE,  2593. 
LOVE-ALL,  2593. 
LOVE  GAME,  2593. 
Lovell,  Sidney,  1138. 
Low-card  leads,  Starnes',  3853. 
Low-card  leads,  Keiley's,  3843. 
Low-card  opening  from  long  suit,  loob. 
Low  CARDS,  2593. 
Lowell,  James  Russell,  8sb. 
LOWERED  HANDS,  2$9b  (also,  2380). 
Low,  H.  N.,  snb,  7ob,  1743,  259b,  356b. 
Lowrie,  Mrs.  Robert,  52ab. 
Lowest  of  a  sequence,  3663. 
Low's  SIGNAL,  25gb. 
Lucas,  Charles,  4943. 
LUCK,  2603. 

Luck  in  duplicste  whist,  I4ob,  5003. 
Lundstrom,  John  E.,  440. 
LURCH,  2613. 
Lyell,  Charles,  843. 
LYTTON,  LORD,  AS  A  WHIST-PLAYBR,  z6ia 

(also  840). 


INDEX 


545 


MacBrair   D.  J.,  v*8b. 

Mackay.  Charles,  5283. 

MacMillan,  Professor  Conway,  5053. 

"  MAJOR  A.,"  26ib  (also,  580,  3350). 

'•  MAJOR  TENACE,"  2623  (also,  576,  3350). 

MAKE,  2&2a. 

MAKE  DP,  2623  (alto, 3890). 

Management  of  cards,  626. 

Management  of  trumps,  4510,  4813. 

MANDELL,  HENRY  A.,  2626  (also,  340.  346, 
36a). 

Manhattan  Athletic  Club,  354b. 

Manhattan  Whist  Club,  4b,  i84b,  3;ib, 
374b. 

MANNERISMS,  2633  (0/10,2970). 

Manson,  Thomas,  1743. 

MARK,  2&3b. 

MARKERS,  263b. 

Marking.     See,  'Scoring." 

Marlborough,  Duke  of,  83b. 

Married  couples,  schedules  for,  at  dupli- 
cate, isob. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  853. 

MASKING  A  SIGNAL,  26sb. 

MASTER  CARD,  2&3b  (also,  3396). 

MASTER  HOLDINGS,  2643. 

"Master,  the,"  i27b. 

MATCH,  2643  (also,  /j/a,  4050). 

Match,  international,  proposed,  2233. 

Match  plsy,  4403. 

Matches  instesd  of  tricks,  counting,  36313. 

MATHEWS,  THOMAS,  2643  (also,  570,  67(1, 
736,  J72b,  2620,  28^0,  2930,  3400,  4090, 
47'6,  49sa). 

Mathias,  F.  W.,  383,  268b. 

Mathias,  L.  J.,  383.  268b. 

Matthews,  W.  H.  S.,  48gb. 

MAXIMS,  2653. 

Maxims  for  the  guidance  of  partners, 
2943. 

Maximum  method  ot  scoring  at  dupli- 
cate, 3633. 

McCay,  A.  Harvey,  34b,  1743.  2013,  268b, 
35°b. 

McCrea,  Mrs.  Henry,  44b,  524b. 

McDiarmid,  C.  J.,  393. 

McDougall,  Hugh,  I52b. 

MclNTOSH,  ANDREW  J.,  26sb  (also,  s8a). 

McKay,  Theodore,  1743. 

McLaughliu,  Mrs.  George  B.,  2523. 

MEDIUM  CARDS,  26sb. 

MEETING  AND  OPPOSING,  2663  (also, 
2876). 

Melick,  Lepni,  383,  iggb. 

Membership  of  the  A.  W.  L,.,  present,  373, 
486b. 

Memories,  short,  I3ob. 

MEMORIZING  THE  HANDS  IN  DUPLI- 
CATE, 2663  (also,5OJO). 

MEMORY,  2663  (also,  28ib). 

MEMORY.  ARTIFICIAL,  2673  (also,  2o?b). 

Memory  duplicate.  See,  "Mnemonic  Du- 
plicate Whist." 

Meredith,  John  C.,  2933. 

"  Merry  Andrew,"  22b,  42b. 

Mettermch  and  a  game  which  cost  2000 
lives,  833. 


MIDDLE  CARD,  26?b  (also,  i$8b). 

Milwaukee  Congress,  sgb. 

MILWAUKEE  WHIST  CLUB,  26?b  (also,  290, 

300,  Jtoa,  2920,  3450,  3430,  4490) 
Minchin,  J.  I.,  433. 
Minneapolis  Chess.  Checkers,  and  Whist 

Club,  313,  310,  88b,  igga. 
Minneapolis  Congress,  323. 
"  MINNEAPOLIS  LEAD,"  2683. 
MINNEAPOLIS  TROPHY,  26»b  (also.  4480). 
Minnesota,  University  of,  whist  at  the, 

5°5a- 

Miscellaneous  laws  of  whist,  2363. 
MISDEAL,  268b  (also,  2396). 
Misdealing,  2343. 

MISDEALING,  How  TO  AVOID  2693. 
Miss  TODD'S  WHIST  PARTY,  2693. 
MISTAKES,  26gb. 
Mistakes  of  adversaries,  i64b. 
Mistakes  of  beginners,  523. 
MITCHELL,  JOHN  T.,269b  (also,  >jb,  32(1, 

380.  480,570,  /j/a,  1330, 1360,  1430,  J47b, 

'730.  J99&,  Z9?a.  34?a,362b,  4836,  4&)b}. 
Mitchell,  Hugh,  5133. 
Mixed  system,  4i6b. 
"  MIXERS,''  27ob. 

MNEMONIC  DUPLICATE  WHIST,  27ob. 
Mnemonic  duplicate  whist,  laws  of,  i4oa. 
Model  hands.    See.  "/Hustrattve  Hands." 
Model  games  at  whist,  2i3b. 
Model  gsmes,  use  of,  76b. 
Model  whist-plsyers,  sib,  ma. 
Modern  game  foreshadowed,  2973. 
MODERN    SCIENTIFIC    GAME,   2713  (also, 

3280,  39 1 a). 

Modern  signaling  game,  443b. 
Modes  of  plsy,  testing,  307b. 
"  MODIFIED  GAME,  THE,"  27ib  (also,  3726, 

4O7b,  jj8a). 

Mogridge,  F.  P.,  34b.  I73b.  ipgb,  2013. 
"  MOGUL,"    2723  (also,  220,  2$b,   4zb,  436, 

i33b,  jfya,  2720,  2980,  3350,  3700). 
Money,  playing  for,  4003. 
MONGREL  WHIST,  2?3b  (a'so,  2250). 
Montagu,  Mary  Wortley,  853. 
Montgomery,  E.  A.,  1743. 
Moore,  Professor  E.  H.,  I45b. 
Moore,  Miss  M.  Ida,  4223,  4253. 
MORALITY  OF  WBIST,  THE,  27sb  (also, 

300). 

MORGAN.  H.  F.,  2743  (also,  586) 
Morrill,  F.  N.,  5033. 
Morse,  G.  W.,  38b,  1743. 
"MoRT,"  2743  (also,£a). 
MOSSOP,  CHARLES,   2?$a   (also,  6oa,    716. 

2806,  2980,  3700,  47 ib.  4886). 
Most  frequently  led  high  card,  229b. 
Moulton,  Mrs.  B.  P.,  523b. 
Movements  of  teams  of  six.  5O2b. 
Muhlfelder,  David,  383,  i?3b. 
Mutes  3nd  whist-plsy,  1043. 

Nspoleon  I.  at  whist.  82b. 

Napoleon  III.  a  vacillating  player,  82b. 

Narragansett  Whist  Club,  Providence,  R. 

I.,  S8b.  3723. 
N3shville  Whist  Club,  333,  393,  S8b. 


546 


INDEX 


NATIONAL  TRUMP,  2763. 

Neff,  Joseph  S.,  383,  I73b,  iggb. 

Neflf,  Mrs.  Joseph  S.,  5235. 

NEWBOLD,  MRS.  WILLIAM  HENRY,  2766 

(also,  44b,  4220,  4250,  5266, 5300). 
New  Challenge  Trophy  purchased,  88b. 
NEW  DEAL,  2773  (also,  239(1). 
NEW  DEAL,  NOT  ENTITLED  TO  A,  277b. 
New    England    Whist   Association,   34b, 

463,  473,  sob,  633,  2063,  473b. 
New  Jersey  Whist  Association,  46a,  46b, 

633. 
New  Orleans  Chess,  Checkers,  and  Whist 

Club,  1353. 

"  NEW  PLAY,  THE,"  277b. 
Newton  Club,  the,  413,  I4ib,  5<>3b. 
New  York  Congress,  job. 
New  York  State  Whist  Association,  38b, 

473,  633. 
"  NIGHTMARE      WHIST,"      2783      (also, 

4090). 

Nine,  lead  of,  ifxjb,  278b,  3843. 
NINE-SPOT,  THE,  278b  (also,  2036). 
Noble,  Miss  Evelyn,  4253. 
NOEL,  MRS.  LILLIAN  CURTIS,  2793  (also, 

44b,42?a,  4250.). 
Nom  de  plume.  See,  "Pseudonyms  of  Whist 

Authors."1 

NON-lNFORMATORY      GAME,     2808      (also, 


North  Pscific  Whist  Association,  46b. 

Northrop,  H.  M.,  3443. 

Norton,  J.  B.,  383. 

Notation,  whist,  13,  2i4b,  53ib. 

Novices,  play  of.  2033. 

Nowell,  Mrs.  Lavinia  S.,  44b,  4223,  4253. 

N-S,  E-W,  28ob. 

Number-showing  crsze,  203. 

NUMBER-SHOWING  LEADS,  28ob. 

Objectionsble  practices,  4i9b. 

Objections  to  Americsn  lesds,  25b. 

OBJECT  OF  WHIST  PLAY,  28ib. 

Object  of  whist  laws,  232b. 

OBSERVATION,  28ib. 

ODD  TRICK,  THE,  28ib  (also,  i8oa,  igsb, 

494b). 

Odd  trick,  playing  for  the,  3i7b,  3i8b. 
Odd    trick    not    played  for  at  duplicate 

whist,  28ib. 

ODDS  AT  ENGLISH  WHIST,  2823. 
Offenses,  claims  for.     See,  "Penalties." 
Officers  of  the  A.  W.  L..  3gb. 
Officers  of  the  Canadian  Whist  League, 

7ia. 

Old  and  new  methods  of  dealing,  nib. 
OLD  AND  NEW  SCHOOLS,  zSzb. 
"  Old  Bumble's  Art  of  Whist,"  348b. 
Old-fashioned  player,  973. 
"OLD-FASHIONED   WHIST- PARTY,  AN," 

2843. 

Old  fogy,  2103. 

OLD  LEADS,  2853  (also,  ii6a,  2480). 
OMITTING  PLAYING  TO  A  TRICK,  2873. 
Omwake,  John,  sisb. 
One-handed  player,  H4b. 
OPEN  GAME,  2873. 


Open  hands,  play  of,  to  settle  controver- 

sies, 3<37b. 
OPENING,  2S7b. 
OPENING  LEAD,  a87b. 
OPPONENT,  287b  (also,  50). 
OPPOSITION,  287b. 
OPTIONAL  TRUMP  SHOWING  LEADS,  2883 

(also,  454a). 
Original  discard,  n6b. 
ORIGINAL  FOURTH-BEST,  2883  (also,  1870, 


ORIGINAL  LEAD,  288b  (also,  2460). 

ORIGINAL  PLAY,  28ga. 

ORNDORFF,  THOMAS  C.,  28gb  (also,  300, 


OTIS,  T.  E.,  2gob  (also,  4240,  4250,  4900, 

5o8a). 
"OUIDA'S"    TRIBUTE    TO    THE    GAME, 

2gob. 

OUT,  2913. 
Out  of  turn,  playing.    See,  "Error,  Cards 

Played  in." 

Overlooking  hands,  1033. 
OVERPLAY,  2913  (also,  1300). 
OVERTRUMP,  2913. 

Pscific  Cosst  Whist  Associ3tion,  46b,  36ib, 

438b.  473b. 
PACK,  2gib. 
PACKET,  29ib. 
PAINE..CASSIUS  M.,  2gib  (also,  70,  296,340, 

j6b,  ij6b,  i74a,  2326,  2836,  4226,  44ob, 

4&za,  496b,5o8b,sria,  5/ja). 
PAIR,  A,  2g2b  (also,  4266). 
Psirs,   schedules  for,  3t  duplicste,  1553, 

2o6b. 

"  Pam,"  433. 
Pardon,  George  Frederick,  57b,  583,  58b, 

i°7b,  335a- 

Psrk  Club,  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  88b. 
Parker,  George  W.,  3113,5333. 
Parks,  Chsrles  E-,  5123. 
Parry,  N.  H.,  1743. 
Parsons,  R.  L.,  32b,  1743,  I99b. 
PARTIE,  293b. 

PARTNER,  2g3b  (also,  2030). 
PARTNER,  A  BAD,  2953  (also,  2256}. 
Psrtner,  forcing,   when    weak   yourself, 

1813. 

Psrtner,  helping,  4083,  43ob. 
PARTNER'S  HAND,  295^. 
Psrtner's  lead,  returning,  33gb. 
Partner,  selection  of,  noa. 
PARTNERSHIP,  2963. 
Partnership  game,  2S2b,  253b,  264b,  3243, 

328b. 

Partnership  play,  2213,  223b,  2713,  48/b. 
PARTNER'S  SUIT,  2g6b. 
Party,  whist,  I3ib. 
PASS,  296b. 

Passing  the  trick,  1223. 
Patents.    See,  "  Whist  Patents." 
Payn,  James,  84b,  853,  3523,  5063. 
PAYNE,  GEORGE,  2973. 
PAYXE,  WILLIAM,  2973  (also,  580,   2370, 

zSsb.339l>,  4950). 
Peabody,  George,  843. 


INDEX 


547 


Peck,  J.  H.,  5029. 

Peck,  J.  W.,  5033. 

Peck,  Mrs.  Walter,  5233,  5235. 

Peckham,  James  S.,  2oib,  3053. 

PECULIARITIES  OF  PLAYERS,  297b. 

"  PEMBRIDGE,"  2976  (also,  ib,  256,  260,576, 


l,  . 

Penalties,  enforcing,  at  duplicate,  1403. 
Penalties,  purpose  of,  23jb. 
PENALTY,  2993  (also,  r/86). 
Penalty  for  employing   private    conven- 

tions, 3293. 

Penalty  for  revoking,  3423. 
Penalty,  a,  should  not  be  purposely  incur- 

red, i6sb. 
PENULTIMATE,  zggb  (also,  i8a,  2730,  zS6a, 


PERCEPTION,  3003  (also,  3i4b,  4090,  4iob). 
PERCEPTION  PROBLEMS,  3003  (also,  950, 

278a). 
Permanent  trump.  See,"  Declared  Trump," 

and  "National  Trump." 
PERMUTATION,  307b. 
Personal  skill.     See,   'Skill." 
Petsluma  Whist  Club,  453. 
Peter.     See,  "Trump  Signal." 
PETERBOROUGH,  LORD,  3093  (also,  1920, 

j88b). 
PETTES,  GEORGE  W.,  3ogb  (a/so,  fa,  i2b, 

2ib,  286,  5701,   586,  7?b,  956,  w$b,  ibqb, 

2i4a,227a,232a,  2770,3350.,  337  b,  3930, 

396a,  42oa,  4420,,  45<)a,  4886,  4890,  4890). 
Pettit,  Mrs.  Silss  W.,  5233,  523b,  525b. 
PHENOMENAL  HANDS,  3iib    (also,    4676, 

53^a). 
Philadelphia  3  centre  for  woman's  whist, 

2?6b. 

Philadelphia  Congress,  313. 
PHILADELPHIA  CUP,  3133  (also,  sztb). 
Pbil3delphi3  Whist  Club,  383,   iggb,  3513, 

413°- 

Philosopher  of  Whist,  3243. 
PHILOSOPHICAL  GAME,  3133. 
"  PIANO  HAND,"  3133. 
"  PICKWICK  •'    AT    WHIST,    3i3b     (also, 

2840). 

Pike,  Manley  H.,  2233. 
Pilling,  Mrs.  J.  W.,  44b. 
Pioneer  whist  teacher,  943. 
"  PIPING  AT  WHIST,"  3143. 
Pitt  snd   Burke    vs.    Fox  3nd  Sheridan, 

3143. 

PITT  COOP,  3143. 
PLACING  CARDS,  3i4b. 
Placing   the   lead.    See,    "  Throwing    the 

Lead." 

Placing  the  tricks  during  play,  44ib. 
PLAIN  SUIT,  3153. 

PLAIN-SUIT  ECHO,  3153  (also,  4640). 
Plain  suit  led  by  an  adversary,  signal   in, 

1853. 

PLAIN-SUIT  SIGNAL,  sisb. 
PLAIN  SUITS,  CHOICE  OF,  3163. 
PLAY,  3163. 
Play  for  gain,  i5ia. 
PLAY,  LINES  OF,  *i6b. 
PLAYED  CARDS,  3i6b. 


PLAYERS,  KINDS  OF,  3178. 

Players,  positions  of,  327b. 

PLAYING  AT  PLAYING  WHIST,  3i;b. 

PLAYING  CARDS,  3i7b. 

PLAYING  FOR  THE  ODD  TRICK,  3i7b. 

PLAYING  OUT  OF  TURN,  3183  (also,  2350). 

"PLAYING  PICTURES,"  3183. 

Plsying  the  cards  at  duplicate,  isgb. 

PLAYING  THE  GAME,  3183. 

PLAYING  TO  THE  SCORE,  3i8b  (also,  nib). 

PLAYING  Two  CARDS  TO  ONE  TRICK, 
3i8b. 

Plsyingwesk  suits  down,  2293. 

POE,  EDGAR  ALLAN,  ON  WHIST,  3193 
(a/so,  Ssb). 

POEMS  ON  WHIST,  3203. 

Point,  ssving  a,  3573. 

POINTS,  323b. 

Points,  counting,  objected  to,  2023. 

Points,  rubber,  3523. 

POLE,  WILLIAM,  Mus.  Doc.,  F.  R.  S.,  3243 
(also,  ib,  190,  24a,  3ia,  430,  s?b,  580, 
I28a,  t34b,  i66b,  2O4b,  2130,  22ob,  2$ib, 
Z57&,  358a,  3(x)b,  3730,  4676,  4930,  4950, 
S28a). 

Pole's  rhyming  rules,  3463. 

PONE,  3273. 

Poor  players,  2603. 

"  PORTLAND, "  3273  (also,  $8b   3350). 

PORTLAND  CLUB,  3273  (also,'  490,  2370, 
2$ib,  3886,  4ssb,  4870). 

fort/and  rules.  See,  "Laws  of  Whist, 
English  Code." 

Portrait  of  Hoyle,  spurious,  2o8b. 

POSITION,  32?b. 

Position,  tensce,  4273. 

POST-MORTEM,  3283. 

Postulations  upon  which  the  American 
Code  is  based,  232b. 

Pole,  B.  E.,  43b. 

Potter,  Mrs.  O.  W.,  523b,  5303. 

Potter,  William  A.,  4913. 

PRACTICE,  3283. 

Praed,  3218. 

Pre-srrsnged  gsmes,  3650. 

"•Preference.11    See,  "Swedish  Whist."1 

Prince  of  Wales,  823. 

Princeton,  whist  at,  5043. 

Princeton  Whist  Club,  504b. 

PRINCIPLES,  GENERAL,  328b  (also,  3240}. 

PRIVATE  CONVENTIONS,  328b  (also,  1030, 
3Sia,392b). 

Private  conventions  defined,  3293. 

Prize  contest,  large,  4913. 

Prizes,  1253,  i3ib,  4783. 

PROBABILITIES,  33ob  (also,  Sga,  2060). 

PROBLEMS,  33ib  (also,  2490,  3000,  5190, 
$2oa). 

PROCTOR,  RICHARD  ANTHONY,  332b  (also, 
ib,  26a,  430,  43b,  440,  sjb,  840,  ro8b, 
I2ob,  i79b,  3000,  3350,  3700,  4880,  $i8b). 

Progress  vs.  stick-in-the-mud,  I24b. 

Progressive  duplicate  whist.  See,  "Dupli- 
cate Whist,  Progressive." 

Progressive  duplicste  whist,  early  form 
of,  1023. 

PROGRESSIVE  FOURS,  3345. 


548 


INDEX 


PROGRESSIVE  PAIRS,  334!). 
Progressive  whist.    See,  "Drive  Whist." 
PROTECTIVE  DISCARD,  334b. 
Providence  Athletic  Club,  4756. 
Providence  Whist  Club,  1406. 
"  PRUSSIAN  WHIST,"  334b. 
PSEUDONYMS  OF  WHIST  AUTHORS,  334b. 
"  Psycho,"  45b. 

Public  schools,  teaching  of  whist  in,  ad- 
vocated, 4853. 
Puzzles,  whist,  I2ob,  I2yb. 
Pyramid  Whist  Club,  Boston,  3753. 

QUACKENBCSH,    EARLE    C.,    335a    (also, 

4236,4250,5290). 
QUART,  3358. 
QUART  MAJOR,  3353. 
QUEEN,  335b. 
Queen,  jack,  ten,  lead  from,  I75b,  I97b, 

4i6b. 
Queen-lead,  from  ace,  king,  queen,  etc., 

I3b,  404b. 
Queen-leads,  4463. 
Queen-leads,  Howell's,  382b. 
Queen-leads,  Keiley's,  3843. 
Queen-leads,  simplifying  the,  133. 

§uestions  concerning  laws,  227b. 
UINT,  3363. 
"  Quisquis,"  42b. 
QUITTED,  3363. 
"Quiz  Cards,"  7b. 

Radnor,  Countess  of,  i8ob. 

"RAILROAD  WHIST,"  3373. 

RANK,  338b. 

Rasmussen,  S.  J.,  5173. 

Rawson,  Mrs.  Sidney  P.,  4703,  524b. 

Reade,  Charles,  463,  853. 

Resgan,  Mrs.  James  M.,  2oib. 

Recording  hands  at  whist,  2i4b. 

RE-ENTRY,  CARD  OF,  338b  (also,  75*). 

REFORM  CLUB,  338b. 

REFUSING  A  FORCE,  3393. 

Registering  hands  at  duplicste,  8a. 

RBJOUE,  3393. 

Kemak,  Gustavus,  Jr.,  34b,  36b,  1353, 173b, 

I99b. 

Remembering  cards  iO4b. 
Remington,  Arthur,  5320. 
Reneging,  or  renouncing,  1033. 
Rennie,  Sir  Richard,  1623. 
RENOUNCE,  3393. 
Reprehensible  practice,  2583. 
Re-sorting  cards,  in  early  duplicate.  I35b. 
Responding  to  the  trump  signal,  4563. 
Retaining  a  small  card,  4803. 
RETURNING  THE  LEAD,  339b  (also,  4310). 
Returning  trumps,  4613. 
REVERSE  DISCARD,  34ib  (also,  4166). 
RF.VOKE,  34ib. 

Revoke,  concealing  a,  i6sb,  1663. 
Revoke,  saving  a  possible,  69b. 
Revoking,  2351). 
Revoking  at  duplicate,  I39b. 
RHKINART,   JOHN,  3433    (also,  1150,  1730, 

2676). 
RHYMING  RULES,  3463. 


Richards,  B.  L.,  32b. 

Richardson,  Mrs.,  3133,  5240. 

Richter,  Otto,  1743. 

Roberts,  Miss  Edith,  4253. 

Rogers,  C.  W.,  393. 

Rogers,  G.  T.,  1743. 

Rogers,  Mrs.  Harry,  4243,  4253. 

Rogers,  Howard  J.,  4893,  498b. 

Rogers,  J.  W.,  2143. 

Rogers,  R.  M.,  32b,  1743,  iggb. 

ROTARY  DISCARD,  ssob  (also,  1700.).          , 

Rowlandson,  5013. 

ROUND,  A,  35ib. 

RUBBER,  3516  (also,  zjfb). 

"  RUBBER,  A  VERY  QUIET,"  3523. 

Rubber  game,  3523. 

RUBBER  POINTS,  3523. 

Rubbers  won  and  lost  by  "  Cavendish," 

78b. 

Rubbers  won  and  lost  by  Dr.  Pole,  3263. 
Rudiments  of  the  g3me,  4773. 
RUFF,  352b. 

"RUFF  AND  HONOURS,"  352b. 
RUFFING  GAME,   3533  (also,   i$8b,  3660, 

394a). 

RULES,  3533. 

Rules,  "Bob  Short's,"  ssb. 
Rules  for  bumblepuppy,  6sb. 
Rules  msy  be  departed  from,  when,  34ib. 
Rules  modified  by  th 


26ab. 


y  the  fall  of  the  cards, 


Rules   not   opposed    to  common    sense, 

423b. 

RUNNING,  353b  (also,37$a,  3836). 
Russell,  J.  E.,  Jr.,  3053. 
"  RUSSIAN  BOSTON,"  354a- 
Ryerson,  E.  W.,  soib. 

Sacrifice  lead,  igob. 

Sacrificing  hand  to  partner,  38ob. 

Sadler,  E.  H.,  i34b. 

SAFFORD,  A.  G.,  3543  (also,  300,  1460,  1470, 


Salinger,  A.  D.,  5O2b. 

Same  hands,  to  avoid  playing  the,  at  du- 

plicate, I43b. 
Ssmson,  W.  H.,  4913. 

Ssmuel,  Mrs.  Frank,  4713,  5233,  523b,  5240. 
Sanderson,  F.,  I34b,  5143,  5153. 
San  Francisco  Whist  Club,  423b,  4380. 
Sarah   Battle  Whist  Club,  Philadelphia, 

5o6b. 

Satire,  whist,  2iob. 
Savsge,  M.  W.,  5063. 
Savages  and  the  trump  signal,  455b. 
SAVING  THE  GAME,  356b. 
Schedules  for  Isrge  numbers  of  individu- 

als, at  duplicate,  i.jSb. 
Schedules  for  team  plsy,  duplicste  whist, 

153*. 

Schmidt,  Miss  C.  H.,  j8b,  393,  44b. 
Schools  of  whist,  io8a,  264b,   2g8b,   yx/b, 

5163. 
Schools,  whist  in.    See,  "  Whist  as  an  Edu- 

cator." 

SCHOOLS  OF  WHIST,  3573. 
Schuyler,  R.,  5033. 


INDEX 


549 


SCHWARZ,  THEODORE,  3s;b  (also, 326,  jja, 

233b,  4150,  sz2b). 
SCIENCE  OR  ART  ?  35?b. 
Scientific  game,  modern,  2713.. 
Scientific  play,  253!). 
SCORE,  3593. 
SCORE-BOOK,  359!). 
SCORE-CARD,  ssgb  (also,  1050,3606). 
Score,  duplicate,  1383. 
SCORING,  3603  (also,  2j7b,  2930). 
Scoring,  erroneous  method  of,  at  dupli- 
cate whist,  3<x>b. 

Scoring,  Tormey's  method  of,  3618. 
Scoring,  unsatisfactory  condition  of,  3623. 
"  SCOTCH  WHIST,"  s63b  (also,  j^ob). 
Sebring,  James  L. ,  I36b,  2923,  44ob,  sub. 
SECOND  HAND,  3643. 
Second  hand,  fourchette  a  defense  for, 

i84b. 

Second  hand,  play  of,  47gb. 
SECOND  HAND  SIGNAL,  3653. 
Seeing   the   hand.    See,  "Looking  Over  a 

Hand." 

Seeley,  J.  B.,  4903. 
SEE-SAW,  365^ 
SELF-PLAYING  CARDS,  36sb. 
SEMI-HONORS,  36sb. 
SEQUENCE,  3663.. 
Sequence,  leading  from  a,  1263. 
SET,  3663. 
SEVEN-POINT    GAME,    THE,   3663    (also, 

496b). 

SEVEN-SPOT,  3663. 
Seymour,  S.,  57b. 
SHAKESPEARE  AND  WHIST,  3663. 
Shea,  J.  J.,  3123. 
SHELBY,    Miss    ANNIE    BLANCHE,    36;b 

(also,  42jb,  4.1)10]. 
Shepard,  E.  H.,  3683. 
Shepherd,  W.,  393. 
Sherwood,  A.  C.,  5033. 
SHORT  SUIT,  s68b. 
Short-suit  call  for  trumps,  456b. 
SHORT-SUITER,  368b  (also,  2710). 
Short-suit  (forced)  leads,  i8ab. 
SHORT-SUIT  GAME,  THE,  3693  (also,  1820,, 

1830,  2o6b,  288b,328b,  4O2b). 
Short-suit  ideas,  416,  2653. 
Short-suit  lesd  not  generally  3pplicable, 

373b. 

SHORT-SUIT  LEADS,  FOSTER'S,  377b. 
SHORT-SUIT  LEADS,  HOWELL'S,  38ib. 
SHORT-SUIT  LEADS,  KEILEY'S,  3833. 
SHORT-SUIT  LEADS,  STARNES',  3843. 
SHORT-SUIT  LEADS,  TORMEY'S,  387^ 
Short-suit  play,  looa. 
Short-suit  plsy,  essence  of,  4i4b. 
Short  suits,   choice  of  lead  from,    loob, 

io2a. 

SHORT  WHIST,  388b  (also,  3090,  4950). 
Short  whist  without  honors,  1790. 
Showing  no  more  of  suit,  374b. 
Showing  number  of  trumps  after  a  sig- 
nal, 46ib. 
Showing  number  of  trumps   by  signal, 

46ib. 
Showing  strength,  3743,  3753. 


Showing  trump  strength,  4583. 

SHUFFLING,  38gb  (also,  2336,  2380,  2620). 

Shwab,  J.  E.,  39b. 

Sibour,  Vicomtesse  de,  44b,  523b. 

Sick  whist,  5293. 

SIGN,  agob. 

SIGNAL,  sgob. 

SIGNAL  AFTER  A  LEAD,  3913. 

Signal  for  trumps.  See,  "Trump  Sig- 
nal." 

SIGNAL,  MISTAKING  THE,  39ia. 

Signal,  plain-suit,  3isb. 

SIGNALING  GAME,  THE,  3913. 

Signsling,  when  is  a  player  justified  in, 
4563. 

Signals,  328b. 

Signals,  conventional,  io3b. 

Signals,  eschewing  all  conventional, 
378b. 

SIGNS,  392b. 

SILENCE,  392b. 

Silence  essential  to  whist,  4943. 

SINGLE,  3933. 

SINGLE  DISCARD  CALL  FOR  TRUMPS,  3933. 

Single-table  duplicate.  See,  "Duplicate 
Whist,  Schedules  for  Playing." 

Single-table  duplicate,  Isws  of,  1403. 

SINGLETON,  3933  (also,  4790). 

Singleton  lead,  2653,  2723,  sSsb. 

SITTING,  3943. 

SIX-SPOT,  3943. 

Six  trumps,  lead  from,  45ob. 

Six  trumps,  repeating  the  signal  to  show, 
46ob. 

Six  trumps,  showing,  3913. 

Sixth  sense  developed  by  whist,  4043. 

SKILL,  394b  (also,  730,  4670). 

Skill,  experiment  to  determine,  1330. 

SLAM,395b. 

Slavens,  L.  C.,  5143. 

Slous,  F.  L.,  348b. 

Smsll  card,  lead  of,  2723. 

SMALL  CARDS,  3963. 

Small  cards,  vslue  of,  52b. 

Small  suit  opening,  4173. 

Smith,  Adam,  843. 

Smith,  Arthur  D.,  34b,  268b. 

Smith,  Beverley  W.,  34b,  1743,  268b,  35ob, 
4893. 

Smith,  Cecil,  543. 

Smith,    E.    LeRoy,    31  b,  383,  1143,  1743, 

532b- 

Smith,  J.  K.,  4903. 
Smith,  Wilbur  F.,  353,  1743. 
SMOKING  WHILE  PLAYING,  3963. 
SNEAK  LEAD,  3g6b  (also,  3930). 
Snow,  C.  F.,  363,  383,  I73b. 
Snyder,  Mrs.  Baird,  5223. 
Snyder,  Miss  Edith,  425b. 
"  SOLO  WHIST,"  397b. 
"  Sorters,"  8a. 
Sorting  cards.    See,  "  Cards,  Arrangement 

of." 

SOUND  PLAY,  3983. 
SOUTH,  398b. 
Southey,  Robert,  4503. 
Sowdon,  William,  5120. 


550 


INDEX 


SPADES,  398b. 

SPECIAL  TRUMP  LEAD,  3g8b. 

SPECIAL  TRUMP-SUIT  LEADS,  3993. 

SPEECH  AT  A  WHIST  DINNER,  3993. 

SPOTS,  3ggb. 

Sprague,  O.  M.  W.,  5033. 

SPREAD,  4003. 

Springer,  C.  H.,  393. 

Stael,  Madame  de,  853. 

Stafford,  Harry  F.,  1523. 

STAKES,    4003     (also,    igib,     2736,    3890, 

41 20). 

Stakes,  A.  W.  L.  opposed  to,  303,  323. 
Standard  of  play  wanted,  35b. 
Stanley,  blind  organist,  543. 
STARNES,  VAL.  W.,  4023  (also,  580,  3726, 

42?b). 

Starnes'  short-suit  leads,  3843. 
Steele,  J.  N.,  1743. 
Steinitz,  446b. 
Stephens,  F.  H.,  5293. 
Stevens,  Harry  S.,  1748,  z83b,  3013,  5083. 


STILL  PACK,  4033. 

"c,  turnn 
Stock",  352b. 


Still  pack, 


ng  trump  from  a,  44gb. 


Stockley,  Edith  Keeley,  32ib. 

STOW,  BOND,  403b  (also.  i$b,  4836). 

St.  Paul  Chess  and  Whist  Club,  333,  88b. 

STRAIGHT  WHIST,  4053. 

STRAIN  OF  WHIST,  THE,  4053. 

STRANGERS,  PLAYING  WITH,  4osb. 

Stratagem,  iy7b. 

STRATEGY,  4063  (also,  3320,  4i8b,  ^4270, 
4640,  46$b,  47ib,  4806). 

STRBET  ATTACHMENT,  4083. 

STREET,  CHARLES  STUART,  4073  (also, 
$8b,  27/6,  3720,  3876,  4236,  42sb,  4290). 

Street,  W.  J.,  1743. 

STREETER  DIAMOND  MEDAL,  4083  (also, 
300). 

STRENGTH,  4083  (also,  4310). 

STRENGTHENING  CARDS,  4083. 

Strength  or  weakness,  informing  partner 
oC339b. 

Strength  or  weakness,  lead  from,  I2ib. 

Strength  signal.    See,  "Plain-Suit  Signal." 

Strong  and  weak  cards,  68b. 

Strongest  suit,  original  lead  from,  i8oa. 

Strong  hand,  play  of  the,  3183,  3798. 

STRONG  SUIT,  4o8b. 

Stuart,  A.,  443. 

Study,  systematic,  recommended,  1673. 

Study  table,  a,  4oob. 

STUDY  WHIST,  4o8b  (also,  950,2780). 

SUB-ECHO,  4ogb  (also,  4450). 

Subordinate  leagues.  See,  "Auxiliary  As- 
sociations." 

SUB-SNEAK,  4iob. 

SUIT,  4iob. 

Suit  echo.    See,  "Plain-Suit  Echo." 

Suit,  not  following,  3393. 

SUIT  PLACING,  4iob. 

SUIT  SIGNAL,  4123. 

SUMNER,  CHARLES,  AT  WHIST,  4123  (-also, 
8sb). 

"  Sun,  the  New  York,"  37ob,  4908. 

SUPERSTITION,  4i2b. 


SUPPORTING  CARD  GAME,  4143  (also,  2260, 

279a,335b,375a). 
Surplus  card,  2873. 

Swabbers.    See,  " Whisk  and  Swabbers." 
"  SWEDISH  WHIST,"  4140. 
Swift,  Dean,  84b. 
Swift,  Mrs.  Lucian,  523b,  5253. 
Swing,  Dr.  Dsvid,  84b. 
"  Swings,"  36ab,  4993. 
SYSTEM,  4153  (also,  4996). 
SYSTEM,  MIXED,  4i6b. 
Systems  of  play,  harmonizing,  33b,  350. 

TABLE,  4183. 

Table,  forming,  2333. 

Table  of  American  leads,  na. 

Tsble  of  American  leads,  with  changes, 

143,  isa. 

Table  for  post-mortems,  3283. 
Tables,  arrangement  of.    See,  "Duplicate 

Whist,  Schedules  for  Playing." 
Tables  in  first  duplicate  whist  contest, 

1343. 

Tsctics,  guerilla,  1963. 
TACTICS,  WHIST,  4i8b. 
Take  the  trick  as  cheaply  as  possible, 

i88b. 

TAKING  A  FORCE,  4193. 
TAKING  IN  THE  TRICKS,  4193  (also,  4410). 
Taking  partner's  trick,  1953. 
TAKING  UP  CARDS  DURING  THE  DEAL, 

4i9b. 

TALKING  AT  WHIST,  4203. 
TALLEYRAND'S  MOT,  4203  (also,  830). 
Talmadge,  Henry  P.,  1743. 
Tatnall,  George,  3oib,  5083. 
Taylor,  A.  E.,  i73b,  489^  5083. 
TEACHERS  OF  WHIST,  42ob. 
Teaching  whist,  Miss  Wheelock's  method 

of,  4743. 
TEAM,  426b. 

Team  against  team,  1313. 
Team-of-four  matches,  1373. 
Team-of-six  matches,  soib,  5O2b. 
Teams,  schedules  for,  1533. 
TECHNICAL  TERMS,  4266. 
Telegraph,  whist  match  by,  sogb. 
TEMPER,  CONTROL  OF,  4273. 
Ten.    See,  "Ten-Spot." 
TENACE,  4273  (also,  3040). 
Tenace,  play  illustrated,  3863. 
Ten-lead.  i4b,  I97b,  272b,  3843,  404b,  4i6b, 

4463  (also,  sef,  "Ten-Spot"). 
Ten-lesd,  substituting  fourth  best  for  the, 

133,  i^7b. 

Ten  or  nine,  lead  of,  Howell's,  3&2b. 
Ten-point  game,  i8oa. 
TEN-SPOT,  428!). 
Ten-spot  considered  3s  3n  honor,  i77b, 

2045. 

TEXT-BOOK,  42gb. 

THACKERAY  ON  WHIST,  42gb  (also,so6a). 
Thayer,  N.  P.,  393. 
THEORY,  4303. 
Theory  snd  practice,  328*. 
Theory  of  duplicste,  true,  nsb. 
THIRD  HAND,  43ob  (also.  4800). 


INDEX 


551 


THIRTEENTH  CARD,  4323. 
THIRTEENTH  TRUMP,  432!). 
Thompson,  L.  C.,  5145. 
Thompson,  Mrs.  O.  D.,  523!). 
THOMSON,  ALEXANDER,  432b  (also,  2130, 

32ob,  4840). 
THREE-SPOT,  43sb. 
Three  three-card  suits  and  four  trumps, 

lead  from,  3875. 

THREE-TRUMP  ECHO,  4333  (also,  1970). 
Three  trumps,  not  more  than,  showing, 

4096. 

THROWING  CARDS  DOWN,  4350. 
THROWING  THE  LEAD,  4363  (also,  4j2b). 
Thurston,  C.  S.,  scab. 
Thwaits,  C.  F.,  5033. 
TIB,  4363. 
TIERCE,  4363. 
Ties  in  cutting,  noa. 

"TlRESIAS,"  43&b. 

Toledo  Whist  Club,  383. 

Toledo  Yachting  Association,  38b. 

"Tom  Jones,"  whist  in,  iy6b. 

Top  of  nothing,  3748,  3753,  3843. 

TOP-OF-NOTHING  LEAD,  4s6b. 

Top-of-nothing    lead,    objection    to,  the, 

looa. 

Top-of-nothing  lead,  origin  of,  2293. 
TORMEY,  P.  J.,  4360   (also,  736,  340,  36b, 

460,  1136,   174(1,   i86b,  2230,  35ob,  jfaa, 

j6Sa,  4i$b,  4850.,  488b,  49ib). ' 
Tormey's      short-suit      (forced)      leads, 

3876. 

Toulmin,  Mrs.  Harry,  4713,   5233,    524b, 
,     53oa. 

TOURNAMENT,  4403. 
Tournament  play  at  colleges,  5023. 
Tournament,  Woman's  Whist,  5223. 
TOURNEE,  44ob. 
Tourney.     See,  "Tournament." 
Town  3nd  Gown  Club,  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  5053. 
Townsend,  IJ.  P.,  303,  4083,  47ob. 
Townsend,  Mrs.  H.  C.,  5233. 
Townsend,  Samuel,  1743. 
Trainor,  William,  1743. 
Transition  period,  whist  passing  through 

a,  257b. 

TRAY,  44ob  (also,  1300). 
TREBLE,  44013. 
TREY,  4413. 
TRICK,  4413. 

Trick,  failing  to  play  to  a,  2873. 
TRICK-LOSING  LEADS,  4423. 
Trick-losing  plsy,  900,  I97b,    3653,   4423, 

4583. 

Trick,  quitted,  3363. 
Trick-taking    power,    giving   a,    to   low 

cards,  4413. 

TRICK-TAKING  VALUE  OF  CARDS,  442b. 
Tricks,  323b. 

Tricks,  counting  total  number  of,  2023. 
Tricks    instead  of  games  and  rubbers, 

2733. 

Tricks,  taking  in,  4193. 
Tricks,  winning  sll  the,  395b. 
Tricks  won,  plscing  cards  of,  8a. 
"  TRIPLE-DUMMY,"  4433. 


TRIST,  NICHOLAS  BROWSE,  4433  (also,  MM, 
i$b,  i8b,  206,  zib,  300,  310,  340,  42b,  430, 
2240,  1350,  1740,  1770,  1870,  2040,  2326, 
2440,  4oob,  4200,  4290,  4386,  483  b,  488b, 
496a,sisb). 

Trist,  N.  P.,  443b. 

Trist,  Miss,  42sb,  52jb. 

Trist  Whist  Club,  Philadelphia,  4ib,  4713, 
5o6b,  52ib,  524b. 

Trollope,  Anthony,  853,  2693,  5063. 

Trollope,  Mrs.,  853. 

TROPHY,  447b. 

TRUE  CARDS,  448b. 

Trumbull,  H.,  3ib,  iggb,  283b,  5083. 

Trumbull,  Perry,  25ob,  3053. 

Trump,  are,  nor  court  card.  See,  "New 
Deal,  Not  Entitled  to  a." 

TRUMP  ATTACK,  44»b. 

TRUMP-CARD,  4493  (also,  234b,  24ob). 

Trump  card  at  duplicate,  1386. 

Trump  cut  from  a  still  pack,  593,  334b, 
4033. 

Trump,  declared,  ii2b. 

"TRUMP,   JR.,   A.,"  44gb  (also,  580,1600, 


TRUMP-LEAD,  ORIGINAL,  4sob. 

TRUMP  MANAGEMENT,  45ib. 

Trump  misers,  4603. 

Trump  or  discard,  1223. 

Trump,  permanent,  1133. 

Trump-play,   curious,    by    "Cavendish," 

4473. 

Trump,  refusing  to,  3393. 
TRUMP-SHOWING  LEADS,  452b  (also,  4i7b). 
TRUMP  SIGNAL,  4543  (also,  520,  n6b,  1690, 

39ob,  4.47b}. 
Trump  signal,  first  published  reference 

to,  68b. 

Trump  signsl,  new  use  for,  4083. 
Trump  signal,  noting,  3o6b. 
Trump  signal,  responding  to,  4563. 
TRUMP  SIGNAL  TO  SHOW  NO  MORE  OF  A 

SUIT,  4583. 

TRUMP  STRENGTH,  SHOWING,  4583. 
TRUMP  SUIT,  458b. 
Trump-suit  leads,  special,  3993. 
Trump,  superfluous,  getting  rid  of  a,  1953, 

3063. 
TRUMP,  TURNING,  FROM  A  STILL  PACK, 

449b. 

TRUMPING  A  DOUBTFUL  TRICK,  4503. 
TRUMPING  IN,  45ob  (also,  4800). 
"TRUMPS,"  458b  (also,  570,  $7b,  3350). 
TRUMPS,  4593. 
Trumps,  average  number  of,  held  by  each 

player,  3313. 
Trumps,  four,  five,  or  six  small,  no  good 

plain  suit,  lead  from,  3883. 
Trumps,  leading,  2893,  448b. 
Trumps,  lesding,  short,  4173. 
Trumps,  management  of,  4813. 
TRUMPS,  NOT  LEADING,  4603. 
TRUMPS,    REPEATING    THE    SIGNAL   TO 

SHOW  Six,  46ob. 
TRUMPS,  RETURNING,  4613. 
Trumps,  seven  small,  and  no  good  plain 

suit,  3883. 


INDEX 


Trumps,  short-suit  call  for,  456!). 

TRUMPS,  SHOWING  NUMBER  OF,  AFTER 
A  SIGNAL,  46ib. 

TRUMPS,  SHOWING  NUMBER  OF,  BY  SIG- 
NAL, 46ib. 

TRUMPS,  SHOWING  NUMBER  OF,  ON  AD- 
VERSARY'S LEAD,  4623. 

Trumps,  uses  of,  4593. 

Trumps,  weak,  leading,  3748. 

Trumps,  when  to  call  for,  4563. 

Turf  Club,  4873  (also,  see,  "Arlington 
Club"). 

Turning  trump.    See,  "Trump  Card." 

TURN-UP,  46zb. 

TWELFTH  CARD,  4633. 

Twenty-sir  cards,  playing,  zgsb. 

Two  cards,  playing,  to  one  trick,  3i8b. 

Two-handed  whist.  See,  "  Double-Dum- 
my" and"  German  Whist." 

TWO-SPOT,  463^. 

Two-spot,  playing  a,  as  a  sub-echo,  4103. 

Two  TRUMPS  FOR  ONE,  4643. 

UNBLOCKING,  4643  (also,  toib,  so6b,  34ob, 

3300,  4440-). 

UNDERPLAY,  46sb  (also,  2040). 
UNDERTRUMPING,  4663. 
Unfair  advantage,  4i9b. 
Unfairness,  intentional,  how  dealt  with, 

23ib. 

Unguarding  and  blanking,  wb. 
Unintentional,   infraction    of  laws    and 

rules  supposed  to  be,  232b. 
Universities,    a/hist    in.    See,  "  Whist    in 

Colleges  and  Universities.''' 
University  Whist  Club,  Chicago,  jib,  1993. 
Unnecessarily  high  card,  play  of  an,  goa. 
UNSCIENTIFIC  PLAY,  466b. 
UP-AND-BACK  GAME.  466b. 
UP  AND  DOWN.  466b  (also,  3840). 
Useless  cards,  throwing  away,  i  :6a. 
Uses  of  trumps,  4593. 

Value  of  cards,  trick-taking,  442b. 

VALUE  OF  GOOD  PLAY,  4673. 

Value  of  the  game,  359b. 

VARIAN,  S.  T.,  4673  (also, 

Variations  in  the  play  of  a  baud,  476b. 

Varieties  of  whist,  5i6b. 

Victoris  Club,  Toronto,  team  from,  713. 

VAUTRE,  BARON  DE,  46^  (also,  576,   295 

2960,  3460). 
VICE-TENACE,  467b. 
VIENNA  GRAND  COUP,  467^ 
VISITING  TEAM,  468b. 
Vivant,  2523. 
VOID,  468b. 
Von  Moltke  and  his  last  slam,  83b. 

WAGER-SMITH,  MRS  ELIZABETH,  468b. 

Wagers,  I27b,  i68b. 

WAITING  GAME.  4693. 

Walbrook  Whist  Club,   Baltimore,   4i7 

4543- 

Walker,  Mrs.  J.  M.,  523*). 
Walker,  W.  J.,  3ib,  32b,  383,  I73b,  i99b. 


WALLACE,  MRS.  HENRY  EDWARD,  4693 
(also,  44b,  3220,  3486,  4240,  4256,  4gob, 
4990,  5'3b,S24b). 

Wsller,  J.  L.,  sib,  1993. 

Waller,  W.,  jib,  ig9b. 

W3lls,  Dr.  George,  s8b,  393,  1743,  4923. 

Walls,  Mrs.  George;  53 

WALTON,  JOHN  M.,  4703  (also,  310,  320, 

522b). 

Wsrd,  H.  H.,  1743. 

Wsre,  Eugene,  32ib. 

Warren,  Sam,  4853. 

WASHINGTON  TROPHY,  4713  (also,  5340). 

Washington  ladies  at  whist,  5293. 

Waterhouse,  Mrs.  C.  S.,  393. 

Wstermsn,  Mrs.  Hattie,  44b. 

Wstson,  F.  P.,  583,  68a,  3360. 

Watson,  W.  H.,  1743. 

Wayne  Whist  Club,  393. 

Weakening  the  adversary,  i8ia. 

WEAK  MOVE,  4713. 

WEAKNESS,  4713. 

Weskness,  concealing,  47ib. 

Weskness,    exhibition     of,    disadvsnta- 

geous,  i69b,  453b,  46  tb,  49gb. 
WEAK  SUIT,  47ib. 
Weems,  R.   H.,  32b,  343,  36b,  483,  1743, 

2233,  4473,  472b,  489b). 
"  Welsh  honor,  the,"  I77b. 
WEST,  47ib. 

Westminster  Club,  2763. 
"WESTMINSTER    PAPERS,"    47ib    (also, 

t6oa,  2750). 
Weston,  J.  W.,  393. 

Wetherill,  Mrs.  John  Price,  3133,  5240. 
Whallon,  J.  F..  313.  1993. 
Wheeler,  W.  H.,  3ib. 
Wheelock,  H.  M.,  489^ 
WHEELOCK,  Miss  KATE,  4723  (also,  440, 

73°,  3250,  39ob,  4206,  42sb,  4340,  4386, 


Whelan,  T.  A.,  343,  I73b,  iggb. 

When  in  doubt,  old  and  new  advice,  loza, 

i22a. 

"WHISK  AND  SWABBERS,"  476b. 
WHIST,  476b. 
"  WHIST,"  4823. 
WHIST  ANALYST,  48jb. 
Whist  and  old  age,  4203. 
WHIST  :  A  POEM    IN   TWELVE   CANTOS, 

4843. 

WHIST  AS  A  HOME  GAME,  4843. 
Whist  as  3n  aid  in  studying  law,  4853. 
WHIST  AS  AN  EDUCATOR,  484b. 
Whist  a  trois,  2743. 
Whist  books.    See,   "Books  on  Whist." 
Whist  centre  of  Europe,  77b. 
Whist   Club,  the  New  York,    34b,     88b, 

383b. 

WHIST  CLUBS,  4863  (also,  46). 
Whist  committee,  duties  of,  4863. 
WHIST  COMPARED  WITH  CHESS,  4873. 
Whist,  early  definition  of,  3523. 
WHIST  EDITORS,  4883. 
Whist  editors  who  fsvor  the  short-suit 

game,  4923. 
"  Whist  Empress,"  7b. 


INDEX 


553 


Whist  for  its  own  sake,  igab,  2320,  26oa, 

273b,  4oob. 

WHIST,  HISTORY  OF,  4933. 
Whist  in  America,  1693,  4963. 
WHIST  IN  ART,  soob. 
Whist  in  Canada,  yib. 
WHIST  IN  COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES, 

5013. 

WHIST  IN  FRANCE,  5053  (also,  igoa). 
WHIST  IN  NOVELS,  sosb. 
Whist  in  the  public  schools.    See,  "  Whist 

as  an  Educator." 
WHIST  LESSON  CARDS,  5063. 
Whist  lessons,  prices  charged  for,  425b. 
Whist-markers,  3603. 
WHIST  MATCH  BETWEEN  WOMEN,  5o6b. 
WHIST    MATCH    BY   CORRESPONDENCE, 

5o6b. 

WHIST  MATCH  BY  TELEGRAPH,  5ogb. 
Whist,  meaning  of  the  word,  4y6b,  493b. 
WHIST  MEMORY,  siob. 
Whistograph,  the,  4763. 
"  WHISTON,  PROFESSOR,"  5100. 
WHIST  PACK,  siob. 
WHIST  PARTY,  51  la. 
WHIST  PATENTS,  51  ta. 
Whist-play,  object  of,  28ib. 
Whist  played  by  three  players,  I28b. 
"  WHIST  POPES,  THE,"  515^ 
Whist,  probabilities  of,  33ob. 
"Whist  Queen."     See,    " Wheelock,    Miss 

Kate." 

WHIST  RECEIVED  AT  COURT,  Sisb. 
Whist  revival,  42ob,  528b. 
WHIST,  SCHOOLS  OF,  5i6a. 
WHIST  SEASON,  THE,  5163. 
WHIST  SENSE,  5i6b. 
Whist  strategy.    See,  "Strategy." 
Whist  unknown  to  Shakespeare,  3663. 
WHIST,  VARIETIES  OF,  5i6b. 
WHIST  WITHOUT  A  TRUMP,  5173. 
WHISTER,  5i7b. 
White,  Charles  E.,  5i2b. 
White,  Charles  P.,  4923. 
White,  Horatio  S.,  5053. 
"  WHITECHAPEL  PLAY,"  5i7b. 
WHITFELD,  WILLIAM  H.,  5i7b  (also,  2ia, 

350,  izoa,  I45b,  268f>,sj2a,  44?a). 
Whitfeld    problem.    See,  "Whitfeld,    W, 

H." 


Whitmore,  C.  E.,  5033. 

"Who   dealt?"   an   irregular   question, 

i66a. 

Wiley,  G.  P.,  so2b. 
William  III,  of  Germany,  Sib. 
Williams,  Mrs.  Charles,  5220,  5233. 
Williams,  Mrs.  William  J.,  5223. 
Wilson,  F.  S.,  s8b. 
WINNING  CARD,  5213. 
Winning  card  to  be  returned   at  once, 

34oa. 

Win  on  their  merits,  trumps,  364b. 
"  WIN  THE  REST,"  5213. 
Wintour,  Major,  i62b. 
Wister,  Mrs.  Rodman,  4713,  523b,  524b. 
Witherle,  C.  B.,  3053. 
WolflFsohn,  S.,  44b. 
Woman's  whist  clubs,  4b,  53. 
Woman's  whist  congress,  $2ib. 
WOMAN'S  WHIST  LEAGUE,  52ib. 
Woman's  Whist  League  trophies,  4483. 
Woman's  whist  tournament,  first,  4ib. 
WOMEN  AS  WHIST  AUTHORS.  5263. 
WOMBN  AS  WHIST-PLAYERS,  5273. 
Wood,  Mrs.  E.  I*.,  SCKjb. 
Wood,  J.  H.,  1743. 
Woodward,  A.  H.,  5123. 
Wooten,  J.  P.,  sob,  7ob,  I73b,   1943,  1993, 

5o8a. 
WORK,  MILTON  C.,  5313  (also,  ija,  34a,  3$, 

$8b,  Jjsa,  ijjb,  i8$a,   I97b,  7996,  288a, 

3i6a,  3650,  j^zl>,jgia,  4290,  4340,  442a, 

452b,  454a,4s&a,  46ra,46ib,  4620,  4836, 

4886,  4Qob,  srib.  5240.). 
Work,  Mrs.  Milton  C.,  5230. 
Wright,  W.  N. ,  Jr.,  393. 
Wright,  W.  W.,344b. 
Wyatville,  Lady,  5283. 

X,  53ib. 

Y.  532a. 

Yale,  whist  at,  5013. 
YARBOROUGH,  5323. 
YOUNG  PLAYERS,  533b. 
YOUNGER  HAND,  533b. 

Z, 533b. 
Zuckertort,  446b. 


APPENDIX  FOR  1899: 

Containing  Additional  Information  to  date. 


See  page  561  for  the 

Dcio  Laws  of  Duplicate  lilhisf. 


It  is  the  intention  of  the  publishers  to  issue  an  ANNUAL 

APPENDIX,  containing  all  new  information,  changes, 

etc.,  to  the  end  of  each  year,  and  supply 

it  to   such  subscribers  who   desire 

it  at  the  nominal  price  of 

Twenty-five  Cents. 


(555) 


OFFICERS  OF 

Hmerican  Qdhist  League 

Elected  at  the  Eighth  Annual  Congress,  held  in 
Boston,  July  11-16,  1898. 

President—^.  LEROY  SMITH,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Vice  President — B.  I,.  RICHARDS,  Rock  Rapids,  la. 

Recording  Secretary— CLARENCE  A.  HENRIQUES,  New  York  City.. 

Corresponding  Seeretary— -L.  G.  PARKER,  Toledo,  O. 

Treasurer — JOHN  T.  MITCHELL,  Chicago,  111. 

Directors—  (Three  years),  HON.  GEORGE  L>  BUNN,  St.  Paul,  Minn.;  E.  C.  FLETCHER, 
West  Newton,  Mass.;  JOSEPH  S.  NEFF,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  J.  EBERHARD 

FABER,  Staten  Island,  N.  Y. 
Director—  (One  year),  WILLIAM  E.  TALCOTT,  Cleveland,  O. 


OFFICERS  OF 

The  QDfomen's  Gttbist  League 

Re-elected  at  the  Second  Annual  Congress,  held  at 
Philadelphia,  May  26-28,  1898. 

President — MRS.  JOSEPH  R.  HAWLEY,  Hartford,  Conn. 

First  Vice-President — MRS.  CLARENCE  BROWN,  Toledo,  O. 
Second  Vice-President — MRS.  WALDO  ADAMS,  Boston. 

Secretary— MRS.  O.  D.  THOMPSON,  Allegheny  City,  Pa. 

Treasurer — MRS.  SILAS  W.  PETTIT,  Philadelphia. 

Governors— MRS.  EMLBN  T.  LITTELL,  New  York ;  MRS.  C.  H.  REEVES,  Baltimore  ; 
MRS.  J.  P.  WETHERILL,  Philadelphia;  MRS.  J.  M.  WALKER,  Denver;  MRS.  O. 
W.  POTTER,  Chicago ;  MRS.  HENRY  E.  WATERMAN,  St.  Louis ;  MRS.  WILLIAM 
ENDICOTT,  Boston  (who  subsequently  resigned,  Miss  KATE  WHEELOCK  being 
elected  her  successor);  MRS.  GEORGE  E.  BATES,  San  Francisco;  Miss  SUSAN 
D.  BIDDLE  Detroit;  MDE.  DE  SIBOITR,  Washington,  D.  C.;  MRS.  M.  J.  McCow- 
NKLL,  Brooklyn,  and  MRS.  LUCIEN  SWIFT,  Minneapolis. 

(556) 


APPENDIX  TO  JANUARY  i,  1899. 


The  Eighth  American  Whist 
Congress  was  called  to  order  in 
the  Hotel  Vendome,  Boston,  Mass., 
July  ii,  1898,  by  the  president, 
Henry  A.  Mandell.  In  his  an- 
nual address  Mr.  Mandell  referred 
to  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
System  of  Play  as  "  by  far  the  most 
important  business  that  has  claimed 
the  attention  of  the  League  in 
recent  years,"  adding: 

"The  league  may  properly  indicate 
certain  lines  of  play  that  we  may  recom- 
mend as  proper  to  follow  under  usual 
and  ordinary  circumstances.  One  of  the 
master  theorists  of  whist  has  written  : 
'Whist  conventions  are  in  accordance 
with,  and  are  suggested  by,  principle. 
Indeed,  all  established  conventions  of  the 
game  are  so  chosen  as  to  harmonize  with 
play  that  would  naturally  be  adopted  in- 
dependently of  convention.'  It  is  these 
conventions,  based  upon  reason  and  the 
accumulated  experience  of  seasoned  ex- 
perts, that  should  now  be  promulgated 
by  the  League  and  recommended  to  be- 
ginners. We  should  in  no  wise  attempt 
to  dictate  to  any  player  that  he  must 
adopt  any  system  of  play,  nor  advance 
the  idea  that  the  principles  recommended 
are  infallible,  for  the  League  should  sin- 
cerely encourage  original  investigation 
and  warmly  welcome  its  successful  fruit. 
A  second  equally  as  strong  reason  for 
adopting  some  system  of  play  as  a  stan- 
dard is  the  aid  it  will  give  teams,  com- 
peting in  League  contests,  in  defining 
their  game.  The  right  is  now  given 
players  to  inquire,  at  proper  times,  of 
their  adversaries  what  system  of  play 
they  follow,  The  difficulty  of  explaining 
in  detail,  in  a  conversation  lasting  but  a 
few  minutes,  some  well-known  system, 
has  already  brought  some  trouble  to  the 
League  by  some  ill-advised  friends  of  con- 
testants charging  what  happily  the  con- 
testants themselves  did  not  endorse. 
Without  some  League  standard  of  play, 
as  a  basis  of  explanation  of  particular 
systems  advocated,  there  is  grave  reason 


to  fear  troubles  that  may  shake  the  very 
peace  of  the  League." 

It  was  resolved  that  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  System  of  Play 
be  postponed  for  the  consideration 
of  the  Ninth  Congress. 

The  report  follows: 

REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  SYSTEM 

PLAY. 
To  the  President  and  members  of  the  A. 

W.  L. 

Gentlemen  : — The  committee  appointed 
at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
Whist  League,  in  Brooklyn,  1896,  to  pre- 
pare and  recommend  a  system  of  play 
which  might  be  endorsed  by  the  League 
at  some  subsequent  meeting,  with  a  view 
to  the  establishment  of  a  uniform  method 
of  play,  begs  to  submit  herewith  its 
report. 

First  of  all,  your  committee  desires  to 
express  its  conviction  that  what  is  com- 
monly known  as  the  long-suit  system  at 
whist  is  the  most  scientific,  is  productive 
of  the  highest  intellectual  pleasure,  and 
is  the  most  successful  in  respect  to  trick- 
making.  Your  committee  therefore 
recommends  this  system. 

It  recommends  also  that  this  system  be 
initiated  and  carried  forward  by  the  use 
of  the  number-showing  leads,  the  second, 
third  and  fourth-hand  plays,  the  conven- 
tional discards  and  signals,  all  of  which 
constitute  what  is  commonly  known  as 
the  system  of  American  leads. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  theory  of  the 
long-suit  system  should  pervade  every 
hand  from  the  first  card  played  until  the 
last,  it  is  also  evident  that  detailed 
methods  of  carrying  that  system  forward 
must,  in  the  great  majority  of  hands,  be 
limited  to  the  first  two  or  three  rounds. 
Reason,  fortified  by  experience,  can  indi- 
cate in  detail  methods  by  which  the  attack 
should  be  commenced,  and  as  well  the  de- 
tails of  the  beginning  of  the  defence  or  the 
counter  attack.  But  after  the  play  of  the 
hand  is  fairly  under  way  its  development 
must,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  left 
almost  entirely  to  the  individual  judg- 
ment of  the  player. 


(557) 


558 


APPENDIX 


A  few  general,  and  for  the  most  part 
obvious,  rules  may  be  given  for  leading 
trumps,  for  abandoning  one's  suit  and 
playing  for  partner's,  or  the  reverse,  for 
forcing  or  refusing  to  force,  but  the  vast 
majority  of  situations  after  the  play  of 
the  hand  is  commenced  must  be  resolved 
by  each  whist-player  for  himself. 

Your  committee  therefore  understands 
that  its  work  will  be  completed  when  it 
recommends  a  system  of  original  leads, 
second,  third  and  fourth-hand  plays  to 
such  leads,  return  leads  by  partner,  sec- 

ORIGINAL  LEADS. 


ondary  leads,  and,  in  addition,  a  system 
of  discarding  to  show  strength  or  weak- 
ness, length,  command,  etc.  It  under- 
stands also  that  such  a  recommendation 
is  now  deemed  advisable  because  some 
minor,  and  for  the  most  part  unimpor- 
tant, differences  obtain  among  whist- 
players  who  use  the  long-suit  system, 
and  because  it  is  believed  that  uniformity 
in  these  details  would  enhance  alike  the 
value  and  the  pleasure  of  the  game. 

Your  committee  recommends  the  fol- 
lowing system  of  play: 

PLAIN  SUITS. 


Number  of 

cards  in  suit 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Lead. 

Lead. 

Lead. 

Lead. 

Holding. 

Follow. 

Follow. 

Follow. 

Follow. 

AKQJ 

KJ 

JA 

JK 

JQ 

AK  Q 

KQ 

QA 

QK 

QK 

A  K 

K  A 

A  K 

AK 

A  K 

A  Q  J 

AQ 

AJ 

AJ 

A  J 

A  Q  or  J 

4th 

4th 

A  4th 

A  4th 

A 

4th 

4th 

A  4th 

A  4th 

KQ  J 

K  J 

JK 

J  Q 

JQ 

K  Q 

K 

Q4th 

Q4th 

Q4th 

QJ  10 

10  Q 

10  J 

10  J 

10  J 

Holding  any  other  combination,  fourth 

In 

trumps,  open 

as  above,  except  as 

best. 

follows  . 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Lead. 

Lead. 

Lead. 

Lead. 

Holding. 

Follow. 

Follow. 

Follow. 

Follow. 

AK 

4th  K 

4th  K 

4th  K 

A  K 

AKJ 

4th  K 

4th  K 

AK 

AK 

A  K  10 

4th  K 

4th  K 

A  K 

AK 

AQor  J 

4th 

4th 

4th 

4th 

A 

4th 

4th 

4th 

4th 

KQ 

4th 

4th 

4th 

4th 

KQ  10 

4th 

4th 

Q 

Q 

Second-Hand  Plays  to  Original  Leads. 

Play  low,  on  low  card  led,  except  as 
follows : 

Holding  A  K  and  one  or  more  small, 
play  K  in  plain  suit. 

Holding  K  Q  and  one  small,  play  Q. 

Holding  Q  K  and  two  or  more  small, 
play  Q  in  plain  suits. 

Holding  Q  J  and  one  small,  play  J. 

Holding  J  10  and  one  small,  play  10. 

Holding  A  Q  J  and  one  or  more  small, 


lofding  A  Q  10  and  one  or  more  small 
in  plain  suit : 

The  play  of  the  small  cards  is  prefera- 
ble unless  you  want  the  lead,  and  hope 
by  playing  the  10  to  hold  the  trick  and 
then  lead  trumps  or  open  your  own  suit. 

If  opponents  have  opened  your  only 
strong  suit,  and  you  are  weak  in  trumps, 
and  the  remainder  of  your  hand  does  not 


warrant  a  short  lead  of  trumps  or  suit, 
play  low. 

Your  partner  has  an  even  chance  of 
winning  the  trick  fourth  hand,  and  he 
may  be  able  from  the  fall  of  the  cards  to 
place  the  tenace  in  the  suit  with  you.  The 
risk  of  third  hand  winning  the  trick 
cheaply  may  be  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  the  disadvantage  of  being 
left  in  the  lead  should  10  hold  the  trick. 

K  and  one,  play  king  only  on  9  led  in 
plain  suits. 

K  and  one,  play  king  in  trumps.  Cover 
high  card  led,  holding  a  fourchette. 

Simply  cover  original  lead,  when  hold- 
ing all  the  winning  cards,  as  determined 
by  Foster's  Eleven  Rule,  assuming  the 
card  led  to  be  the  fourth  best.  For  exam- 
ple, play  10  from  A  K  10  on  8  led  :  play  8 
from  A  Q  10  8  on  7  led,  etc. 

Holding  A  and  one  or  more  small, 
play  A  on  K  Q  or  J  led,  as  an  origiaal  lead. 


APPENDIX 


559 


Third-Hand  Play. 

Holding  A  Q  alone,  play  A,  return  Q. 

Holding  A  Q  and  others,  play  Q,  return 
A. 

Holding  A  K  and  two  or  more,  play  A, 
return  K. 

Holding  other  combinations,  play  high- 
est card  except  when  in  sequence,  then 
play  lowest  of  sequence. 

Holding  originally  three  of  partner's 
suit,  return  highest  remaining  in  hand. 
When  not  compelled  to  play  a  higher 
card  than  card  led,  holding  four  or  more 
of  suit,  play  third  best,  to  show  four  or 
more  and  to  unblock. 

On  winning  partner's  original  lead,  or 
when  next  in  the  lead,  return  partner's 
suit  at  once,  unless  holding  a  five-card 
suit  with  at  least  two  honors,  or  a  four- 
card  suit  with  at  least  three  honors.  The 
return  of  partner's  suit  becomes  more  im- 
perative, if  from  the  fall  of  the  cards 
he  has  presumably  led  from  a  five-card 
suit. 

Holding  five  of  suit. led  originally  by 
partner,  return  winner,  if  held,  otherwise 
original  fourth  best.  Always  return 
partner's  original  trump  lead. 

Fourth  hand  wins  the  trick  as  cheaply 
as  possible  and  opens  his  own  suit,  which 
is  generally  better  play  than  to  lead 
through  the  adversary's  suit. 

Holding  length  and  strength  in  the 
adversary's  suit,  a  trump  lead  is  some- 
times advisable  from  a  hand  that  would 
not  otherwise  warrant  an  original  lead  of 
trumps. 

Discard. 

When  trump  strength  is  declared  with 
partner,  discard  weakest  suit. 

When  trumps  are  led  by  adversary  dis- 
card strong  suit  ;  discard  to  show  com- 
mand when  holding  A  by  discarding  a 
higher  and  afterwards  playing  a  lower 
card  when  the  suit  is  led,  unless  obliged 
to  play  high.  For  example,  discard  4 
from  A  J  9  4  3  and  play  3  second  hand  on 
opponent's  lead,  or  third  hand  on  part- 
ner's lead  of  Q  or  10. 

Ordinarily  two  discards  from  your 
strong  suit  cannot  be  made  with  safety 
unless  you  hold  at  least  six  cards  in  the 
suit. 

Endeavor  to  protect  Q  twice  guarded 
and  J  or  10  thrice  guarded  of  the  suit  that 
Is  eyidently  your  opponent's  strong  suit. 

Discard  preparing  to  show  command 
when  holding  K  or  Q,  unless  cards  are  of 
such  value  that  the  discard  of  the  third  or 
fourth  best  is  likely  to  result  in  loss,  as  K. 
Q  10  2— four  in  suit. 

As  the  first  discard  on  adversary's  lead 
of  trumps  indicates  partner's  strong  suit, 
that  suit  should  be  led,  particularly  when 
holding  an  honor  or  a  finessing  card,  and 
also  when  the  size  of  the  card  discarded 


may  indicate  that  he  probably  has  com- 
mand, or  that  the  suit  is  likely  to  be  es- 
tablished on  the  first  round  ;  except  when 
holding  an  established  suit  of  your  own, 
and  in  that  event  his  suit  should  be  led 
before  parting  with  the  control  of  your 
own  suit.  In  leading  to  partner's  suit, 
lead  top  of  three  or  less.  Lead  A  from  four 
or  more  in  the  suit ;  from  other  combina- 
tions lead  same  as  "  original  plain-suit 
leads."  After  having  discarded  to  show 
strong  suit,  or  if  trumps  are  led  by  adver- 
sary after  you  have  shown  your  strong 
suit  by  an  original  lead,  discard  weakest 
suit. 

Subsequent  discards  should  be  made 
with  a  view  of  showing  command  if  held, 
as  6  from  A  6  4,  or  preparing  to  show 
command  or  re-entry,  as  4  from  K  or  Q  6 
4  2.  so  that  partner  may  know  which  suit 
to  lead  should  he  have  no  more  of  your 
original  strong  suit. 

Trump  Call. 

The  conventional  call  for  trumps  by 
playing  an  unnecessarily  high  card,  and 
afterwards  a  lower  card,  is  so  universally 
recognized  as  a  valuable  and  important 
adjunct  to  the  game  that  it  requires  no 
discussion  at  our  hands. 

Ordinarily  the  call  for  trumps  should 
be  made  when  the  hand  is  sufficiently 
strong  to  have  led  trumps  from  as  an 
original  lead,  except  when  holding  five 
small  trumps.  In  that  ease  it  is  obviously 
better  to  wait  and  lead  them  vourself, 
thereby  perhaps  enabling  partner  to  win 
with  an  honor  that  would  otherwise  be 
sacrificed  in  responding  to  a  call. 

Holding  four  or  more  trumps,  signal  in 
plain  suit,  if  partner  has  called  for 
trumps,  and  neither  of  you  has  been  in  to 
lead  them,  otherwise  he  would  infer  that 
you  hold  three  trumps  or  less. 

Trumps. 

Lead  from  five  or  more  trumps,  regard- 
less of  their  size  or  your  strength  in  plain 
suits.  This  is  not  intended  to  be  invio- 
lable, as  there  e.re  exceptional  hands 
when  any  good  player's  judgment  will 
dictate  a  different  line  of  play;  but  for  the 
majority  of  hands  having  the  original 
lead,  and  five  or  more  trumps,  the  trump 
lead  is  recommended. 

Four  small  trumps  and  no  suit  is  a 
speculative  hand,  and  the  trump  is  likely 
to  be  the  best  lead.  With  four  trumps 
and  a  four-card  plain  suit,  and  weak  side 
suits,  lead  the  plain  suit. 

On  Partner's  Original  Lead  of  Trumps. 

When  not  compelled  to  play  higher 
than  card  led,  holding  four  trumps,  play 
third  best  and  follow  with  fourth  best. 

With  five  or  more  trumps,  play  third 
best,  then  fourth  best,  holding  up  the 
small  card  or  cards. 


560 


APPENDIX 


Holding  three  or  less,  play  lowest. 

Holding  four  or  more  trumps,  some  of 
which  are  in  sequence,  as  10,  9,  8,  3,  play 
10  and  then  9,  whether  obliged  to  play 
higher  than  card  led  or  not.  On  partner's 
low  trump  led,  holding  four  or  more 
trumps,  including  the  turned  trump,  and 
one  or  more  in  sequence  above  the  turned 
trump,  as  Q  J  6  4  ( J  turned),  play  Q  to 
show  immediately  that  you,  have  four  or 
more. 

Holding  K  Q  and  two  or  three  trumps 
and  cards  of  immediate  re-entry  in  suit, 
play  K  on  partner's  low  trump  led,  and 
return  Q  if  K  holds  the  trick,  or  when 
next  in  the  lead. 

Without  cards  of  re-entry  in  suit,  the 
play  of  K,  if  won  by  A,  might  deter 
partner  from  going  on  with  the  trumps  if 
he  has  led  from  four,  as  he  would  be  likely 
to  place  Q  with  opponents. 

Return  of  Partner's  Original  Trump 
Lead. 

Return  winner,  if  held. 

Return  highest  if  you  held  three  or  less 
originally. 

Lowest  if  you  held  exactly  four. 

And  original  fourth  best,  if  you  held 
five  or  more. 

When  forced,  holding  five  trumps, 
trump  with  fifth  best  and  lead  fourth 
best,  if  hand  warrants  trump  lead. 

Holding  six  trumps,  trump  with  fifth 
best  and  lead  fourth  best,  holding  up 
sixth  best,  except  from  high  card  combi- 
nations, then  lead  accordingly. 

Holding  four  trumps,  trump  with  third 
best,  except  when  it  is  a  relatively  high 
card,  as  10  from  K  Q  10  3. 

If  partner  forces  again,  trump  with 
fourth  best,  or  if  he  leads  trumps,  and 
you  are  unable  to  hold  the  trick,  play 
fourth  best,  or,  if  you  hold  the  trick,  re- 
turn fourth  best.  Should  opponents  lead 
trumps  and  your  partner  hold  the  trick 
second  hand,  and  is  marked  with  a  losing 
card  in  adversaries'  suit  that  you  can 
trump,  play  fourth  best.  Should  oppo- 
nents lead  trumps,  play  second  best 
second  hand,  and  second  best  fourth 
hand,  if  they  hold  the  trick,  holding  up 
fourth  best  until  later. 

Leading  Trumps  on  Partner's  Call. 

Lead  top  of  three  or  less. 

Lead  A  regardless  of  number  and  fol- 
low with  original  fourth  best. 

Lead  from  other  combinations  same  as 
"  original  leads." 

Trumping  in  and  Leading  on   Partner's 
Call. 

With  four  trumps,  trump  with  third 
best,  and  lead  top  of  remaining  cards,  if 
it  be  an  honor  or  a  finessing  card,  and 
play  fourth  best  later.  Holding  four 


small  trumps,  trump  with  third  best  and 
lead  fourth  best. 

With  five  trumps,  trump  with  fourth 
best,  lead  fifth  best;  with  ace,  trump  with 
fourth  best,  lead  A,  then  fifth  best;  with 
six  trumps,  trump  with  fourth  best,  lead 
fifth  best,  holding  up  sixth  best;  with  ace, 
trump  with  fourth  best,  lead  A,  then  fifth 
best,  holding  up  sixth  best.  Except  when 
holding  high  card  combination,  then  lead 
accordingly. 

The  false  card  lead,  as  a  signal  to  come 
"through  the  honor  turned,"  should  be 
promptly  obeyed  by  partner.  This  lead 
should  not  be  made,  however,  without 
such  combination  as  A  J  10  and  others,  or 
A  Q  10  and  others,  against  the  K  turned, 
or  K  J  9  or  10  and  others  against  the  Q 
turned. 

Holding  a  weak  combination  like  A  9 
or  8  6  4  3,  against  the  K  or  Q  turned,  it  is 
apparent  that  little  could  be  gained  by 
this  signal,  as  you  might  be  obliged  to 
part  with  your  high  trump  on  first  round, 
leaving  the  commanding  trumps  against 
you. 

Optional  Call  for  Trumps. 
With  four  or  more  trumps  and  three  or 
four  cards  of  indifferent  value  in  plain 
suit,  play  second  best  of  the  three  and 
third  best  of  the  four,  that  you  may  be  in 
a  position  to  call  for  trumps  should  the 
development  of  the  hand  warrant.  This 
call  need  not  be  construed  by  partner  as 
an  imperative  command  to  lead  the 
trump,  but  as  indicating  trump  strength 
and  a  willingness  to  have  them  led,  and  if 
partner  has  an  established  suit  or  a  long 
suit  that  there  is  a  reasonable  chance  of 
making,  he  should  venture  a  trump  lead. 

Changing  Suit. 

Avoid  changing  suits. 

It  is  better  to  stick  to  your  own  suit 
until  you  have  information  as  to  partner's 
suit,  and  good  reason  to  believe  that  it  is 
better  than  yours.  Many  tricks  are  lost 
by  "switching"  and  valuable  re-entry 
cards  are  killed  or  taken  out  of  partner's 
hand,  without  benefiting  yours,  but  with 
a  long,  weak  suit  and  weakness  in  trumps 
and  lack  of  probable  re-entry  in  side 
suits,  it  is  frequently  advisable  to  try  for 
partner's  suit,  rather  than  persist  in  your 
own  suit,  when  subsequent  leads  will 
force  partner  without  establishing  the 
suit.  Without  information  as  to  part- 
ner's suit,  and  when  obliged  to  change 
the  suit,  secondary  leads  should  be 
made  from  your  next  best  suit,  leading 
low  from  four  and  from  A  and  two  small 
and  high  from  K  Q  and  one,  and  Q  J  and 
one  and  J  and  one  or  two. 

Forcing  Partner. 

Refrain  from  forcing  partner,  when 
you  are  weak  in  trumps,  except:  first, 


APPENDIX 


561 


•when  he  has  shown  a  willingness  to  be 
forced,  as  by  trumping  a  doubtful  trick, 
second  hand;  or,  second,  when  opponents 
are  leading  or  calling  for  trumps  and 
your  partner  has  shown  no  strength  in 
suit  or  trumps — while  the  adversaries  ap- 
parently have  an  established  suit,  and 
sufficient  trump  strength  to  bring  it  in. 

If  partner  has  called  for  trumps,  or  led 
them  after  a  force,  and  you  are  also  strong 
in  trumps,  holding  four  or  more,  it  is 
usually  better  to  respond  to  his  call,  or 
return  his  trump  lead,  rather  than  force 
him  again  before  having  had  one  or  two 
rounds  of  trumps.  If  partner  passes  a 
doubtful  trick  second  hand,  thereby 
showing  four  or  more  trumps,  do  not  force 
him.  If  he  discards  a  low  card,  and  your 
own  hand  does  not  warrant  the  trump 
lead  on  account  of  weakness  in  trumps 
and  in  the  suit  he  discards,  lead  the  suit 
he  is  evidently  strong  in. 

On  a  high  card  discarded  by  partner, 
lead  trumps,  even  if  weak  in  trumps,  pro- 
vided you  have  some  strength  in  the  suit 
he  discards.  If  partner  refuses  to  trump 
adversary's  •winning  trick,  do  not  force 
him-  lead  trumps. 

Command  onThird  Round  Signal. 

When  trumps  are  out,  or  the  remain- 
ing trumps  are  marked  with  adversaries 
or  partner  holding  combinations  like  Q 
and  two  more  in  suit,  play  second  best 
and  then  third  best,  to  show  command  on 
third  round.  Holding  the  losing  trump 
and  two  cards  in  plain  suit,  the  remain- 
ing trumps  being  marked  with  adversa- 
ries, or  with  partner,  the  adversaries 
being  declared  out  of  trumps,  the  same 
signal  may  be  given,  asking  partner  to 
rome  with  the  third  round  of  the  suit. 

Holding  K  and  two  others  with  trumps 
out  or  the  remaining  trumps  marked  with 
adversaries  or  partner,  play  second  best 
on  ace  led,  holding  up  the  small  card  to 
show  command  and  winner. 

False  card  play  is  a  part  of  the  strategy 
of  the  game.  Whether  to  indulge  in  it  or 
not,  and  to  what  extent,  is  a  matter  for 
the  individual  judgment  of  the  player.  It 
is  often  judicious,  and  it  frequently  works 
both  ways. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  W.  KEEHN,  Chairman, 
E.  A.  BUFFINTON, 
H.  S.  STEVENS, 
Committee  on  System  of  Play. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  em- 
powering the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  League  to 

"  provide  for  the  payment  of  an  entrance 
fee  from  the  clubs,  teams,  or  players 
contesting  in  any  of  the  matches  held 


hereafter  under  its  auspices  during  the 
meeting  of  a  Congress." 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Laws  having  been  presented,  the 
following  resolution  was  unani- 
mously adopted : 

"  That  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Laws  be,  and  the  same  hereby  is  ac- 
cepted, and  that  the  Code  of  Laws  of 
Duplicate  Whist,  as  reported  by  said 
Committee  and  published  in  the  supple- 
ment of  Whist  of  July  15, 1898,  be,  and  the 
same  hereby  is  adopted  in  the  place  of 
the  present"  Code  of  Laws  of  Duplicate 
Whist ;  and  that  the  committee  be,  and 
hereby  is,  continued  and  directed  to  make 
further  report  as  to  any  changes  in  said 
Code  they  may  deem  advisable  at  the 
Ninth  American  Whist  Congress." 

Report  of  the  Committee  on 
Laws  : 

THE    LAWS    OF  DUPLICATE 
WHIST. 

Law  1.— Definitions. 

SECTION  i. — The  words  and  phrases 
used  in  these  laws  shall  be  construed  in 
accordance  with  the  following  defini- 
tions, unless  such  construction  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  context : 

Hand. — The  thirteen  cards  received 
by  any  one  player  are  termed  a  "  hand." 

Deal. — The  four  hands  into  which  a 
pack  is  distributed  for  play  are  termed  a 
"  deal  ; "  the  same  term  is  also  used  to 
designate  the  act  of  distributing  the  cards 
to  the  players. 

Tray.— A  "tray"  is  a  device  for  re- 
taining the  hands  of  a  deal  and  indicat- 
ing the  order  of  playing  them. 

Dealer. — The  player  who  is  entitled 
to  the  trump  card  is  termed  the  "dealer," 
whether  the  cards  have  or  have  not  been 
dealt  by  him. 

Original  Play  and  Overplay  .—The 
first  play  of  a  deal  is  termed  "  the  orig- 
inal play,"  the  second  or  any  subse- 
quent play  of  such  deal,  the  "  overplay." 
Duplicate  Wnlst.—  "  Duplicate 
Whist "  is  that  form  of  the  game  of 
whist  in  which  each  deal  is  played  once 
only  by  each  player,  but  in  which  each 
is  so  overplayed  as  to  bring  the  play  of 
teams,  pairs  or  individuals  into  compari- 
son. 

Renounce — Renounce  In  Error — 
Revofce.— A  player  "  renounces  "  when 
he  does  not  follow  suit  to  the  card  led  ; 
he  "  renounces  in  error"  when,  although 
holding  one  or  more  cards  of  the  suit 


562 


APPENDIX 


led,  he  plays  a  card  of  a  different  suit ; 
if  such  renounce  in  error  is  not  lawfully 
corrected,  it  constitutes  a  "  revoke." 

Trick  "  Turned  and  Quitted."— A 
trick  is  " turned  and  quitted"  when  all 
four  players  have  turned  and  quitted 
their  respective  cards. 

Law  3. — Formation  of  Teams  and 
Arrangement  of  Players. 

SECTION  i.  The  contesting  teams  must 
each  consist  of  the  same  number  of 
players.  They  may  be  formed  and  seated 
at  tables  as  determined  by  agreement, 
lot  or  otherwise,  and  the  positions  of  the 
players  at  the  table  shall  be  designated 
as  "North,"  "East,"  "  South B  and 
"  West." 

Law  3.— Shuffling. 

SECTION  i.  Before  the  cards  are  dealt 
they  must  be  shuffled  in  the  presence  of 
an  adversary  or  the  umpire.  Each 
player  has  the  right  to  shuffle  them  once 
before  each  deal,  each  new  deal,  and 
each  new  cut.  In  all  cases  the  dealer 
may  shuffle  last. 

SEC.  2.  Right  to  Re-shuffle.— The 
pack  must  not  be  so  shuffled  as  to  expose 
the  face  of  any  card,  and  if  a  card  is  so 
exposed  each  of  the  players  has  the  right 
to  re-shuffle  the  pack. 

Law  4.— Cutting  for  the  Trump. 

SECTION  i.  The  dealer  must  present  the 
cards  to  his  right-hand  adversary  to  be 
cut;  such  adversary  must  take  from  the 
top  of  the  pack  at  least  four  cards  and 
place  them  towards  the  dealer,  leaving  at 
least  four  cards  in  the  remaining  packet; 
the  dealer  must  re-unite  the  packets  by 
placing  the  one  not  removed  in  cutting 
upon  the  other.  If,  in  cutting,  or  re- 
uniting the  separate  packets,  a  card  is 
exposed,  the  pack  must  be  re-shuffled 
and  cut  again;  if  there  is  any  confusion 
of  the  cards  or  doubt  as  to  the  place  where 
the  pack  was  separated,  there  must  be  a 
new  cut. 

Law  5. — Dealing. 

SECTION  i.  When  the  pack  has  been 
properly  cut  and  re-united,the  cards  must 
be  dealt,  one  at  a  time,  face  down,  from  the 
top  of  the  pack,  the  first  to  the  player  at 
the  left  of  the  dealer,  and  each  successive 
card  to  the  player  at  the  left  of  the  one  to 
whom  the  last  preceding  card  has  been 
dealt.  The  last,  which  is  the  trump  card, 
must  be  turned  and  placed  face  up  on  the 
tray,  or.  if  no  tray  is  used,  then  at  the 
right  of  the  dealer. 

SEC.  2.  Compulsory  New  Deal. — 
There  must  be  a  new  deal— 

(A)  If  any  card  except  the  last  is 
faced  or  exposed  in  any  way  in  dealing. 


(B)  If  the  pack  is  proved  incorrect  or 
imperfect. 

(C)  If  either  more  or  less  than  thirteen 
cards  are  dealt  to  any  player. 

(D)  If  the  dealer's  hand  does  not  con- 
tain the  trump  card. 

SEC.  3.  New  Deal  on  Request.— 
There  must  be  a  new  deal  at  the  request 
of  either  player,  provided  such  request  is 
made  by  him  before  he  has  examined  his 
cards — 

(A)  If  the  cards  are  dealt  by  any  per- 
son other  than  the  dealer. 

(B)  If  the  pack  has  not  been  properly 
cut. 

(C)  If  a  card  is  dealt  incorrectly,  and 
the  error  is  not  corrected  before  another 
card  is  dealt. 

(D)  If  the  trump   card  is  placed  face 
down  upon  any  other  card. 

Law  6.— The    Trump  Card. 

SECTION  i.  Trump  Slip  on  Original 
Deal. — The  trump  card  and  the  number 
of  the  deal  must  be  recorded  before  the 
play  begins,  on  a  slip  provided  for  that 
purpose,  and  must  not  be  elsewhere  re- 
corded. Such  slip  must  be  shown  to  an 
adversary,  then  turned  face  down  and 
placed  in  the  tray,  if  one  is  used. 

SEC.  2.  When  to  take  up  the  Tramp 
Card. — The  dealer  must  leave  the  trump 
card  face  up  until  the  first  trick  is  turned 
and  quitted,  unless  it  is  played  to  such 
trick.  He  must  take  the  trump  card  into 
his  hand  and  turn  down  the  trump  slip 
before  the  second  trick  is  turned  and 
quitted. 

SEC.  3.  On  the  Overplay. — When  a 
deal  is  taken  up  for  overplay  the  dealer 
must  show  the  trump  slip  to  an  adver- 
sary, and  thereafter  treat  the  trump  slip 
and  trump  card  as  in  the  case  of  an 
original  deal.  (See  Law  6,  Sec.  i.) 

SEC.  4.  Naming  Trump  or  Exam- 
ining Slip. — After  the  trump  card  has 
been  lawfully  taken  into  the  hand,  and 
the  trump  slip  turned  face  down,  the 
trump  card  must  not  be  named  nor  the 
trump  slip  examined  during  the  play  of 
the  deal;  a  player  may,  however,  ask 
what  the  trump  suit  is. 

SEC.  5.  Penalty. — If  a  player  unlaw- 
fully looks  at  the  trump  slip  his  highest 
or  lowest  trump  may  be  called;  if  a  player 
unlawfully  names  the  trump  card  his 
partner's  highest  or  lowest  trump  may  be 
called. 

SEC.  6.  Inflicting  Penalty.— These 
penalties  can  be  inflicted  by  either  ad- 
versary at  any  time  during  the  play  of 
the  deal  in  which  they  are  incurred,  be- 
fore the  player  from  whom  the  call  can 
be  made  has  played  to  the  current  trick; 
the  call  may  be  repeated  at  each  or  any 


APPENDIX 


563 


trick  until  the  card  is  played,  but  can- 
not be  changed. 

SBC.  7.  After  Deal  has  been  Played. 

— When  a.  deal  has  been  played  the  cards 
of  the  respective  players,  including  the 
trump  card,  must  be  placed  in  the  tray 
face  down,  and  the  trump  slip  placed  face 
up  on  top  of  the  dealer's  cards. 

SEC.  8.  Turning  the  Wrong  Tramp. 

— If,  on  the  overplay  of  a  deal,  a  trump 
card  is  turned  other  than  the  one  recorded 
on  the  trump  slip,  and  such  error  is  dis- 
covered and  corrected  before  the  play  of 
the  deal  is  commenced,  the  card  turned 
in  error  is  liable  to  be  called. 

SEC.  9.  Penalty. — If  such  error  is  not 
corrected  until  after  the  overplay  has 
begun,  and  more  than  two  tables  are  en- 
gaged in  play  the  offender  and  his  part- 
ner shall  be  given  the  lowest  score  made 
with  their  hands  on  that  deal  at  any 
table;  if  less  than  three  tables  are  en- 
gaged the  offender's  adversaries  may 
consult,  and  shall  have  the  option  either 
to  score  the  deal  as  a  tie  or  to  have  the 
pack  re-dealt,  and  such  new  deal  played 
and  overplayed. 

SEC.  10.  Recording  Wrong  Trump 

— Penalty.— Should  a  player,  after  the 
cards  are  dealt,  record  on  the  trump  slip 
a  different  trump  from  the  one  turned  in 
dealing,  and  the  error  be  discovered  at 
the  next  table,  there  must  be  a  new  deal; 
if  the  deal  has  been  played  at  one  or 
more  tables  with  the  wrong  trump  the 
recorded  trump  must  be  taken  as  correct, 
and  the  pair  of  the  player  making  the 
error  be  given  the  lowest  score  for  that 
deal.  If,  however,  less  than  three  tables 
are  in  play  there  must  be  a  new  deal. 


Law   7. — Irregularities  in  the 
Hands. 

SECTION  i.  More  or  Less  than  Cor- 
rect Number  of  Cards — Penalty. — In 

case  a  player  on  the  overplay  is  found  to 
have  either  more  or  less  than  his  correct 
number  of  cards,  if  less  than  three  tables 
are  engaged,  there  must  be  a  new  deal  ; 
but  if  more  than  two  tables  are  in  play, 
the  hands  must  be  rectified  and  then 
passed  to  the  next  table.  The  table  at 
which  the  error  was  discovered  must  not 
overplay  the  deal,  but  shall  take  the  aver- 
age score. 

SEC.  2.    Cards   Left  In  the  Tray.— 

If,  after  the  first  trick  has  been  turned 
and  quitted,  a  player  is  found  to  have  less 
than  his  correct  number  of  cards,  and  the 
missing  card  or  cards  are  found  in  the 
tray,  such  player  and  his  partner  shall  be 
given  the  lowest  score  on  that  deal. 


Law    8.— Playing,     Turning     and 
Quitting    the  Cards. 

SECTION  I.  Playing  the  Cards.— Bach 
player,  when  it  is  his  turn  to  play,  must 
place  his  card  face  up  before  him,  and 
towards  the  centre  of  the  table,  and  allow 
it  to  remain  upon  the  table  in  this  posi- 
tion until  all  have  played  to  the  trick, 
when  he  must  turn  it  over  and  place  it 
face  down,  and  nearer  to  himself,  placing 
each  successive  card,  as  he  turns  it,  so 
that  it  overlaps  the  last  card  played  by 
him  and  with  the  ends  toward  the  win- 
ners of  the  trick.  After  he  has  played 
his  card,  and  also  after  he  has  turned  it, 
he  must  quit  it  by  moving  his  hand. 

SEC.  2.  After  Cards  are  Played. — 
The  cards  must  be  left  in  the  order  in 
which  they  were  played  and  quitted,  until 
the  scores  for  the  deal  are  recorded. 

SEC.  3.  Turning  Another's  Card. 
—During  the  play  of  a  deal  a  player 
must  not  pick  up  or  turn  another  player's 
cards. 

SEC.  4.  Asking  to  See  the  Last 
Cards  Played. — Before  a  trick  is  turned 
and  quitted,  any  player  may  require  any 
of  the  other  players  to  show  the  face  of 
the  card  played  to  that  trick. 

SEC.  5.  Trick  Once  Turned  and 
Quitted. — If  a  player  names  a  card  of  a 
trick  which  has  been  turned  and  quitted, 
or  turns  or  raises  any  such  card  so  that 
any  such  portion  of  its  face  can  be  seen 
by  himself  or  any  other  player,  he  is  liable 
to  the  same  penalty  as  if  he  had  led  out 
of  turn. 

Law  9.— Cards  Liable  to  be  Called. 

SECTION  i.  The  following  cards  are  lia- 
ble to  be  called  : 

(A)  Every  card  so  placed  upon  the  table 
as  to  expose  any  of  the  printing  on  its 
face,   except  such    cards  as   these    laws 
specifically  provide  shall  not  be  so  liable. 

(B)  Every  card  so  held  by  a  player  that 
his  partner  sees  any  of  the  printing  on 
its  face. 

(C)  Every  card  (except  the  trump  card) 
named  by  the  player  holding  it. 

(D)  The  trump  card,  if  it  is  not   taken 
into  the  dealer's  hand,  and  the  trump 
slip  turned  face  down  before  the  second 
trick  is  turned  and  quitted. 

SEC.  2.  "  I  can  win  the  rest,"  etc. — 
If  a  player  says,  "  I  can  win  the  rest," 
"  The  rest  are  ours,"  "  It  makes  no  differ- 
ence how  you  play,"  or  words  to  that 
effect,  his  partner's  cards  must  be  laid 
face  up  on  the  table,  and  are  liable  to  be 
called. 

SEC.  3.—  Where  to  Place  and  when 
to  Pla'y  Cards  Liable  to  be  Called.— 
All  cards  liable  to  be  called  must  be 


564 


APPENDIX 


placed  and  left  until  played  face  up  on  the       Law  11.— Playing  out  of   Turn.— 

table.    A  player  must  lead  or  play  them 


when  lawfully  called,  provided  he  can  do 
so  without  revoking;  the  call  may  be  re- 
peated at  each  or  any  trick  until  the  card 
Is  played.  A  player  cannot,  however,  be 
prevented  from  leading  or  playing  a  card 
liable  to  be  called;  if  he  can  get  rid  of  it 
in  the  course  of  play  no  penalty  remains. 

SEC.  4.  By  Whom  and  when  Cards 
Can  Ite  Called. — The  holder  of  a  card 
liable  to  be  called  can  be  required  to  play 
it  only  by  the  adversary  on  his  right  If 
such  adversary  plays  without  calling  it 
the  holder  may  play  to  that  trick  as  he 
pleases;  if  it  is  the  holder's  turn  to  lead, 
the  card  must  be  called  before  the  pre- 
ceding trick  has  been  turned  and  quitted, 
or  before  the  holder  has  led  a  different 
card;  otherwise  he  may  lead  as  he 
pleases. 

Law  10.— Leading  Ont  of  Turn. 

SECTION  i.  Penalty  Lost. — If  a  player 
leads  out  of  turn,  and  the  error  is  discov- 
ered before  all  have  played  to  such  lead, 
a  suit  may  be  called  from  him  or  from  his 
partner,  as  the  case  may  be;  the  first  time 
thereafter  it  is  the  right  of  either  of  them 
to  lead;  but  the  card  led  out  of  turn  is  not 
liable  to  be  called,  and  must  be  taken 
into  the  hand.  The  penalty  can  be  en- 
forced only  by  the  adversary  on  the  right 
of  the  one  from  whom  a  lead  can  lawfully 
be  called.  If  all  have  played  to  the  false 
lead,  the  right  to  the  penalty  is  lost;  if 
one  or  more,  but  not  all,  have  played  to 
the  trick,  the  cards  played  to  such  false 
lead  must  be  taken  back  and  are  not 
liable  to  be  called. 

SEC.  2.  When  It  is  an  Adversary's 
Turn  to  Lead. — If  a  player  leads  when 
it  is  the  turn  of  an  adversary  to  lead,  the 
right  to  call  a  suit  is  lost,  unless  the 
player  having  the  right  to  inflict  the  pen- 
alty announces  the  suit  he  desires  led  be- 
fore the  first  trick  thereafter  won  by  the 
offender  or  his  partner  is  turned  and 
quitted. 

SEC.  3.  When  it  is  Partner's  Turn 

to  Lead.— If  a  player  leads  when  it  is 
his  partner's  turn  the  proper  leader  must 
not  lead  until  a  suit  has  been  lawfully 
called  or  the  right  to  inflict  the  penalty 
has  been  waived  or  forfeited  by  his  ad- 
versaries. If  any  one  leads  while  liable 
to  this  penalty  the  card  so  led  is  liable  to 
be  called;  but  if  either  adversary  plays  to 
such  lead  the  right  to  call  a  suit  is  lost. 

SEC.  4.  Penalty  Paid.— If  a  player, 
•when  called  on  to  lead  a  suit,  has  none 
of  it,  the  penalty  is  paid  and  he  may  lead 
as  he  pleases. 


SECTION  i.  If  the  third  hand  plays  be- 
fore the  second,  the  fourth  hand  also  may 
play  before  the  second. 

SEC.  2.  If  the  third  hand  has  not  played 
and  the  fourth  hand  plays  before  the 
second,  the  latter  may  be  called  upon  by 
the  third  hand  to  play  his  highest  or 
lowest  card  of  the  suit  led,  or,  if  he  has 
none  of  it,  to  trump  or  not  to  trump  the 
trick  ;  the  penalty  cannot  be  inflicted 
after  the  third  hand  has  played  to  the 
trick.  If  the  player  liable  to  this  penalty 
plays  before  it  has  been  inflicted,  waived 
or  lost,  the  card  so  played  is  liable  to  be 
called. 

Law   18.— The  Revoke. 

SECTION  i.  Revoke  Established.— A 

renounce  in  error  may  be  corrected  by  the 
player_making  it,  except  in  the  following 
cases,  in  which  a  revoke  is  established 
and  the  penalty  therefore  incurred: 

(A)  When  the  trick  in  which  it  occurs 
has  been  turned  and  quitted; 

(B)  When  the  renouncing  player  or  his 
partner,  whether  in  his   right    turn  or 
otherwise,  has  led  or  played  to  the  fol- 
lowing trick; 

(C)  When  the  partner  of  the  renounc- 
ing player  has  called  attention  to  the  re- 
nounce. 

SEC.  2.  Asking  Adversary  It  he 
Renounced. — At  any  time  before  a 
trick  is  turned  and  quitted,  a  player  mav 
ask  an  adversary  if  he  has  any  of  a  suft 
to  which  such  adversary  has  renounced 
in  that  trick,  and  can  require  the  error  to 
be  corrected  in  case  such  adversary  is 
found  to  have  any  of  such  suit. 

SEC.  3.  Correcting  Renounce.— If  a 
player  who  has  renounced  in  error  law- 
fully corrects  his  mistake,  the  card  im- 
properly played  by  him  is  liable  to  be 
called;  any  p'layer  who  has  played  after 
him  may  withdraw  his  card  and  substi- 
tute another;  a  card  so  withdrawn  is  not 
liable  to  be  called. 

SEC.  4.  Penalty  tor  Revoke. — The 
penalty  for  a  revoke  is  the  transfer  of  two 
tricks  from  the  revoking  side  to. their  ad- 
versaries; it  can  be  enforced  for  as  many 
revokes  as  occur  during  the  play  of  that 
deal,  but  is  limited  to  the  number  of 
tricks  won  by  the  offending  side;  no  pair, 
however,  can  score  more  than  thirteen  on 
the  play  of  any  one  deal.  The  revoking 
player  and  his  partner  cannot  score  more 
than  the  average  on  the  deal  in  which 
the  revoke  occurs. 

SBC.  5.  Claiming  Revoke. — A  re- 
voke may  be  claimed  at  any  time  before 
the  last  trick  of  the  deal  in  which  it  oc- 
curs has  been  turned  and  quitted  and 
the  score  recorded,  but  not  thereafter. 


APPENDIX 


565 


SEC.  6.  Examining  Hands  for  Re- 
voke.— At  the  end  ofthe  play  of  a  deal, 
the  claimants  of  a  revoke  can  examine 
all  the  cards ;  if  either  hand  has  been 
shuffled,  the  claim  may  be  urged  and 
proved  if  possible  ;  but  no  proof  is  neces- 
sary and  the  revoke  is  established,  if, 
after  it  has  been  claimed,  the  accused 
player  or  his  partner  disturbs  the  order 
of  the  cards  before  they  have  been  ex- 
amined to  the  satisfaction  of  the  adver- 
saries. 

Law  13.— Miscellaneous. 

SECTION  i.  Calling  Attention  to 
Trick. — If  any  one  calls  attention  in  any 
manner  to  the  trick,  before  his  partner 
has  played  thereto,  the  adversary  last  to 

Elay  to  the  trick  may  require  the  of- 
mder's  partner  to  play  his  highest  or 
lowest  ofthe  suit  led,  or,  if  he  has  none 
of  that  suit,  to  trump  or  not  to  trump  the 
trick. 

SEC.  2.  Reminding  Partner  as  to 
Penalty.— A  player  has  the  right  to  re- 
mind his  partner  that  it  is  his  privilege 
to  enforce  a  penalty,  and  also  to  inform 
him  ofthe  penalty  he  can  enforce. 

SEC.  3.  Preventing  Commission  of 
Irregularity. — A  player  has  the  right 
to  prevent  his  partner  from  committing 
any  irregularity,  except  revoking. 

SEC.  4.  Enforcing  Penalties.— If 
either  of  the  adversaries,  whether  with 
or  without  his  partner's  consent,  de- 
mands or  waives  a  penalty  to  which  they 
are  entitled,  such  decision  is  final;  if  the 
wrong  adversary  demands  a  penalty,  or 
a  wrong  penalty  is  demanded,  none  can 
be  enforced. 

SEC.  5.  Vailing  to  Comply  with 
Call. — If  a  player  is  lawfully  called  upon 
to  play  the  highest  or  the  lowest  of  a 
suit,  to  trump  or  not  to  trump  a  trick,  to 
lead  a  suit,  or  to  win  a  trick,  and  unne- 
cessarily fails  to  comply,  he  is  liable  to 
the  same  penalty  as  if  he  had  revoked. 

SEC.  6.  Playing  Twice  in  Succes- 
sion.— If  any  one  leads  or  plays  a  card, 
and  then,  before  his  partner  has  played 
to  the  trick,  leads  one  or  more  other 
cards,  or  plays  two  or  more  cards  to- 
gether, all  of  which  are  better  than  any 
his  adversaries  hold  of  the  suit,  his  part- 
ner may  be  called  upon  by  either  adver- 


Clubs. 

Independent  Whist  Clubs 62 

Chess  and  Whist  Clubs q 

Social  and  Athletic  Clubs .    .    f>2 

Auxiliary  Association  Clubs  not  Members 

ofthe  A.  W.  L 31 


sary  to  win  the  first  or  any  subsequent 
trick  to  which  any  of  said  cards  are 
played,  and  the  remaining  cards  so 
played  are  liable  to  be  called. 

P.  J.  TORMEY,  Chairman, 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 
THEODORE  SCHWARZ, 

Chicago,  111. 
ROBERT  H.  WEEMS, 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
LEONI  MELICK, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
WILBUR  F.  SMITH, 

Baltimore,  Md. 
N.  B.  TRIST, 

New  Orleans,  I,a. 
JOHN  T.  MITCHELL, 

Chicago,  111. 
E.  LEROY  SMITH, 

Albany,  N.  Y. 
WALTER  H.  BARNEY, 

Providence.  R.  I. 
BENJAMIN  I,.  RICHARDS, 

Rock  Rapids,  Iowa. 
Committee  on  Laws  ofthe 

A  merican  Whist  League. 

The  Corresponding  Secretary  in 
his  report  stated  : 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  past  whist 
year  we  had  a  membership  of  158  club, 
four  auxiliary  associations,  thirty-three 
associate  members  and  five  honorary 
members,  a  decrease  of  twenty-five  clubs 
and  a  decrease  of  one  associate  member. 

"  The  clubs  which  have  withdrawn 
since  the  Seventh  Congress  are  .  .  a 
total  of  seventeen.  Those  which  have 
been  dropped  from  the  rolls  on  account 
of  having  disbanded,  two.  Those  sus- 
pended, a  total  of  seventeen.  The  new 
club  members  are  :  Grand  Rapids  Whist 
Club;  Sioux  City  Whist,  Chess  and 
Checker  Club;  Pyramid  Whist  Club;  New 
Rochelle  Whist  Club ;  Topeka  Whist 
Club;  Passaic  Whist  Club;  Mt.  Bowdoin 
Whist  Club;  Newport  Business  Men's 
Association;  Jackson  City  Club;  Alter 
Ego  Club;  Woburn  Whist  Club— a  total 
of  eleven. 

"  The  strength  of  the  League  may  bet- 
ter be  realized  by  looking  at  the  follow- 
ing figures  representing  persons  holding 
direct  allegiance  : 

Whist  Total 

Players.        Membership. 
3.683  3.683 

697  i,457 

3-558  18,559 


Totals 164 

Associate  Members 

Honorary  Members 

Grand   Total  . 


U-548 


4,828 


28,564 


566 


APPENDIX 


"But  that  is  not  all  the  story.  There 
are  throughout  the  land  whist  associa- 
tions that  are  not  members  of  the  A.  W. 
L.  as  such,  but  are  governed  by  its  rules 
and  laws.  They  should  be  enumerated 
and  taken  in  account,  in  consideration  of 
the  hold  that  the  game  has  upon  our 
nation.  They  are  : 

No. 
of 

Name  of  Association.         Clubs. 
Central  Whist  Association    .    15 
Indiana 


Michigan 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nor.  Pac. 

Northw'n 

Ohio 

Pac.  Coast 

Red  River 

Tennessee 

Up.Penin. 

Wisconsin 


Total 128 

Of  the  above  there  are  hav- 
ing A.  W.  L.  charters  ...    38 
Leaving  to  be  added  to  above 
mentioned  strength  of  the 
game 90 

Or  a  grand  total  of  organ- 
ized whist-players  follow- 
ing the  laws  and  rules  of 
the  A.W.  L-,. amounting  to 


Mem- 
ber- 

ship. 
500 
316 
607 
627 

345 
1697 

377 
748 
1177 

156 
190 
236 


7117 
3011 


4106 


32,670 


The  following  officers  were  unani- 
mously elected: 

President,  B.  LeRoy  Smith,  Al- 
bany, N.  Y. 

Vice-President,  B.  L,.  Richards, 
Rock  Rapids,  la. 

Recording  Secretary,  Clarence  A. 
Henriques,  New  York  City. 

Corresponding  Secretary,  1,.  G. 
Parker,  Toledo,  O. 

Treasurer,  John  T.  Mitchell, 
Chicago,  111. 

Directors,  three  years.  —  Hon. 
George  L.  Bunn,  St.  Paul,  Minn.; 
E.  C.  Fletcher, West  Newton, Mass.; 
Joseph  S.  Neff,  Philadelphia,  Pa.; 
J.  Eberhard  Faber,  Staten  Island, 
N.  Y. 

Director,  one  year. — William  E. 
Talcott,  Cleveland,  O. 

In  the  tournament  the  winners 
of  the  trophies  were  as  follows: 


THE  HAMILTON  TROPHY. 

The  American  Whist  Club,  of 
Boston. 

Players.— L.  M.  Bouve",  W.  S. 
Fenollosa.  F.  H.  Whitney,  H.  P. 
Perkins,  E.  C.  Fletcher  (the  last 
two  alternating). 

THE  MINNEAPOLIS  TROPHY. 

The  Newton  Club,  of  Newton, 
Mass. 

Players. — F.  W.  Richardson,  W. 
E.  Hickox. 

THE  A.  W.  L.  CHALLENGE 
TROPHY. 

The  American  Whist  Club,  of 
Boston. 

Players.— C.  L.  Becker,  H.  H. 
Ward,  C.  S.  Street,  H.  P.  Perkins, 
E.  C.  Fletcher  (the  last  two  alter- 
nating). 

THE  BROOKLYN  TROPHY. 

The  New  York  State  Whist  Asso- 
ciation. 

Players.— E.  L-  Smith,  A.  Rath- 
bone,  R.  M.  Cramer,  A.  Gilhooley, 
A.  E.  Taylor,  J.  B.  Elwell,  B.  Shire, 
I.  M.  Levy,  J.  E.  Faber,  H.  B. 
Newman,  D.  Muhlfelder,  C.  F. 
Snow,  C.  R.  Watson,  B.  C.  Fuller, 
William  Hudson,  M.  Shire. 

Woman's  Whist  League,  Sec- 
ond Annual  Congress. — The 

convention  was  held  in  the 
Horticultural  Hall,  Philadelphia, 
May  26,  27,  and  28,  1898,  and  was 
attended  by  about  five  hundred 
delegates.  From  every  point  of 
view  the  gathering  was  more  suc- 
cessful than  that  of  the  previous 
year. 

In  the  tournament,  entries  were 
numerous  for  all  the  principal 
events,  and  the  play  of  an  excep- 
tionally high  order. 

The  Washington  Trophy,  repre- 
sentative of  the  championship  of 


APPENDIX 


567 


"  fours,"  resulted  in  a  tie  on  match 
scores  between  two  ' '  Cavendish  ' ' 
clubs,  those  of  Boston  and  Phila- 
delphia, the  former  winning  the 
prize,  however,  on  the  trick  score. 
The  teams  were  as  follows  :  ' '  Cav- 
endish "  Club  of  Boston,  Mesdames 
Fletcher,  Adams,  Talbot  and  An- 
drews. "Cavendish"  Club  of 
Philadelphia,  Mesdames  Pettit, 
Rogers,  Newbold  and  Lowrie. 

The  Toledo  Cup,  presented  by  the 
Collingwood  Club,  of  Toledo,  for 
contest  between  teams  of  four,  was 
played  for  upon  this  occasion  for 
the  first  time.  It  fell  to  Mesdames 
Cohen,  Hart,  Fleming  and  Cannon. 

The  Philadelphia  Cup,  the  em- 
blem of  the  pair  championship,  was 
won  by  Mrs.  Baird  Snyder  and 
Miss  Edith  Snyder,  of  the  Otis 
Club,  of  Pottsville,  Pa. 

The  following  officers  were 
elected  for  the  ensuing  year: 

President — Mrs.  Joseph  R.  Haw- 
ley,  Hartford,  Conn. 

First  Vice-President — Mrs.  Clar- 
ence Brown,  Toledo,  O. 

Second  Vice-President  —  Mrs. 
Waldo  Adams,  Boston. 

Secretary — Mrs.  O.  D.  Thompson, 
Allegheny  City,  Pa. 

Treasurer— Mrs.  Silas  W.  Pettit, 
Philadelphia. 

Governors — Mrs.  Emlen  T.  Lit- 
tell,  New  York ;  Mrs.  C.  H.  Reeves, 
Baltimore;  Mrs.  J.  P.  Wetherill, 
Philadelphia;  Mrs.  J.  M.  Walker, 
Denver;  Mrs.  O.  W.  Potter,  Chi- 
cago; Mrs.  Henry  E.  Waterman,  St. 
Louis;  Mrs.  William  Endicott,  Bos- 
ton, (who  subsequently  resigned, 
Miss  Kate  Wheelock  being  elected 
her  successor);  Mrs.  George  E. 
Bates,  San  Francisco;  Miss  Susan 
D.  Biddle,  Detroit;  Mde.  deSibour, 
Washington,  D.  C.;  Mrs.  J.  M.  Mc- 
Connell,  Brooklyn,  and  Mrs.  Lu- 
cien  Swift,  Minneapolis. 

In  her  address  to  the  Congress 
Mrs.  Andrews,  the  retiring  presi- 


dent,  referring  to    the    Woman's 
Whist  League,  said: 

Geographically  it  extends  from  the 
Upper  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico, and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 
It  has  fifty-nine  clubs  with  2500  members, 
twenty  clubs  being  in  this  State  and  seven 
in  New  York— thus  Pennsylvania  is  the 
banner  State. 

Woman's  Metropolitan  Whist 
Association. — At  a  meeting  of 
representatives  of  the  leading 
women's  whist  clubs,  situated  with- 
in a  twenty  mile  radius  of  Brook- 
lyn Bridge,  held  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  June  2,  1898,  an  association 
was  formed  ' '  for  the  purpose  of 
encouraging  the  study  and  practice 
of  whist ' '  among  the  women  play- 
ers of  the  metropolitan  district. 
The  proposition,  which  emanated 
from  Mrs.  H.  E.  Wallace,  met  with 
enthusiastic  acceptance.  Organi- 
zation was  effected  and  arrange- 
ments made  for  a  series  of  inter- 
club  matches. 

The  following  officers  were 
elected: 

Mrs.  H.  E.  Wallace,  Staten 
Island,  president;  Mrs.  Brecken- 
ridge,  Brooklyn,  first  vice-presi- 
dent; Mrs.  F.  H.  Johnson,  New 
York,  second  vice-president;  Miss 
Inez  Coleman,  Bergen  Point,  secre- 
tary, and  Mrs.  T.  E.  Otis,  East 
Orange,  treasurer.  The  other  di- 
rectors now  are:  Mrs.  Alfred 
Cowles,  New  York;  Mrs.  E.  S. 
Gaillard,  New  York,  and  Mrs.  Will- 
iam Townsend,  Bayonne. 

A  list  of  the  clubs  included  in 
the  Association,  and  their  represen- 
tatives, follows: 

The  Woman's  Club,  of  Brook- 
lyn. —  President,  Mrs.  Brecken- 
ridge;  Delegate,  Mrs.  J.  M.  McCon- 
nell.  Bergen  Point  —  President, 
Mrs.  A.  A.  Smith;  Delegate,  Miss 
Inez  Coleman.  Ladies'  New  York 
Whist  Club — President,  Mrs.  M.  F. 
Johnson;  Delegate,  Miss  Martha 


568 


APPENDIX 


Campbell.  New  Amsterdam  — 
President,  Mrs.  Alfred  Cowles; 
Delegate,  Mrs.  George  H.  Bosley. 
Long  Island  —  President,  Mrs. 
Irish;  Delegate,  Miss  Rutherford. 
Otis  Club,  of  East  Orange— Presi- 
dent, Mrs.  T.  E.  Otis;  Delegate, 
Miss  Cameron.  Southern  Club — 
President,  Mrs.  Galliard;  Delegate, 
Mrs.  William  Read.  Bayonne — 
President,  Mrs.  Townsend;  Dele- 
gate, Mrs.  Burritt.  Kate  Wheelock, 
Staten  Island — President,  Mrs.  H. 

E.  Wallace;  Delegate,  Mrs.  Sidney 

F.  Rawson.     Delegations  not  em- 
powered to  act  for  their  clubs  were : 
Yonkers  —  President,     Mrs.     Ten 
Eyck;    Delegate,    Mrs.    Rockwell. 
Newark — President,  Mrs.  Chapman ; 
Delegate,     Mrs.    Howarth.    Jersey 
City  —  President,     Mrs.     Eveland; 
Delegate,  Mrs.  Ballou. 

Canadian  Whist  League.— At 
the  third  congress,  Toronto,  July 
21-23,  ify&i  occurred  the  first  inter- 
national whist  match,  although  it 
wa&of  an  informal  character.  About 
a  dozen  American  players,  on  their 
way  home  from  the  American 
Whist  Congress,  called  on  the 
Canadians  and  were  cordially  re- 
ceived. Among  them  were  L.  G. 
Parker,  corresponding  secretary  of 
the  A.  W.  L.;  E.  B.  Cooper,  Nash- 
ville, and  Moses  and  B.  Shire,  of 
Buffalo,  the  latter  two  members  of 
the  team  which  had  just  won  the 
Brooklyn  trophy. 

The  Canadians  selected  Athe- 
naeum (B)  team,  which  had  tied  for 
the  Canadian  championship  at  this 
congress,  to  play  against  the  Amer- 
icans. The  latter  won  by  three 
tricks.  The  Canadian  players  were: 
C.  H.  Fuller,  E.  Corlett,  T.  D.  Rich- 
ardson, and  H.  J.  Coleman. 

In  the  pair  contest,  M.  Shire  and 
E.  B.  Cooper  also  carried  off  the 
victory,  beating  A.  H.  Barnes  and 

G.  C.  Biggar,  of  the  Victoria  Club, 
Toronto,  by  seven  tricks. 


The  American  Whist-Player. — 

A  monthly  periodical,  edited  and 
published  in  Boston,  by  W.  E. 
Hickox.  The  first  issue  of  the 
American  Whist-Player  appeared 
in  July,  1898.  It  is  conducted  upon 
general  lines  much  after  the  man- 
ner of  Whist,  of  Milwaukee.  Mr. 
Hickox  is  an  accomplished  whist- 
player.  At  the  eighth  congress  of 
the  American  Whist  League  he  was 
one  of  the  winners  of  the  Minne- 
apolis trophy. 

Whist  Opinion. — A  weekly  jour- 
nal published  in  Philadelphia, 
edited  by  Lennard  Leigh.  The 
chief  feature  of  the  paper  is  the  re- 
production of  selected  matter  from 
the  various  periodicals  devoting 
space  to  whist.  It  also  contains 
news  of  the  game,  portraits  of 
whist  celebrities,  articles  for  begin- 
ners, problems  and  other  interest- 
ing matter.  It  was  successfully 
launched  in  March,  1898. 

B.  Lowsley,  of  London,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Royal  Engineers 
(retired),  is  the  author  of  "Whist 
of  the  Future,"  which  left  the 
press  in  the  early  part  of  1898,  and 
has  since  created  a  great  deal  of  in- 
terest. The  writer,  who  is  an  able 
exponent  of  the  short-suit,  or  "  com- 
mon sense  ' '  theory,  advances  sev- 
eral novel  arguments  worthy  of 
consideration.  Colonel  Lowsley  is 
a  frequent  contributor  to  Whist. 

Lennard    Leigh.— The  nom    de 

plume  of  C.  H.  F.  Lindsay,  whose 
entrance  upon  the  field  of  whist 
literature  is  of  comparatively  recent 
date.  In  addition  to  editing  Whist 
Opinion  he  contributes  regularly  to 
four  or  five  daily  and  weekly  jour- 
nals. Lennard  Leigh's  articles  and 
vers  du  jeu,  as  he  styles  them,  are 
widely  quoted. 


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